Jewel to Close Store in Olympia Fields

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Without a change of heart by its corporate parent, Supervalu, the Jewel-Osco at 2500 Lincoln Highway in Olympia Fields will close its Osco pharmacy next week and the supermarket by the end of August. A TCF bank inside the store will stay open until October.

Olympia Fields officials are hoping – against hope probably – that the decision could be rescinded now that ownership of the retail plaza has changed hands and its new owners may be willing to make favorable changes in its lease agreement. The village has been in talks with Supervalu for the past two years to upgrade the aging store and has reportedly offered incentives to keep the store in the village.
A news release on Friday said the decision was based in part on poor performance.

The store’s 80 employees are unionized and some may be able to transfer to other Southland Jewel-Osco stores.

Jewel stores are under assault in many areas from stores such as Aldi and Food 4 Less that are far cheaper, which is a consideration given the still iffy economic situation many are facing.

Berkot’s in Lockport
Following up on an earlier item, Mokena-based Berkot’s Foods will be officially opening its new store at 500 Summit Drive in Lockport on July 28.

Chicken Deal at Chick-fil-A
Fans of the chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A have the chance to get free food on Friday at the restaurant at 15605 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park, or any other location for that matter. There is a catch. You have to dress like a cow. Chick-fil-A is making it easy, there’s a website that you can visit to download a cow costume kit at Cow Appreciation Day. The more you dress like a cow the more free food you will get. http://www.cowappreciationday.com/

If that doesn’t appeal to you, the restaurant also is giving away free Chicken Egg & Cheese Bagels from 6-10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 7.

Sonic Opens in Calumet City

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy


Sonic Drive-In fans in the Southeast Suburbs and Northwest Indiana no longer have to travel to Country Club Hills to get their fill of the chain’s hot dogs, burgers and frozen concoctions now that a restaurant has opened at 1299 Torrence Ave. in Calumet City.

The restaurant in the River Oaks Mall parking lot a couple of blocks south of 159th Street is the chain’s third in the Southland – joining Sonic eateries in Country Club Hills and Lockport. Its hours are 6 a.m. to midnight daily.

For information, visit Sonic Drive-In Calumet City.

Stateline Bakery closes
Paul and Joan Steffens have pulled the plug on their Stateline Bakery in Calumet City after decades of making some of the best atomic cakes, pastries and paczki in the Southland. The couple tried for years to sell the business but had no takers so they called it quits as of last June 26. Paul has indicated he will keep busy baking special orders such as wedding cakes but had enough of the daily grind.
Joan said the decision was “bittersweet” after so many years but she’s looking forward to spending more time with her grandchildren.

Sephora opens in Orland
A Sephora beauty salon opened recently inside the J.C. Penney store in Orland Square Mall in Orland Park. The salon is open during store hours, Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Ashley Stewart relocates at Ford City
The Ashley Stewart women’s fashion store has moved into its new digs near Carsons at Ford City Mall in Chicago. Mall hours are Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sarku Japan at Chicago Ridge Mall
Sarku Japan, a quick service teriyaki and sushi restaurant, opened recently in the Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall food court.

Ultimate Exposure closes in Tinley
The Ultimate Exposure tanning salon closed recently at 16650 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park. But a new Ultimate Exposure took over the salon at 17821 S. 80th Avenue in the Tinley Corners shopping center.

Deal of the month: Speedway
Speedway is rolling back gas prices at gas stations it acquired recently from Gas City for holders of the chain’s Speedy Rewards card. Members can save 5 cents per gallon on regular and plus fuels and 10 cents per gallon on premium fuel from July 1-31. Stations include those in Tinley Park, Frankfort, Mokena and New Lenox. For a complete list of stations, visit Speedway July Gas Deal.

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.