Mokena White Castle to Reopen Sunday

A new White Castle opens Sunday on the site of the previous White Castle in Mokena.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Slider fans in the Mokena area who have been without a local White Castle since the location at 191st Street and LaGrange Road was demolished earlier this year take heart, the newly constructed replacement White Castle will open in the same location at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 3.

The new White Castle has the same design as one that opened last year on U.S. 30 in New Lenox, said Bill Thompson, regional director of restaurant operations for White Castle.

“Mokena will have a little bigger dining room,” he said.

The new eatery sports a drive-up lane with two windows, free Wi-Fi and televisions, Thompson said.

White Castle has been a fixture at the intersection of 191st and LaGrange since the company acquired the building from Hardee’s in 1997. The new building eliminates some problems that existed with the previous building, notably the drive-through lane.

Ohio-based White Castle has been operating in the Chicago area since 1929, and the company is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year.

Cheesecake Factory Eyes Orland Square Mall

California-based Cheesecake Factory, perhaps best known for employing Kaley Cuoco’s character Penny on the hit CBS comedy “Big Bang Theory,” plans to locate in Orland Square Mall later this year.

The plan calls for the Cheesecake Factory to move into the Jos. A Bank location and for the menswear retailer to move into the former Ruby Tuesday location. It would be the food chain’s first location in the Southland.

The Cheesecake Factory will be about 11,000 square feet when it opens this fall or winter.

GSU Offers Business Workshop

CenterPoint at Governors State University is sponsoring a series of Starting a Business in Illinois workshops in June for Chicago Southland residents.

The free workshops focus on personal, financial, and legal aspects of starting a business. Participants will learn what steps to take and what resources are available to assist new business owners succeed in today’s challenging economic climate.

A workshop will be presented Tuesday, June 5, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Palos Heights Public Library, 12501 S. 71st Avenue, Palos Heights. Dan McAllister, Regional Representative for GSU CenterPoint, will present the program.

For more information, contact CenterPoint at 708-534-4927 or http://www.centerpointgsu.com/.

Share Your Soles Needs New Home

Alsip-based Share Your Soles Foundation, a non-profit organization that has been bringing shoes to desperately impoverished people throughout the world for the past 12 years, has to vacate its warehouse by the end of June and is looking for a new home.

Founder Mona Purdy is looking for a vacant warehouse that the group can use. You can contact her at 708-448-4469 or via email at info@shareyoursoles.org.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.

You can also catch up on Comings & Goings in other parts of the Southland at http://www.southlandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/.