Huntley’s Patrick Michael Jewelers comes full circle, occupying space that housed jeweler in 1890s

As fate would have it, Patrick Michael Jewelers in downtown Huntley inhabits a space that began its life as a jewelry store.

However, the Groves family that owns the business, had no idea their store turned the building it occupies back to its previous life.

“We knew we wanted to be on the Square,” Lisa Groves said.

The Patrick Michael building has stood in that location for more than a century, debuting around the 1890s as the Cook building with a sign out front reading, “Drugs and Jewelry.”

Since that beginning, the building has experienced lots of change over the decades. It originally was two stories tall, but Groves said a fire in the 1950s destroyed much of the second floor, which later was removed.

In 2021, when Patrick Michael Jewelers bought the space and opened, the building once again was home to a jeweler.

Though the building has history, the company also has a backstory.

Patrick Michael, Groves’ son, is the third generation of his family to be in this line of work. His grandfather ran a coin and jewelry store in Elgin and his father ran a jewelry business.

Patrick Michael Jewelers opened its store in Huntley Square in December 2021, relocating from a space on Algonquin Road in Algonquin.

“I knew there was a calling for us in Huntley,” Michael said.

Before the jewelry store moved in, the building was painted “battleship gray” and the Groves family gave the space, both indoors and outdoors, an updated look.

“It’s a good vibe,” he said.

The company specializes in custom engagement rings and jewelry.

Michael makes many of the engagement rings himself. They get designed on a computer; then the customer gives their approval before the piece is created.

He added, people sometimes come in the store, unaware of its past life and believe the building is new. He then tells them about the backstory of the space they’re standing in.

“It’s been here for quite some time,” he said.