Illinois Racing Board to Consider Trackside OTB for Orland Hills

An OTB is proposed for the former Hertz dealership at 9201 W. 159th St. in Orland Hills.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The Illinois Racing Board is expected to approve next week a license for Arlington Park to open an off-track betting parlor at 9201 W. 159th St. in Orland Hills.

“The site totally fits the parameters for an OTB license by the Illinois Racing Board,” said Orland Hills Village Administrator John Daly. “I don’t see how the license couldn’t be approved.”

Orland Hills has been talking about placing an OTB in the village for the past decade.

“We have long embraced the opportunity for an OTB to offset the need to increase property taxes,” said Daly.

If approved, the Trackside OTB would be located in the former Hertz lot on 159th Street. The building would be remodeled into a pub and grill operated by Sam LaRocco, who operates an Arlington Park Trackside OTB inside his Fat Sam’s location in Lockport.

“We plan to keep it similar to Lockport,” LaRocco said. “We’ll have a few more TVs for the horses.”

The Orland Hills location would be slightly smaller than the Lockport Fat Sam’s.

As for the Orland Park Fat Sam’s, which is only a few blocks west of the 159th Street site?

“The Orland Park Fat Sam’s isn’t going anywhere,” LaRocco said. “The new place will have a kitchen and draw an older crowd than Fat Sam’s with its dancing and beer garden.”

LaRocco said he’s thinking of calling the new venture Triple Crown, a horseracing term that refers to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

LaRocco said once the license is approved he will hit the ground running to get the establishment open.

“I’d like to be open for the Super Bowl, but I don’t think we could get it done that fast,” he said. The Super Bowl will be played the first week of February next year.

The closest OTB to Orland Hills is one operated by Inter-Track Partners – owned by the Hawthorne, Maywood and Balmoral horse tracks – at Stoney Point Grille in Mokena. Inter-Track also operates an OTB in Crestwood.

An OTB in Tinley Park left town a couple of years ago when Bud’s sports bar pulled up stakes and relocated to a western suburb.

The Illinois Racing Board will consider Arlington’s application on Dec. 20. Daly said he would attend the meeting.

Fudgi Island Cookies Crumbles
The Fudgi Island Cookie Co. closed recently at 17133 S. 88th Avenue in Tinley Park. The sweet shop opened in October 2009 and sold ice cream as well as its unique Fudgi Island cookies. The phone number has been disconnected and its website has been taken down.

In fact, the Chase Commons Retail Center where Fudgi Island was located is completely empty, a rarity even in these tough times.

Sears Outlet to Open Friday
The new Sears Outlet store is expected to open at 9 a.m. Friday at 16040 S. Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park. The 24,000 square foot store is in the former Bally Fitness center. The store will carry its usual line of discontinued, used, scratched and dented merchandise as well as new merchandise.
Hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

The phone number is 708-429-9428.

Marquette Bank Names Manager
Barbara Langnes has recently been named manager of Marquette Bank’s two Orland Park locations, 9612 W. 143rd St. and 9533 W. 143rd St.

Tinley Chamber, Mainstreet Association Holiday PartyThe Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce and Oak Park Avenue Mainstreet Association are co-hosting a holiday party on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 6-11 p.m. at VFW Post 2791, 17147 S. Oak Park Ave.

Cost is $30 per person for a five-hour open bar, dinner buffet and entertainment.

RSVP by today to info@tinleychamber.org or 708-532-5700.

Call One Grand OpeningCall One will celebrate the opening of its new office at 11524 W. 183rd St. in Orland Park with a ribbon cutting at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Tinley Park Seeks Vendor for 80th Avenue Train Station Café

Artist's rendering of the new Tinley Park Metra station on 80th Avenue.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Tinley Park is seeking proposals from vendors interested in operating the café that will open in the 80th Avenue Metra train station after construction winds up early next year.

The new station is expected to open in mid-February and will be one of the busiest on Metra’s Rock Island line. Its café will serve an estimated 2,400 daily commuters along with nearby residents and visitors, according to the village.A look at new businesses coming into town and a fond farewell to those that have, for whatever reason, called it quits.

According to the village, the station will feature a clock tower, full kitchen and Internet cafe, a great hall, a covered drop-off area and veranda, interior booth seating, two restrooms and a fireplace.
A second phase of construction, to be completed next summer, will feature reconfigured parking stalls, native landscaping and a pedestrian underpass.

Interested parties can register at the village’s new website http://www.tinleypark.org/ or pick up a copy of the Request for Proposal at Village Hall, 16250 S. Oak Park Ave. For information, call marketing director Donna Framke at 708-444-5045.

The deadline to submit a proposal is 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 30.

Yana’s Café Closed

Not sure when it actually closed its doors, but Yana’s Café recently shut down at 8005 W. 183rd St. in Tinley Park’s Plaza of Tinley Crossings shopping center. The restaurant’s sign is still up at entrances to the plaza but its signage has been taken off of the building, and its phone number has been disconnected and its website has been taken down. The eatery had been operated by new owners since August 2010.

Rand’s Hallmark Closes

The Rand’s Hallmark store closed recently at 16030 S. Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park, though Charter Fitness (formerly Cardinal Fitness) recently opened in the space next door after moving from Oak Park Avenue.

Making Spirits Bright Campaign

Homewood Disposal is conducting its sixth annual Making Spirits Bright campaign food drive for Together We Cope in Tinley Park.

The campaign runs through Dec. 9 and non-perishable food items can be dropped off at the following three locations:

• Homewood Disposal, 1501 W. 175th St., Homewood, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Star Disposal, 30 South St., Park Forest, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• NuWay/Heartland Disposal, 17726 S. Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Odyssey Fun World Plans to Light Up for Christmas

The light show at Ni Miele's house last Christmas.


By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Odyssey Fun World in Tinley Park wants to shed light on Christmas this year. Sorry, make that, shed 100,000 lights on the holiday.

The arcade is putting together a light show on the side of its building that will start at 6 p.m. tonight and last through the first week of January.

“We hope it will be the first Christmas lights display for many years to come,” said Clint Paraday, general manager of the family arcade at Oak Park and Harlem avenues.

The lights will twinkle and dance to music as part of a light show designed by Nic Miele, who has been putting on light shows at his home in Batavia for the past three years.

The arcade will remain open as usual when the light show is on and the show will run even on nights the arcade is closed, Paraday said.

“The show will start out about 15 minutes long,” said Miele. “But it will get longer through the season as we add more songs.”

“The lights will move to Christmas music as well as some top 40,” said Miele. “Each song takes about eight hours to program into the computer.”

Paraday said people will be able to stop and watch the show and listen to music on outdoor speakers or tune in to 87.9 FM and listen to the music on the radio.

“There will be LED bars that will display messages, show the lyrics of songs playing and broadcast videos,” said Miele.

The lights are the same kind that you would put on your house, said Paraday.

“We got them at a nice discount from Lowe’s in Orland Park,” said Paraday.

The lights and music are controlled by computers.

“We came out with a big Halloween display,” said Paraday, referring to Odyssey’s recent Fun Farm and Corn Maize. “We decided to do something big for Christmas. Nobody else around here does anything like this. We hope everyone enjoys it.”