Joliet's 1st Filipino Market Opens: 'It's Doing Good'

JOLIET, IL ? Joliet takes pride in being known as a diverse community, and now the city is home to its first Filipino grocery store.

Nerissa Maranan opened her Mabuhay Filipino Market in March at 1107 West Jefferson St. She's on the first level of the two-story brick building next to the Sooper Lube auto shop. She has a large parking lot on the east side of her building.

Mabuhay Filipino Market has two coolers stocked with frozen meats, ice cream and fish. The grocery aisles carry lots of products from the Philippines including noodles and rice. There's also Filipino coffees, banana sauce, sardines, chips, spring roll wraps, soy sauce, coconut juice and an assortment of teas and bubble teas.

One of the signs taped to a frozen food cooler alerts customers to the tilapia, whole squid in a small bag and the whole squid in a big bag. There's also pork belly, mackerel, pork blood, beef bile, beef blood, shrimp and banana leaves.

Maranan told Joliet Patch during last week's interview that she is from the Philippines, and she lives in New Lenox. She said her new Joliet grocery store is attracting customers from Lockport, New Lenox, Bourbonnais and Kankakee. Closer to home, many of her shoppers live in Joliet, Shorewood and Romeoville, she said.

Her main goal was to bring Joliet its first Filipino grocery store.

"It's doing good," she said. "It's getting better every month, and we've got repeat customers, so that's a good thing."

Why did she pick Joliet?

"It's close to me and I know there's nothing like it here," she said.

Maranan said she hopes the Mabuhay Filipino Market is known for offering a variety of products notably its meat, fish and "frozen pork belly."

Mabuhay Filipano Market can also wire money, and she can also make customized T-shirts.

"I used to have a T-shirt shop in Frankfort," she said.

According to the Mabuhay Filipino Market website: "We started this business after our family owned a grocery store in the Philippines. After moving to the United States, we wanted to bring that family culture with us. We're looking forward to growing our business to add locations and continue to serve customers in Joliet and the surrounding areas."

Mabuhay is open every day on Joliet's west side. Its hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Delivery is available by calling 815-630-5183.

On Friday and Saturday nights only, Mabuhay features a small karaoke night. The event typically draws 10 to a dozen people, she said.

To learn more, visit the website for the Mabuhay Filipino Market.