‘It just shows a lot of diversity’: New businesses open in Crystal Lake

Places include DIY dog-washing station, smoothie shop inside YMCA

A number of new businesses have opened in Crystal Lake this year, from a personal fitness instructor to a Do-It-Yourself dog-wash station.

“It just shows a lot of diversity,” said Heather Maieritsch, the city’s economic development manager. “It’s definitely nice to see that we continue to have a very diverse small-business base.”

Businesses that have opened this year include:

  • RC Fitness, at 835 S. Virginia Road, Unit J, which offers one-on-one personal training and online personal training
  • Gym Lyfe Supplements, at 129 N. Main St., a vitamin and supplements store
  • ThEvent Space, at 81 N. Williams St., which offers a range of events, such as couples nights, family nights and T-shirt-making, as well as a variety of classes and private events
  • DIY Barkin Bath & Splash Haus, at 450 N. Route 31, Unit 120, which lets pet owners wash their pet at a pet-washing station

Another new establishment opened inside the Sage YMCA at 701 Manor Road. It offers fruit and vegetable smoothies with produce grown on Madoli Farms in Crystal Lake.

These businesses join others – including A-Z Interiors, 33 N. William St., which has home décor accessories, furniture and professional design services, and JC Licht, 73 N. Williams St., a new paint and window treatment store – as establishments that have opened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think we were really excited to see how lively downtown Crystal Lake has been,” Maieritsch said. “We have had some businesses retiring, and so it’s been exciting to see new businesses purchase spaces within the community and open up.”

For new businesses, the pandemic adds a “whole layer of challenges,” Maieritsch said.

“There’s definitely extra safety measures that they need to put in place,” she said.

Despite everything, downtown Crystal Lake has remained a happening place for small businesses, Maieritsch said.

“We’ve been really excited to see how many small businesses and new businesses have still continued to move forward,” she said.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that one of the businesses formerly mentioned is no longer located at the address mentioned in the article.