Hawk Chevy building a new showroom

Hawk Chevrolet in Bridgeview is open while the dealership expands its showroom.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Hawk Chevrolet, which took over the Rizza dealership on Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview a couple of years ago, has started work on major renovations.

Hawk is building a new showroom and a new service lane, which will take about six months to complete.

The dealer will remain open during construction and has opened a temporary showroom on the lot at 8200 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview.

Chick-fil-A now open in Chicago Ridge

Oak Lawn area fans of the chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A won't have to travel to Lombard or Orland Park now that the fifth Chicago-area location of the Georgia-based fast food chain has opened in an outlot at Chicago Ridge Mall at 96th Street and Ridgeland in Chicago Ridge.

The restaurant opened last week and gave out free food for a year to the first 100 fans who camped out in the parking lot at the shopping mall, which is a tradition for the chain that began in 1946 and found its niche in the early 1960s as a staple at Southern shopping malls.

The Chicago Ridge location is owned by Peter Glanville, who hails from South Africa and has been in the United States for about 16 years.

"I love the hustle and bustle of this area," he said. "It's a great business center with remarkable demographics. Where else could you be in a traffic jam at 9 in the morning."

Glanville said the area reminds him of South Africa.

"It's not quite downtown and it's not quite suburban," he said. "It's kind of in between and I find that interesting."

Glanville said his goal was to eventually have his wife and sons work at the business with him.

The restaurant will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. It will be closed on Sundays.

Homewood Super Kmart closing 

Kmart has announced it will be closing its superstore at 17550 Halsted St. in Homewood by Christmas.

The store has about 185 employees and Kmart said they would have the opportunity to apply for positions at other Kmart and Sears stores.

A store liquidation sale began this week.

The store was among a handful of south suburban Super Kmarts that were reported to be for sale or that were looking for store-within-a-store retail partners back in April. Other stores were in Lansing, New Lenox and Tinley Park.

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 follow business happenings at Comings & Goings.