Smashburger to Open Wednesday in Oak Lawn

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Brace yourselves, Oak Lawn, you are about to get smashed.

Not to worry, though, this smash tastes good and doesn’t leave a mark.

Smashburger will open its fifth Chicago-area gourmet hamburger restaurant on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at 5139 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn.

"We are excited to bring Smashburger to the southern suburbs and thought Oak Lawn was the ideal place to start," said Brian Beers, Regional Director of Operations.

Some lucky residents have already been picked to get an early taste of the Smashburger during an invitation-only sneak peek today. Among them is expected to be Mayor Dave Heilmann, who is scheduled to welcome the restaurant to Oak Lawn with a ceremonial smash of the first burger at 4:30 p.m.

According to its website, the smash is what makes Smashburger unique among the gourmet hamburger restaurants flocking to Chicago in recent years.

Smashburger says everything starts with a meatball of 100 percent Angus beef that is smashed onto a flat grill when ordered. The smash sears the burger and seals in the juices. Burgers are then customized with a variety of extras including traditional items such as cheese and lettuce and some not-so-traditional items such as fried egg and guacamole.

Aside from its title creation, Smashburger also serves an assortment of chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, fries and salads. There are also dishes for vegetarians, including fried pickles and veggie frites (flash-fried asparagus spears, carrot sticks and green beans).

You can get soft drinks, Haagen-Dazs milkshakes as well as beer and wine.

The Oak Lawn store is the fifth in the Chicago area with another five to open later this year. The Denver-based chain has more than 100 stores nationwide, and is looking for more in the Chicago-area.

"We are looking at several locations throughout Chicago, but do not have confirmed locations for 'southern' suburbs," said Beers.

Smashburger has no drive-through but can seat 65 people in its 2,000-square-foot Oak Lawn location. The company calls itself fast casual, which means customers order their food at a counter and their orders are brought to the table. The store will have 30 employees.

One unique aspect to the Oak Lawn store is its sign.

"The sign outside is one of the biggest in the company and can even be seen from airplanes departing from Midway," said Beers.

Smashburger will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Customers can join the Smash Club to get coupons and food deals sent to them via email.

For more information, visit Smashburger of Oak Lawn or check them out on Facebook.

Hibachi Grill now open
The Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet, which bills itself as a Chinese, Japanese and American cuisine eatery, opened recently at 112 Town Center Road in Matteson (in the plaza with Toys R Us and Chuck E. Cheese). The restaurant is open Monday to Saturday for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and dinner from 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Dinner is served all day on Sunday. They even offer buffet to go. The phone number is 708-679-8905.

Today's "blow-out" deal
Frederic Fekkai luxury hair products is offering free "Blow-Outs" to customers from 3-8 p.m. Wednesday and from 1-4 p.m. Thursday at Ulta stores in Lakeview Plaza in Orland Park and Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park. Consumers can have either the Silky Straight or Full Blown Volume. The promotion is their way to celebrate the start of summer. The company recommends you call for an appointment. For information, visit http://www.fekkai.com/ or http://www.ulta.com/.

Berkot’s Moving Into Lockport

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

My sister-in-law was beside herself when the Fairway Finer Foods store closed in Lockport a few weeks ago.She really, really liked their potato salad and brownies.

She should be happy to learn though that the Fairway store (formerly Sterk’s) at 500 Summit Drive is being converted into a Berkot’s Super Foods store.

There’s no timetable for opening the store, but workers are inside the building getting it ready for reopening sometime this summer.

Berkot’s is based in Mokena and has 12 supermarkets throughout northern and eastern Will County.

The chain is well-regarded for its meat department and has some of the best beer prices around.

 For more information, visit their website at Berkot's Super Foods.

As for Fairway, the Dolton-based supermarket chain still has two stores in Dolton and another (former Sterk’s) store in Sauk Village.

Fat Jonnie’s Daughter closes
The Fat Jonnie’s Daughter hot dog stand closed recently at 9432 W. 191st St. in Mokena. 

Puppy Shop closes in Palos
The Puppy Shop, which opened in December at 12226 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights, has closed already. Owner Abraham Ronces said problems with permits and unexpected problems with the store’s water heater would have been too costly to repair. The store sold puppies and offered grooming services, and Ronces had ambitious plans for the future. He still sells puppies and offers grooming from his original store in Berwyn.

Deal of the week: Free pizza at Speedway
Speedway gas stations that serve fresh pizza (and not all of them do) will be giving away a free slice from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, May 27. Limit of one slice to a customer.

Aldi to open Friday in Chicago Ridge

By Bob Bong

Southland Savvy

The Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall Aldi store is holding its grand opening at 10 a.m. Friday.

Grand opening events include the chance to win groceries for an entire year, the chance to win tickets to see Glee Live on Stage, and $10 gift certificates for every $100 you spend at your favorite mall stores all weekend. Just bring your receipts dated May 20-22 to the Concierge Center.

The Radio Disney AM 1300 Road Crew will be on hand beginning at noon Saturday. Live entertainment will be going on from noon to 4 p.m. all three days including live music, face painting and balloon artists.

The idea of a grocery store in a mall may seem new to younger generations but Jewel supermarkets were original tenants of both Ford City shopping center on the Southwest Side and River Oaks Mall in Calumet City when they both opened in the mid-1960s; though both left within a few years.

For more information, visit their website at http://www.aldifoods.com/ or click here.

Simply Smokin’ closes
Simply Smokin, the latest restaurant to try its luck at 10211 W. Lincoln Highway in Frankfort, is closed, the apparent victim of an eviction.

Frankfort police told the Frankfort Station newspaper that the owners of the restaurant were evicted a couple of weeks ago. The story indicated the restaurant’s furnishings were strewn about in front of the restaurant, which would be consistent with an eviction.

Funny thing is, when the restaurant opened last summer, the Daily Southtown reported that its operators were longtime owners of the property.

Another funny thing is that the property is listed for sale with a couple of local real estate companies. The asking price is $1.3 million and all of the listings say the owner is retiring.

The string of failures there is puzzling considering all of the traffic that Lincoln Highway gets.

Gas City stations are now Speedways
The 17 Gas City stations bought by Speedway at the bankruptcy auction last month were rebranded last week. Hope you used your Gold Card rewards because they didn’t carry over to Speedway’s Speedy Rewards program. There were 4 stations in Frankfort, 3 in Homer Glen, 2 in Mokena, 2 in New Lenox and single stores in Tinley Park, Shorewood, Oswego, Naperville, Romeoville and Darien. It doesn’t appear the new Speedways will carry E85 fuel. For more information, visit their website at http://www.speedway.com/.

Golden Rose opening at Chicago Ridge
Another store opening at Chicago Ridge Mall on Friday is Golden Rose USA cosmetics. The store will be across the way from Aldi. For more information, visit their website at http://www.goldenroseusa.com/ or visit their Facebook page.

Deal of the day
If you like buffets, here’s a deal. Go to Old Country Buffet’s Facebook page and click the “Like” button. You will be able to print a coupon good for one free dinner buffet with the purchase of another dinner buffet and a beverage. The coupon is good through Wednesday night.