New bakery opens, new restaurants on the way to Crystal Lake

An assortment of new food options are popping up in Crystal Lake this summer, including a bakery and authentic Mexican restaurants.

Open already is Black Market Bakery in downtown Crystal Lake, while fast-casual restaurants Poke West and Burrito Parrilla are starting work on interior construction, and Mexican restaurant La Presa is due to open in the near future.

Black Market Bakery

In downtown Crystal Lake, Cafe Olympic owner Rachel Skubiszewski opened Black Market Bakery right next door on Thursday.

[ See more photos of Black Market Bakery and its sweet treats ]

The bakery, located at 86 N. Williams St., is open-concept, where customers can see bakers working on goods from scratch and bringing items into display cases.

The same bakery items available at Cafe Olympic will still be available at the diner, Skubiszewski said, but Black Market Bakery will have an expanded menu with triple the amount of new items like homemade breads, pop-tarts, butter cookies, danishes and coffeecakes.

Of course, Skubiszewski’s famous cinnamon rolls are also on the menu, and she estimates she’s made over 100,000 of them over the past five years. She will also be offering different flavors like orange and apple bacon. Skubiszewski, who proudly is known as the “cinnamon roll lady,” created the recipe when she was pregnant with her daughter.

“That was the birth of the cinna-monster,” she said. “It just kept getting bigger and bigger.”

Skubiszewski has roots in baking, as her first job at 13 years old was at Cadieux’s Bakery in downtown Crystal Lake, where Jude’s now stands.

Though the bakery sticks to everyday items, they can do special orders like cinnamon roll birthday or weddings cakes. Instead of competing with other local bakeries, they are trying to fill in gaps.

“We’re trying to do desserts that add to the community,” she said.

Black Market Bakery’s focus is to be “classic and unique” by putting different twists on staple desserts, Skubiszewski said. She describes many of her items has having a southern and nostalgic spin. Executive Pastry Chef Sara Bartyzel aims to bring in more flavors she doesn’t typically see in the suburbs and create fusions of different cultures like Black Forest tres leches. A must-have are high-quality and sustainable ingredients in everything they bake.

“If you’re going to indulge, indulge at least with local and high-quality ingredients,” Skubiszewski said.

Skubiszewski came up with the name Black Market Bakery because she found herself baking overnight and all over Crystal Lake, renting out kitchens at churches and the Dole Mansion.

“It felt like it was black market,” she said. “I was here in Crystal Lake at 3 a.m. making cinnamon rolls.”

In a corner of the shop, is a shelf filled with local favorites from neighboring businesses like Conscious Cup coffee grounds, Algonquin’s Cucina Bella sauce that pairs perfectly with the bakery’s focaccia, Cafe Olympic’s Chef John’s breakfast potato seasoning, cutting boards from Reclaimed and local honey from Marengo.

The small business received a $10,000 grant from the City of Crystal Lake to renovate the previous office space into a bakery. The city’s Retailer Facade and Commercial Tenant Improvement grant provides 50/50 matching funds.

Black Market Bakery is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

Burrito Parrilla Mexicana

The long-shuttered Burger King at 855 E. Terra Cotta Ave. will become a Burrito Parrilla Mexicana restaurant with a drive-through window and a sitdown area.

Described as “authentic, freshly made-to-order Mexican food,” the fast-casual restaurant aims for a balance of fast food-style convenience with the authenticity of a Mexican-inspired menu, owner and co-founder Manny Favela said. Burrito Parrilla features staple items like burritos, tacos and tortas that can be made with plenty of protein options including skirt steak, chorizo, carnitas and al pastor.

Favela and his team are currently renovating the Burger King building after receiving a $10,000 grant from the city of Crystal Lake earlier this year. He plans to open the Crystal Lake location by the end of this year or early next year, as he is simultaneously working on opening another location in Plainfield.

There are 10 other Burrito Parrilla stores in the Chicago suburbs, including one in Algonquin. The restaurant plans to bring in an estimated $1.8 to 2.1 million in annual sales, according to city documents.

Poke West

Coming Aug. 1 is Poke West, located at 5150 Northwest Highway, Suite 6, neighboring Rosie’s Gluten Free Sweets and Double Take Consignment.

Owner Song Chen is also listed as a franchise owner of multiple Poke Bros. locations in the area. He said that Poke West will be the same as Poke Bros., just under a different name. Poke Bros. is a national chain that started in 2016 and has over 20 locations in Illinois.

This will be the third Poke West location, with others in Elgin and Libertyville. There are Poke Bros. currently in McHenry and Lake in the Hills.

Poke is a Hawaiian-inspired dish with raw or lightly cooked fish served with vegetables, sauce and rice. The fast-casual restaurant features poke bowls, seaweed salad and mochi ice cream.

Chen also received a $10,000 grant from the city of Crystal Lake to renovate the building unit. The restaurant estimates over $500,000 in annual sales, according to city documents.

Taco Y Tequila

Mexican restaurant Taco and Tequila Bar opened in May at 540 E. Terra Cotta Ave., Unit L, previously home to Chingon Tex-Mex Barbecue.

The restaurant is the second business venture for the owners who also operate La Presa in Mount Prospect, according to city documents.

The restaurant features eat-in dining and a drive-through pick-up window with a wide selection of tacos and tequila, according to its Facebook page.

Hours of operation will be from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, according to city documents.