McHenry County Blog

The new lights seemed to make the inside of Joseph's Market in Crystal Lake brighter.

Staff and owner were tickled pink to be back in business after the old Piggly Wiggly-Eagle Food store succumbed to the a leaky roof during the July storm.

Joseph's Marketplace's Deli looked the same.

Joseph Marketplace had carved a soft spot in consumer hearts in Crystal Lake and beyond.

Co-owner Dominic Presta was obviously pleased his store was re-opened.

As the only locally-operated supermarket in Crystal Lake and the only source of ethnic food, it catered to a broad clientele.

the kitchen prepares meals for the take-out market.

I asked one lady what she missed most and she almost named all the departments:m produce, meat, Deli.   I think she named more.  She added that the place was packed this morning when her mother went shopping.

My favorite is the meals to take home.

Joseph's ribs are my favorite. Note that several selections were sold out when I took this picture.

Ribs are number one.

Sam's Club used to sell frozen Eggplant Parmesan, but doesn't anymore.

Eggplant Parmesan is my number two.

As one leaves the center chek-out lanes, Joseph's has a new sign.

As one leaves the store there is a new sign on the floor.  Not that anyone would forget where they were shopping.

That’s what the new lighted sign at the Crystal Lake Plaza says.

Anyone want to be that Joseph's Market won't be packed when it re-opens Tuesday?

The leak in Joseph's Marketplace's roof.

The damage from the severe summer rain storm has been repaired and the old grocery store is almost ready for to resume business.

Yes, Joseph's had some bananas, but the customers couldn't get in the store to buy them.

Looking at the Crystal Lake Fire Department’s photos, the problem seems to have been a relatively small hole in the roof.

After re-modeling, Joseph's will look like a brand new store.

Water must have poured through it.

Big jacks held up the ceiling.

With a major re-building underway, undoubtedly Joseph’s owners were required to meet new building codes that were not in existence when Eagle Food moved from the south side of the shopping center into new digs at the northwest end of the strip mall.

Registers will probably ring up record sales the day Joseph's re-opens. This is a shot before the deluge.

From the re-modeling experience at our First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, that will not be a minor expense.

Bananas were not the only produce item that had to be given away.

So, I, like others, am waiting for my favorite Joseph’s specialties.

The leaves are gone, but the store is undergoing a rejuvination.

What are they?

Barbecued ribs and eggplant.

= = = = =

Photos are from the Crystal Lake Fire Department.

There were 4 1/2 inches of rain in Crystal Lake on Thursday and Friday.

That’s what a rain gauge on Woodland Drive read.

The drainage area behind the baseball field at the Crystal Lake Park District's Main Beach was flooded almost to capacity after the two-day deluge.

The former marsh behind the baseball field at the Park District’s Main Beach was flooded pretty much to capacity.

Water pretty much covered the triangle near Crystal Lake's Main Beach, as well as covered more of Dole Avenue than the new bike paths.

The triangle park next to Dole Avenue was also flooded.

Joseph's Market was closed for repairs mid-day Saturday.

And the rain was so heavy that Joseph’s Market in the Crystal Lake Plaza was forced to close.

The normally full parking lot at Crystal Lake's most popular grocery store--Joseph's Market--had fire department and service vehicles behind yellow tape Saturday.

One Plaza merchant said that the roof had collapsed, although there was no sign of damage from the parking lot.

And, you can find them here.

There are all sorts of questions, but the home ownership section caught my attention:

• Is U.S. policy too focused on increasing the rate of home ownership?
• Should the unlimited tax deduction for home mortgage interest be capped?
• At what level?
• What would you do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Manzullo wrote a long answer, but this is what popped out:

“Home ownership is a worthy goal because then more people have a stake in their local community. The problem is that if individuals put no down payment and are subject to interest-only loans during the first several years, this type of home ownership is almost no better than renting. These individuals have no “skin in the game” and it provides a huge incentive to walk away from mortgage obligations if the going gets tough.

“That is why I have voted for provisions to increase the minimum down payment requirement to 5 percent and prohibit closing costs from being financed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

“If Habitat for Humanity makes low-income persons put some stake into the homes they build, the same principle should hold true for those seeking a FHA-backed mortgage.”

I had to go get my camera from the car when I saw this baseball cap at Crystal Lake’s Joseph’s Market. (Boy are their ribs and egg plant good!)

It has

on it and that’s what my son calls his grandfather.

I had to go get my camera from the car when I saw this baseball cap at Crystal Lake’s Joseph’s Market. (Boy are their ribs and egg plant good!)

It has

on it and that’s what my son calls his grandfather.

That’s all you see when you look at my plate of ribs from Joseph’s Market.

Just looking at them makes me hungry.

That’s all you see when you look at my plate of ribs from Joseph’s Market.

Just looking at them makes me hungry.

Not squirting at my son protected by a car window this time.

Right in your face.

And, in my car, had I driven just a bit closer.

You’ve seen the

signs, if you have driven around Crystal Lake recently.

But, do you know why the city public works department flushes them?

Take a look at the color of the water right after the flushing begins in the picture on the left.

All you probably see while flushing is occurring is the white water on the right after the rust or whatever is already in the street.

Quite a bit of gunk apparently gets flushed out of the water supply system.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them. These were taken near Auto Zone in front of Joseph’s Market Place.