Demon Dawgs opens in Alsip

Demon Dawgs is now open in the former Frosted Mug drive-in at 11541 S. Pulaski Road in Alsip.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Demon Dawgs, a new fast-food restaurant, opened Friday at 11541 S. Pulaski Road in Alsip in the former Frosted Mug drive-in.

Owner Rusty Findlay, who was an original partner in the popular Devil Dawgs hot dog stand on Chicago's North Side, opened after six months of remodeling the former Frosted Mug.

"We won't have carhop service," Findlay said. "But we have 60 seats inside and another 60 outside along with a drive-through."

Findlay said he hired 22 people as cooks and servers.

Findlay said the menu will include hot dogs, hamburgers, sliders, sausage and wings along with fresh-cut french fries.

Findlay, who has been in the restaurant business since 1989, said he picked the former drive-in because "it was the best location I could find."

He might be on to something. His Facebook page said the eatery ran out of food and had people waiting in line for up to 45 minutes for the grand opening.

The restaurant will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the drive-through staying open until 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Italio to open Tuesday in Orland Park

Italio, a fast-casual Italian restaurant chain based in Florida, is opening its first location outside of the Sunshine State in Orland Park this week.

The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will open at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 15139 S. LaGrange Road in the Orland Park Place mall, in the former Cosi restaurant.

Guests all day Tuesday will receive free food -- either a crisp salad bowl, a heaping pasta bowl or a one-of-a-kind piadina, a kind of Italian-style wrap. All three entrees are customizable with toppings and extras.

The restaurant features family-style communal tables, a patio and serves beer and wine.

The restaurant will be open from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily in Orland Park.

For information, call 708-403-5555, visit www.ItalioKitchen.com.

No local Penney stores to close

Whether J.C. Penney will still be in business a year from now is a hot topic again now that the troubled retailer has announced that it is closing 33 "underperforming" stores and cutting 2,000 jobs as part of its turnaround efforts.

The Orland Park and Mokena stores were not included among the list of locations scheduled to close, but stores in Bloomingdale and Forsyth in Illinois were on the list.

The closures and job cuts are expected to save the company about $65 million a year.

Sears to close Downtown store

Sears Holdings Corp. is closing its downtown Chicago flagship outlet in April, which will leave the retailer with three stores in the city.

The store has begun holding a closing sale.

Sears Holdings has closed about 300 U.S. stores since 2010. The company has about 2,000 Sears and Kmart locations in the United States.

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 www.southlandbusinessnews.com.