TigerDirect to close Orland store

TigerDirect is closing its Orland Park store.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Florida-based electronics retailer TigerDirect has announced it will close its Orland Park store in the Orland Park Place plaza as part of a massive restructuring.

The retailer said it would be closing its four Chicago-area stores including Orland, Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Vernon Hills as well as a distribution center next to the Naperville store. The stores are expected to close by May 9, according to layoff notices the company has filed with the state.

The Orland store is a former CompUSA store.

Gordon Brothers Group has been retained to manage the store closing process, which includes inventory sales and real estate. DJM Real Estate, a division of Gordon Brothers Group, has been retained to dispose of 27 TigerDirect stores in the U.S. and Canada. 

Each store has about 40 employees.

The company said it would retain three locations and its online operation would not be affected by the restructuring.

“We appreciate the continued support of our valued customers over the years and hope they take advantage of the significant discounts during these store sales events.  We also encourage our customers to continue to shop tigerdirect.com for future savings and an outstanding assortment of products,” Adam Shaffer, president of TigerDirect Business, said in a release.

Shea's Bakery now open in Tinley Park

Dan Shea has high hopes to continue the baking tradition started decades ago when Hans Zettlmeier  opened a bakery in Tinley Park.

"We do a little bit of everything," said Shea, who along with his wife, Cathy, have been running the bakery at 17016 S. Oak Park Ave. in downtown Tinley Park since taking over in August.

Shea does his baking at night before the shop opens at 5:30 a.m. Then he heads to his day job as an electrician.

"Cathy is there more than I am," he said of his wife and partner, who tends to the day-to-day business of running a bakery despite owning another business, as well.

Shea said they bought the bakery because it was the right deal at the right time. He said they have made a few changes like new items and some tweaking of old items.

"We brought in a baker with 50 years experience to help with the transition," he said. "We expanded the menu and now we're trying to build our cake business."

Some things he left alone.

"We kept all of the employees from when it was Zettlmeier's," he said adding it seems to be paying off.

"A lot of the old customers have been accepting of the changes," he said. "We have had nothing but positive feedback."

The couple live in Green Garden Township with three kids, who sometimes lend a hand at the shop.

"It's a family business," he said.

Shea's Bakery is open from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and from 6 a.m. to noon on Sunday. The bakery is closed on Monday.

For information, call 708- 444-2253 or visit Shea's Bakery on Facebook. He is working on a website.

First Savings of Hegewisch opens branch in Oak Forest

First Savings Bank of Hegewisch has opened a new branch at 4920 W. 159th St. in Oak Forest.

The 3,400-square-foot branch features two drive-up lanes and is adjacent to the community's Metra commuter train station. The building had been home to PNC Bank, which closed in early 2012.

The Oak Forest facility is the bank's 10th full service location. The Chicago-based institution has been expanding its presence in the southwest suburbs and has other branches in Frankfort and Tinley Park.

The bank announced that Holly Bishop would be branch manager of the new Oak Forest office. She had been with the bank’s Tinley Park branch for two years and brings more than 20 years of financial experience to the position.

“This new office will be a convenience for the many of our customers in the area and given this excellent location we look forward to helping many new customers as well,” she said in a release.

First Savings was founded in 1914 in Chicago’s Hegewisch community and remains a locally owned and managed, independent bank.

Lobby hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Drive-up hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The branch is closed on Sunday.

For more information, call the branch at 708-687-5260 or visit First Savings of Hegewisch. 

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