Millie's Ice Cream Shoppe reopens as Cornerstone Cafe in Oak Lawn

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

It was a sad day when Chad Reno had to close Millie’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shoppe in Oak Lawn after owning the business for about 18 months. Thankfully, the feeling didn’t last long.

Reno said that people immediately asked him to reconsider what was a hard business decision to make. So, he did reconsider and the result is the new Cornerstone Café, which opened on Memorial Day at 5172 W. 95th St.

“Business is slowly building,” Reno, 40, a lifelong Oak Lawn resident said Wednesday. “But so far it’s been good.”

Reno said he and his wife, Pam Reno, made a few changes in the transition from Millie’s to the Cornerstone Café.

“We tweaked the menu,” he said. “We kept the wraps and added a flatbread melt. We also changed ice cream to Sherman’s, which is a premium ice cream from Michigan.”

That wasn’t all that changed. “We dropped waitress service,” Reno said. “Now we have counter service like most sandwich shops. We also added some seating and hope to add more.”

Reno said he hopes to have a grand reopening in the next week or two.

Reno said his summer hours will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call the Cornerstone Café at 708-423-9293. You can also visit their new Facebook page (a visit to Millie’s Facebook page will redirect you to the Café).

Grand Buffet Asian restaurant opens Tuesday in Tinley Park

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Tinley Park will be home to another Asian restaurant when Grand Buffet holds its grand opening tomorrow.

Grand Buffet, 18305 S. LaGrange Road, features Chinese and Japanese cuisine and sushi.

The lunch buffet is available from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and the dinner buffet is served from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. The weekend buffet is served all day Saturday and Sunday. Buffet is available for carryout.

Customers not interested in a buffet can order from the menu.

For more information, call 708-802-8908 or visit http://www.grandbuffettinleypark.com/.

Too Cool opens in OrlandToo Cool, a store that specializes in anime, Hello Kitty and other Japanese merchandise, just opened on the upper level at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park in the former Trade Secret location. The phone number is 708-226-8109.

Dionysos gone fishingNot sure what it means exactly, but the sign in front of Dionysos Greek Tavern at 10700 S. Harlem Ave. in Worth says “closed, gone fishing.” The phone number has been temporarily disconnected. We’ll keep an eye on this one and see if it reopens anytime soon.

Lockport hotdog stand closesFrom a reader, comes a tip that Kim’s Hot Dogs, 914 Garfield St. in Lockport, has closed. The eatery was a Boz Hot Dogs before becoming Kim’s. “It’s a sad, sad day in Lockport,” says the reader who now travels to Jr’s in Orland Park for her dogs.

Deal of the week
Movie fans who rent DVDs at Red Box can get a free rental by using the promo code DVDON ME at checkout. If you rent at a Red Box inside a Walgreen’s, use the promo code DVDATWAG. You can also find out more promo codes at http://www.insideredbox.com/.

Lockport in the NFL: Tony Pashos

Two Lockport natives, Tony Pashos and Eric Steinbach, finally play on the same team. Both are offensive linemen on the Cleveland Browns. Though they both grew up in Lockport, they didn't play football together. Pashos played for Lockport High while Steinbach suited up for Providence Catholic in New Lenox.

Says Pashos today on ClevelandBrowns.com, about joining the team this season: “I was really happy to be back in the Midwest, close to my family. I enjoyed all the parts of the country that I’ve been in, but growing up out here in the Chicago-area, the Midwest, it feels at home.