Valle's Produce On Road To Recovery, May Reopen Soon: Photos

JOLIET, IL — Eight days after street violence on Joliet's West Jefferson Street resulted in an arson at the Valle's Produce store, 704 W. Jefferson St., the owners and their employees are working hard to get their fire-damaged grocery store back in business.

Thanks to overwhelming support from the Joliet area, the Valle's Produce GoFundMe has now reached 90 percent its lofty goal of raising $30,000.

By 7 p.m. Monday, June 8, the Joliet grocery store's GoFundMe had raised $27,011 thanks to 808 donations. Someone made an anonymous donation of $1,200 Monday.

"A lot of families depend on us," one of the owners told Joliet Patch during a Monday afternoon interview at the store. "We are hoping to see all the customers back soon."

Two members of the business told Joliet Patch's editor that they want to have Valle's Produce ready to reopen within the next three to four weeks. One of the owners said he wanted to be open before July.

The Valle family has made substantial progress during the past week with the massive cleanup efforts.

They had to pitch thousands of pounds of food into a garbage bin because the food could not be sold because of the fire damage. On Monday, workers were cleaning the aisles and the shelves. One people were working on the lighting. The flooring has been removed. Repainting parts of the store is one of this week's key projects.

Valle's Produce has been in Joliet for two years. Besides Joliet residents, the Mexican grocer draws several customers from Rockdale and Crest Hill. A sign on the building lets people know that Valle's offers imported and domestic products, groceries, fresh meats and deli, fruits and vegetables, a Mexican bakery plus authentic Mexican cooking.

The Valle family told Patch that the persons who set their store on fire have not been identified by the Joliet Police Department.

The family said they remain optimistic that police detectives will be able to identify the culprits and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.