Jersey Mike's Sub Shop to Open Wednesday in Orland Park

Jersey Mike's will open Wednesday in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Lisa Furleigh and Mac Shimmon are well versed in the restaurant business. Between them they have more than 60 years of experience and have toiled for several food companies including Dunkin’ Donuts, Wendy’s and, for Shimmon, a stint with the Whataburger chain in the Southwest U.S.

Once they decided it was time to open their own restaurant, they said it was an easy choice to hook up with Jersey Mike’s subs.

They will open a store on Wednesday at 15625 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park. It will be the 21st Jersey Mike’s in the Chicago-area, with plans to open 28 by year's end. The chain’s first store in northern Illinois opened in Vernon Hills in 2009. A location opened last fall in Tinley Park.

Shimmon said he was particularly impressed by Jersey Mike’s corporate philosophy of giving back to the community.

“That reminded me of the way Dave Thomas ran Wendy’s. His philosophy always was ‘We need to be giving back to the community.’ And that’s the same philosophy as Jersey Mike’s.”

Toward that end, Shimmon and Furleigh are hosting grand opening fundraisers for both Andrew and Sandburg high school as well as the Greater Illinois Chapter of the National MS Society.

“If you come in and make a donation of at least $1, you get a free sandwich,” said Furleigh. “We are having two weeks of grand opening fundraisers instead of the usual one week.”

Besides the MS Society, the Orland Jersey Mike’s will be raising money for Sandburg High School and the Sandburg Music Boosters to help pay the band’s way to Hawaii in December for the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

After that fundraiser is over, the restaurant will raise money for the Andrew High School Parent Faculty Student Organization and the Andrew Music Boosters.

Furleigh said one aspect that attracted her to Jersey Mike’s was the quality of the food.
“It’s as good as what you get at home,” she said. “Everything is cooked in the store. It’s all fresh. And it tells in the sandwiches that we sell. You can taste the difference.”

She also said a New Jersey native talked her into adding something called Tasty Kakes to the menu.

“She said we weren’t a Jersey restaurant if we didn’t have Tasty Kakes,” said Furleigh with a laugh. “They are comparable to Hostess.”

Furleigh said she and Shimmon have a deal to open 10 Jersey Mike’s along LaGrange Road from U.S. 30 in Frankfort to North Avenue in Oak Park. She said their second store is expected to open next spring in Frankfort.

“This store is small (about 1,500 square feet) compared to what we’d like,” she said. The Orland Park store will have 22 employees when it opens.

The Orland Park store will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For information, visit Jersey Mike's Subs or check out their Facebook page at Jersey Mike’s Orland Park.

Performance Bicycle Open in Orland Park

Performance Bicycle is now open in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Performance Bicycle is holding its grand opening this weekend at 15876 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park.

The store in the Lake View Plaza is the chain's sixth in the Chicago area. It has a huge selection of bikes, helmets, shoes, jerseys, shorts and bike parts.

Grand opening specials include the first 100 adults through the door Friday, Saturday and Sunday each receive a free $20 Money Card. Recycle your used bike tubes, get a free $5 money card (up to three tubes). Spin the Prize Wheel until 3 p.m. each day.

Special grand opening hours: Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Regular hours will be Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For information, visit their website at Performance Bicycle.

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/.