Mary’s Market Cafe Bakery - Roscoe

This restaurant is destined to fail. We love the food, but that's where our enjoyment ends. They have consistently struggled since opening, with 90% of our dine-in orders either taking forever or being wrong. A recent example: we ordered and paid for soup at 2:00 on a Thursday, but didn't receive it until 28 minutes later. Despite being the only customers in the establishment, the staff seemed disorganized and confused. Although they apologized, they never offer anything to make up for the mistakes. It's a shame, as we want them to succeed, but unless they improve, they are doomed to fail.

I received a high recommendation for the pastries at this place, so my family and I decided to try it out. The pastries were indeed delicious. However, I am giving it 2 stars because there was no one there to greet us. We had to go and find someone to help us, and this happened not just once but both times we visited today. I suggested to the lady who eventually helped me that they should get a desk bell, to which she giggled and agreed.

SLOWEST SERVICE EVER!!! Called to ask what types of breakfast sandwiches they had and was on hold for over 5 minutes, which would be understandable if they were busy. However, when we got there, it was the OPPOSITE of busy. 1 car in line and NONE in the parking lot. Had to wait at the speaker for over a minute. We wanted two bagel sandwiches (which they confirmed they had on the phone less than 10 minutes ago) only to be told they don't have them. I said we just called and you DO have them. After waiting for over another 2 minutes she informed us they do in fact have them. We ordered and pulled up to the window only to wait another TEN minutes with NO ONE ahead of us. The lady in the car behind us had time to WALK HER DOG. Anyway we got home the bagels were rock hard. Plus it was overpriced asf. Not to mention the first time I went there, there was tinfoil in my wrap lol. 0/10

I finally ate at Mary's Market!! It was delish!! everything was made to perfection, and I just can't say enough of our waitress Erica. She came to check on us with a big smile, refilled our drinks, and let us girls stay to chat for as long as we wanted Thank you Mary's, you are now my Roscoe favorite

Occasionally traveling through Rockford/Roscoe area. Stopped in 2 weeks ago after seeing a banner sign on IL251. In my experience, the best quality food (high Organic content, little or no HFCS, farm to table) is found in a few passionate cafes restaurants in big cities. As one get closer to farm country, which there are still plenty of farms in Roscoe area, the food gets worse. Mary 's Market is an exception. This is a place with passion for quality food. What I like about Mary 's Market in Roscoe, Il. Baked deserts very tasty. They know the importance and art of placing only a hint of delicious frosting on their sweet rolls, just enough to complement instead of overwhelm the dough and fruit. The scones are moist with plenty of chunks of real ingredients (nuts, fruit) Soups served hot in a compostable container. Their turkey club with a colorful assortment of vegetables on whole wheat with been sprouts, a bit of mustard and a slice of Swiss is incredible delicious. Sprouts in farm country? Yes!! 8:30am my request for soup and a sandwich was happily accepted. Bathrooms roomy and low on the chemical fragrance inside with no artificial fragrance outside nor lingering on the senses. How Mary 's Market will earn my 5th star. Market implies an informal gathering for purchase and exchange of items. Driving up to the market it looked sterile. No cars in the front parking lot, no open sign noticed. Just a faint light seen inside. Placing a sandwich board outside will easily indicate the place is open to those hesitating while driving nearby. Listen to customers first, restaurant distributors second. Natural, Real, Hand Made, Gourmet, Artisan, Made from Scratch effectively mean nothing anymore. Skip all these vague feel good catch phrases and go instead with a standard Organic. Something that can be measured. Start with Organic Eggs or at least eggs sourced from a local farm where the hens are treated as gold and honestly given free access to outside area. Then exclaim this on the menu. i.e., we proudly source Organic eggs upon request and/or our eggs are sourced from the following farms: Farm A, Farm B, and when necessary Farm C. Organic Coffee. Up in Madison (60 miles away) and in Milwaukee there are quality local rosters specializing in Organic coffee. Exclaim on the menu, web site, sandwich board that Mary 's proudly serves locally roasted Organic coffee. Guaranteed the restaurant distributors will argue against this. Organic butter packets from say Organic Valley. Make the sourcing of as much Organic content, say 30% of food items to start, to be as much of a passion as the passion for baked breads and deserts. Seeing a standard ketchup packet from Heinz with HFCS and artificial flavors negates the whole real food claim promoted on Mary 's Market 's web page and menu. Seeing a Pepsi cooler with products solidifies any remaining doubt. Mary 's Market is a little more pricier. A feeling of being had should be avoided at all costs. Organic Potatoes. A few GMO products have been approved for human consumption: Corn, Soy, Alfalfa, Potatoes. Big Ag has been successful in hiding GMO products as they do not need to be labeled as such. Real Food does not include GMO 'd products. Source Organic potatoes, or potatoes from a local farm that practices organic farming that may not have gone the Organic certification route. And again, exclaim this on the menu! It is easy to make tasty food, and there are plenty of places for tasty food near Mary 's Market that cost less. Listen to customers first and take the jump to a true higher standard. Mary 's Market is a gem. Sometimes though, a gem needs a little polishing to allow its true worth to be visible.