Shop Carpentersville

Over the past year or so, I’ve read — and you probably have too — comments about going to other towns to shop, etc because they can not find what they need in Carpentersville.

To that I say, horse-puckey!

I find plenty of shopping, dining and service options in town.  And, depending on where I am, what I need and/or what I feel like at the moment, I find places all over Carpentersville.

For instance, I regularly shop Woodman’s.  They have just about anything I could imagine wanting in the way of grocery.  On produce, though, the Village Fresh Market can’t be beat.  (Sorry, Woodman’s but your quality just doesn’t cut it.  Of course, if you’re an employee of Woodman’s, let me request that you — as an owner — do something to change that.)

If I have a home improvement project that I need to do, and I know exactly what I want and need, I usually go to Menard’s to get it (I like the prices a bit more than Home Depot).  But, there have been times that I’ve wanted a bit of help with what I needed to do, so I’ve hit Ace Hardware, where I can usually count on a knowledgeable answer, or someone willing to spend a little extra time helping me figure out the answer.

Food is often an easy choice, especially fast food.  Even though “sit down” is harder to find in town these days with Friday’s and Famous Dave’s gone to seemingly greener pastures, there are some options that I occasionally take.

For example, El Molino has to be one of the best authentic Mexican restaurants in the area.  Every time I go, no matter what I order, it’s good.  Village Pizza is great.  Love the onion, green pepper, tomato and fresh garlic!

If I’m in a fast food mood, but want to sit down, I like Culver’s.  And, Garibaldi’s sandwiches are great!  Ooo, and I love that chicken from Popeye’s.

Two newer adds that I think were very welcome:  White Castle and Jamba Juice.  (Scary to put those two together in the same sentence, considering they seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum — but they serve each other, after a slyder, its probably a good idea to detoxify.)

If I am in the mood for pizza, but want it quick, Little Caesar’s usually fits the bill quite nicely, since I can pick up a “hot and ready” pizza; especially if I’m in the neighborhood.   And, there’s Panda Express for a quick lunch bite.

Some of my other favs though have to be Van’s Frozen Custard and Vinnie and Joe’s Cafe.

But, I’ll confess that I don’t do all my shopping and dining in Carpentersville.  Walmart, Target, and some other specialty stores draw me outside.  Kohl’s gets my business, as do other shops in the mall.

Still, there are just too many options available in Carpentersville to believe that anyone is forced to shop for much outside the Village.

I encourage you to help support the town with your sales tax dollars, which could encourage other stores and businesses to locate in town. Make every effort to Shop Carpenterville.

Have I missed any of your favorites places to shop, dine or whatever else?  If so, let me know in the comments.

Monday Grab Bag

A little bit of a grab bag of information today …

First, for those of you wondering about the opening of the Village Fresh Market which was originally looking at a November or December open: It looks like the opening has been delayed as extra work is being done than anticipated, according to Economic Development Director Janice Murphy:

The Village Fresh Market was scheduled to open in December but because more work is being done than originally planned, that opening has been delayed. The owner/developer has not released an opening date but will a month or so before its scheduled opening. It looks beautiful on the outside and inside. It will be a much anticipated event once it opens but well worth the wait!

I agree. The owner/developer has put a lot of time and effort into making this a great looking location that should be a standard that future efforts should seek to meet or exceed. Not to mention a much needed eastside grocery location.

Next … some of the comments this weekend that were also critical of the casino idea requested alternative ideas to be shared. A few ideas I put out there for the Randall Rd corridor that I believe would complement the destination type shopping that has been created up the road in Algonquin are:

How about a comedy club? Restaurants? Dinner-theater? How about a resort-like setting (no water parks, please)?

With all the shopping down the road in Algonquin and Lake in the Hills, perhaps folks would think about coming for a weekend … Friday or Saturday night comedy club or dinner-theater, an evening in a hotel suite followed by a day of shopping or even pampering at a day spa…?

President Sarto chimed in with a few ideas that he had …

I still would like to see an “International Village of Restaurants” located at this prime location. These would be “white tablecloth” style of restaurants and I’d like to see a hotel at this location with banquet rooms and a piano bar with live music, also located at this location could be a live dinner theater and comedy club. Something along the lines of Pheasant Run in St. Charles or Drury Lane in Oak Brook.

[…]

Perhaps a new civic center with a performing arts building? Or perhaps a Cultural Center with an art museum.

Hmmm … obviously not all the ideas may fly, but they certainly seem worth considering; moreso than a casino that would bring no revenue to the Village.

And, finally, there was a comment or two that have tried to make the controversial gun veto/override issue into something it really isn’t: namely, a show of lack of trust in our Police Department. I don’t see this as the case at all.

First of all, this was a decision made by the Board, brought before it by the Police Department. There were two options the Board could have taken: 1) sell the weapons; or, 2) destroy the weapons. The Police Department seemed open to either option.

When all was said and done, 5 members of the Board — not the Police Dept — decided to put these weapons on the street. As was pointed out in editorials and letters to both the Daily Herald and the Courier-News this weekend, public safety was put at risk for the sake of politics.

There is still time for them to correct this mistake. Let’s hope they do it.