Wu's House opens in Orland Park

Wu's House Japanese Restaurant has opened in Orland Park. (Photo by Bob Bong)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A  new restaurant that caters to fans of Asian cuisine has opened in Orland Park.

Wu's House Japanese Restaurant held its grand opening last month at 16310 S. LaGrange Road complete with a traditional Asian Lion Dance.

"We had lots of festive events and a display cake by Creative Cakes," said General Manager James Aday, who added that all of the desserts at the restaurant are supplied by Creative Cakes in Tinley Park.

Aday said Wu's House offers a wide range of Asian cuisines including sushi, Thai and Thai, but specializes in hibachi cooking.

"All of our hibachi chefs have more than seven years of experience," he said. "They are very good."

Aday said a special offer at Wu's is an all-you-can-eat lunch that includes sushi, sashimi and chef rolls.

The restaurant is in the former Round the Clock restaurant and its owners, who also operate Woow Sushi restaurants in Orland, Frankfort, LaGrange and Algonquin, spent months remodeling the building.

Aday said the new name was chosen to distinguish the fine dining restaurant from the sushi locations.

Wu's House is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Aday said there is no lunch offered on Sundays but the dinner menu is available all day.

The restaurant also has carry out and will deliver within a five-mile radius, for a $3.50 delivery charge.

For information, call 708-737-7357 or visit Wu's House.

Snackville Junction reborn as French/Vietnamese diner

The longtime home of Snackville Junction has come back to life in Evergreen Park.

Gone are the model trains that for about 60 years used to deliver burgers and fries to kids. They have been replaced by a martini bar and a kitchen that specializes in Thai, Vietnamese and French dishes.

ThiThi's opened in July at 9144 S. Kedzie Ave. after giving the building a complete makeover from a burger joint to a fine dining restaurant.

ThiThi's is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Glenn Pniewski, who works for the village of Evergreen Park, said the new owners did a "wonderful job revamping the place." He said that the early reviews had been very favorable.

According to their Facebook page, they do take reservations.

For information, call 708-634-3925 or visit their Facebook page at ThiThi's Restaurant.

Hills Family Drug moves store to Palos Heights

Hills Family Drug, a locally owned chain of pharmacies, has moved one of its stores from Palos Hills to Palos Heights. With the move came a name change from Palos Hills Pharmacy to Palos Drugs.

The chain was founded in 1965 when Phillip Gustarella joined Hickory Hills Pharmacy and quickly became a partner.

He followed that up by starting Forest Hills Pharmacy, a professional pharmacy, in 1976 in a medical building in Justice. In 1985, he partnered with another local pharmacy to open the Palos Hills location.

In 2004, he expanded again with another professional pharmacy, Hills Drug Orland, in a Palos Community Hospital Immediate Care Center in Orland Park.

His daughter, Gia, who followed in her dad's footsteps and became a pharmacist in 1995 now runs the Palos Heights location at 7600 W. College Drive.

"The chain stores are not into personal care or service," Gustarella said as to his success. "I have good rapport with my customers. I probably know 90 percent of them by their first name. We cater to the customer and don't gouge them on the price."

The personal touch includes free delivery. "Free delivery is a big deal for the seniors," he said.

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