Hobby Lobby to Open in Coming Days

The store will be located in the Esplanade of Algonquin Development at Randall Road and Corporate Parkway just south of the Algonquin Commons.

A national arts and craft retailer will be opening soon along Randall Road in Algonquin. A soft opening is slated for Hobby Lobby either Wednesday at noon or at some point Thursday, according to an e-mail response from Marie Filippino, advertising coordinator for Hobby Lobby.  Hobby Lobby does not typically publicize a soft opening in case they are unable to open the store as scheduled due to situations beyond their control, according to Filippino.  The 56,000-square foot stand-alone store will be located just south of the Algonquin Commons in the Esplanade of Algonquin Development. A grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 13 at the store. 

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Regional Thrift Chain to Open Store in Algonquin

Home of Sparrow Nest Thrift Store and Donation Center is expected to open at 775 S. Randall Road in mid-September.

Algonquin wlll get a Home of Sparrow Nest Thrift Store and Donation Center at 775 S. Randall Road, according to the Northwest Herald. The thrift store is expected to open in mid-September.  Items sold at the store are donated and the stores' staff is mostly made up of volunteers, according to the NW Herald.  The regional chain has stores in McHenry, Cary, Woodstock and Palatine.  The Northwest Herald has more on the Home of Sparrow store expected to open in Algonquin. 

LITH Planning Commission to Vote on Plans for Associated Bank on Randall

The bank hopes to move into the old Blockbuster building on Randall Road in Lake in the Hills.

The Lake in the Hills Planning and Zoning commission will review plans Monday for a new bank along Randall Road. Associated Bank is seeking approval to open in the old Blockbuster Video store location just north of the intersection of Randall and Algonquin Roads. The bank is seeking a conditional use permit, which would allow it to add a drive-through to the building, said Dan Olson, director of community development for Lake in the Hills. If the plans are approved, the petition will head next to the village’s Committee of the Whole for review and then to the village board for final approval of the 4,000-square foot bank.  The planning and zoning meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Lake in the Hills Village Hall, 600 Harvest Gate.  …

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Hobby Lobby Along Randall Slated to Open in Fall

Construction of a 56,500-square-foot retail facility just south of the Algonquin Commons in Algonquin is almost done.

Construction is almost complete on the long-awaited Hobby Lobby in Algonquin, with the arts and craft supply retailer aiming for a fall 2012 opening. Hobby Lobby should open in early fall, bringing between 35 and 50 new jobs to Algonquin, according to a Hobby Lobby press release. “We are very excited to be part of yet another new community as we continue to expand in Illinois,” John Schumacher, Hobby Lobby's assistant vice president of advertising, said in a press release. The 56,000-square-foot stand-alone store will be in the Esplanade of Algonquin Development, which is just south of Algonquin Commons at Randall Road and Corporate Parkway in Algonquin. Village Vintner Winery & Brewery recently opened in the development. Hobby Lobby would…

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Amie Schaenzer

1:05 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012

I take it your kids might need a new hobby this summer? :)   more ›

Village Vintner Uncorks Winery, Microbrewery in Algonquin

La Trattoria Marianos also opened at the Algonquin Commons in recent days.

A winery/microbrewery and a quaint Italian restaurant opened in recent days in Algonquin. The Village Vintner Winery and Brewery, which formerly operated solely as a winery along Randall Road in Carpentersville, opened Friday just south of Algonquin Commons at 2380 Esplanade Drive. The “soft opening” was announced at 3 p.m. Friday and the business still “packed the house,” according to Village Vintner’s Facebook page. Steve Boyer, owner of Village Vintner, told the Elgin Courier in January that a drop in production forced him to close the doors of his Carpentersville winery on Dec. 31. Deciding to expand, and to build off an original concept he had for Village Vintner, Boyer moved forward with plans for a restaurant at the Algonquin …

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Village: Keep Conventional Intersection at Randall, Algonquin Roads

Village Board President Ed Plaza says the county’s plans to construct a continuous-flow intersection at Randall and Algonquin roads could turn the village’s shopping district into a "ghost town."

Lake in the Hills Village Board trustees are expected to pass a resolution tonight urging the McHenry County Board to make improvements to a conventional intersection at Algonquin and Randall Roads.  This goes against the plan proposed by county staff for a continuous-flow intersection, or CFI, for the intersection. Staff and board members with the village of Lake in the Hills fear the CFI could drive motorists away from Randall Road businesses in LITH.  Officials with the McHenry County Division of Transportation have also voiced support for a CFI intersection. The Division of Transportation will hold a public hearing from 4 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 24 at H.D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin to allow residents to learn more about the proposed …

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High-Tech Theft Targets Gift Cards

Thieves re-encode gift cards with stolen credit card data on gift cards, spend thousands.

Remember when theft used to happen the old-fashioned way? A thief would get access to someone's bank account or credit card numbers by physically stealing a purse or wallet. While no doubt that type of crime still occurs, advances in technology are giving way to a new breed of criminal activity. It’s called gift card re-encoding and ever since the development of the Randall Road corridor, Algonquin police say they’ve seen this type of crime spread like wildfire. So how exactly does it work? The thief gets access to credit card information by using a card-scanning device that costs as little as $30, Algonquin police Investigative Sgt. Doug Lamz said. That information is then re-encoded onto the magnetic strip of a retailer’s gift card. …

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