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Underground Des Plaines is series of stories about people doing interesting, unusual and extraordinary things you may not have known about.It may come as a surprise that one of the hidden gems in Des Plaines is a public park, but that is the case according to representatives of the Friendship Park Conservatory, 395 W. Algonquin Road. The 30-acre park includes lush gardens, a walking and bicycle path, soccer field, playground, greenhouse, atrium, courtyard, rental facility and more. Jacki Ley, center director, said many people that drive by the park’s sign on Algonquin Road everyday don’t look past that to the conservatory, which is set off south of the main thoroughfare. “A lot of people that have lived here for years don’t even…
Walking along Prairie Avenue near Lee Street in Des Plaines, by the little strip mall that includes Prairie Lee Print and Frame, an Allstate Agency and salon, there is a storefront with the windows completely covered by black shades. There is only one small indication on the outside of what wonderful things are created on the inside — a colorful logo on the shaded door that reads, M Square Sushi and Japanese Catering. Kazutomo “Tom” Osaki said he founded M Square, 1405 Prairie Ave., with his wife, Miyako Matsubara in 1999 in a small location on the north side of Chicago with about four or …
Underground Des Plaines is a new series of stories about people doing interesting, unusual and extraordinary things you may not have known about. Making a bit of a detour from O’Hare Airport where he hunted for fares, Sari Shalakhti pulled his smart-looking, sleek Checker cab up to the fuel pump at 1700 S. Mt. Prospect Road in Des Plaines. At $2.35 per equivalent gallon, it cost Shalakhti just about $22 to fill his tank. Is someone practically giving away gas that most in the area don’t know about? Earlier: Earlier: Church goers share faith, fellowship and ping-pong. It was gas, all right – …
Underground Des Plaines is a new series of stories about people doing interesting, unusual and extraordinary things you may not have known about. Members of a local church congregation speak two different languages, but that hasn’t stopped them from sharing fellowship and growing a tight-knit community. About 50 of the 80 members of the Taiwan Presbyterian Church of Greater Chicago, 530 E. Oakton St., practice their faith in the Taiwanese ministry, and the balance in the English ministry. However, there’s one language they all speak—ping-pong. The church, one of four Taiwan Presbyterian …
