Entree Ale House now open in Frankfort

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Ryan Tosh is looking forward to a long run as owner of the Entrée Ale House and Eatery at 695 N. LaGrange Road in Frankfort.

Tosh, 30, who owned Scott Patrick’s Grill and two breakfast restaurants in Crete, opened Entrée on June 24 in the former Kosta’s restaurant. Before that, the building was longtime home to Mary Todd’s Café.

“At first, I was looking to open a new place in Indiana, but nothing caught my eye,” Tosh says. “So, I looked west instead. Found Kosta’s was available and fell in love with the place and bought it.”

Tosh says Entrée is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and features American family dining. The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with the bar staying open until 1 a.m.

Sunday hours at present are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the bar closing at 11 p.m. “We may tweak the Sunday hours,” says Tosh.

The patio is open but Tosh hopes to redevelop it in late summer or early fall.

Entrée also has a room suitable for banquets and private parties. “I’ve booked quite a few parties already,” he says.

Tosh has plans for live bands, karaoke, comedy shows and open mic nights. “We just had a band last week and I plan to bring in Brasago, which was the house band when I owned Scott Patrick’s.”

Also coming are daily breakfast specials and Friday night fish frys. “We’re going to do cod and lake perch with my special breading.”

Tosh says he has carryouts and will deliver catering jobs.

For more information, call Entrée at 815-469-9922 or fax to 815-469-0599.

A website is under construction and will be up soon at http://www.entreefrankfort.com/.

Coming soon
A Spirit Halloween store is set to open in the next month at Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall in Chicago Ridge.

A CVS pharmacy is under construction at College Drive and Southwest Highway in Palos Heights.

Stanley Cup deal
Blackhawks No. 36 Dave Bolland will be signing copies of the 2010 Stanley Cup DVD at the new Meijer store at 15701 S. 71st Court in Orland Park from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

South Holland Motors wins back Dodge franchise in arbitration

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

South Holland Motors won its arbitration against Chrysler last week and will be reinstated as a Dodge dealership.

The dealership, which was founded in 1984 as South Holland Dodge, was forced to change its name when Chrysler stripped the dealership of its Dodge franchise as part of a massive reorganization last year when the automaker told hundreds of dealerships they would lose their Dodge and Chrysler franchises.

“We thought we would win,” says owner Pat Fitzgibbon. “We wanted it back; it shouldn’t have been taken away in the first place.”

Fitzgibbon said he believes he is the first Dodge dealer in the Chicago area to win its arbitration case.

Fitzgibbon said new Dodge models will start showing up on the lot at 113 W. 159th St. in the coming weeks.

Besides winning back its Dodge franchise, South Holland Motors has also added Mitsubishi to its product line.

“We started selling the full line of Mitsubishi products on July 1,” says Fitzgibbon. “We are a full serve Mitsubishi dealership. We have sales, service, parts and a collision center.”

For more information, call 708-333-1060 or visit their website at http://www.southhollandmotors.com/.

Cork and Kerry at the Park
Missed getting this out sooner, but the Cork and Kerry at the Park opened last month at 33rd Street and Princeton Avenue in the former Jimbo's. It's the second location for the longtime Beverly/Mount Greenwood watering hole at 106th Street and Western Avenue. For more information, visit their website at http://www.corkandkerrychicago.com/.
 
Easy Go scoots to Blue Island
Easy Go Motor Scooters made the trek from Chicago's North Side to Blue Island recently and opened a shop at 12832 S. Western Ave. The store is a TN'G dealer, which sells 50cc and 150cc scooters made in China. The store will also service most Asian-brand motor scooters. For more information, call 708-371-5300 or visit their website at http://www.easygoscooters.com/.
 
Deal of the week
IHOP will give you three free meals just by going to Facebook, entering Pancake Revolution and following the links. Anyone who signs up will get a free meal for signing up, another one on their birthday and a third on the first anniversary of their signing up.

Senese's Winery closes in Oak Lawn

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Senese’s Winery, an Oak Lawn restaurant since 1973, and its Barrel of Laughs comedy club, which has been serving up laughs since 1977, closed last week. The phone number has been disconnected and the web site has no listings for acts past July 3.

I’m not sure what prompted the decision, but the reader who tipped me to the closing said he heard one of the owners wanted to retire.


Handbag store closing

It’s Not There Bag is holding a store closing sale at 12707 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Palos Heights. The store will remain open until its inventory is sold. The store carries replicas of designer handbags. The phone number is 708-388-0544.

Midwest Eye Center moves

Midwest Eye Center moved recently from Tinley Park into new digs on the upper floor at 19070 S. Everett Blvd. in Mokena. Midwest is one of the first businesses to move into the complex, which has languished with empty storefronts for years.

Qwest Diagnostics also recently moved into the complex.

Caged In reopens
The ultimate fighting store Caged In reopened Saturday at its new digs at 14478 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park. The store closed several weeks ago at its Tinley Park location. The phone number is 708-444-1703. Its web site is still http://www.cagedin.com/ and it has a Facebook fan page.

Concert deal of the week
Indie rock band Made Avail is playing at 8 p.m. Friday at the Apple Store inside Orland Square Mall. The band promises a full-blown concert.