Michele Arana's Plant Store Closes Permanently After Joliet's City Square Can't Help Her Business

JOLIET, IL — Officials at Joliet City Hall have proclaimed over and over how the city's new downtown City Square would generate lots of new foot traffic and spur more retail economic success for the homegrown small businesses located along North Chicago Street.

But on Tuesday morning, Michele Arana took to Facebook and alerted everyone that her plant store, Internode Greenery and Market, is closing for good. Her store was located in the big white building at 81 North Chicago Street.

"With an incredibly heavily heart, I have made the decision to close Internode as you know it. When I opened this little plant shop more than five years ago, I wasn't just opening a business. I was creating a place that felt like home," Arana announced.

"People know me as the 'plant lady' but what they've really given me is purpose ... Many of you have heard me joke that plants don't pay the bills. The truth is, they don't. For nearly three years, our business endured nonstop construction directly outside our front door. What was supposed to be temporary became years of blocked access, torn up streets, detours and uncertainty. It changed customer traffic and created a financial burden that Internode simply couldn't overcome. For three years, I worked midnights at a full-time job while continuing to run the shop, using that income to keep the doors open because I believed this little store was worth fighting for."

Arana's closing announcement went on to explain that "I'd love to fill this post with photos from the past five years about everything we built together, but right now I just can't. My heart is breaking and I'm not ready to look back just yet. So, thank you all for believing in a little plant shop with a big heart."