Bridgeview Life Storage Wins Award

Bridgeview Trustee Claudette Struzik and Life Storage manager Nancy Warrer inspect one of the units.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Life Storage has been selected for the 2011 Best of Bridgeview Award in the Mini & Self Storage category by the U.S. Commerce Association.

The storage facility at 7700 W. 79th St. in Bridgeview is the fourth largest in Illinois, said manager Jeffery Helms. He and co-manager Nancy Warrer received the award on Dec. 21.

The award is presented to companies that have exceptional marketing success in their local community, said the USCA in a release.

The 95,000 square foot facility opened three years ago, said Helms.

“We have more than 1,000 units,” he said. “We have only indoor units with climate controls. We also have truck docks and office suites.”

Helms said the Bridgeview facility is spread out over a larger area than most LifeStorage facilities. “Most of our facilities are vertical, we’re more horizontal,” he said.

The Best of Local Business award program recognizes outstanding businesses across the country, the USCA said.

The USCA is a New York City based organization funded by local businesses to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

For more information, call Life Storage at 708-546-3249 or visit them at http://www.lifestorage.net/.



 

Blissful Banana Cafe Delayed

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A construction issue has pushed back the opening of Blissful Banana Café from this week to mid or late January, said owner Cynthia De Zutter.

The gourmet coffee shop and café will be opening at 15447 S. 94th Avenue in Orland Park.

Arby's closes in Tinley Park.

De Zutter, of Orland Hills, says everything on the menu will be made in-house and good for you.

“We’re steering toward healthy,” she said. “We won’t have any fryers and all of our lunch meats will be nitrate-free.”

De Zutter said the café will feature gourmet coffee, scones, muffins, side salads and a frozen concoction called a Banana Whip.

“We use pure bananas that are whipped into a custard-like soft ice cream,” she said. “Everyone who tries it will love it.”

The café will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Tinley Arby’s Closes

The Arby’s at 6857 W. 159th St. in Tinley Park closed recently.

Pama Has new Home

Pama Hair Studio closed in Frankfort in November but didn’t go out of business. It relocated to 16060 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.

Owner Patricia Okai said the new location is a little smaller than the Frankfort location.

“We have three stylists,” Okai said adding there was room for one more stylist.

For information, call 708-633-1762 or visit their website http://www.pamahairstudio.com/.

Lockport Gets New McDonald's

A McDonald’s restaurant opened recently at 16519 W. 159th St. in Lockport within sight of the Interstate 355 exit.

It’s owned by the same franchisee that owns a second McDonald’s just a few blocks down the street.

The new location is aimed at motorists traveling on I-355, who can get off and back on the highway without paying a toll.

Wedding Cake Deal of the Month

Creative Cakes at 16649 Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park, which supplied the cake for my daughter’s wedding, has a deal for couples getting hitched this year. Book your wedding cake with Creative Cakes this month and they will give you a $50 gift card. For information, call 708-614-9755 or visit their website http://www.realbuttercream.com/.

Dickey’s Barbecue Coming to Orland

Dickey's Barbecue is coming to Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

About the only thing missing from Orland Park’s cornucopia of restaurants is a smokehouse. And that’s about to change.

Brothers John and Joseph Bak hope to open Dickey’s Barbecue Pit the week of Jan. 16 at 15110 S. LaGrange Road, in the former Fatburger space.

“We’re about 98 percent sure we’ll open on that Monday,” said John Bak.

Dickey’s Barbecue started in Dallas in 1941 and has been franchising the brand since 1994.

Bak said the Orland location will be the third Dickey’s in Illinois.

“Dickey’s is known for its slow-smoked meats,” said Bak. “We’ll be offering beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, smoked ham, pork ribs and sausage.”

“My brother discovered Dickey’s when he flew into Dallas while returning from Mexico and loved it. He introduced it to the rest of the family and the rest is history,” said Bak.

The Orland Park location is about 2,600 square feet, said Bak. “We’ll have seating for about 55 at tables and booths.”

The restaurant will have 10 employees besides the brothers, Bak said.

The brothers, who hail from Oak Lawn and Lemont, plan on a second location in Oak Brook once the Orland location is up and running.

The restaurant will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information, call 708-226-3090, fax 708-226-3091, visit http://www.dickeys.com/ or check out their Facebook page.

Piggly Wiggly Buys Piece of Tinley Plaza

Inland Real Estate Corp. recently sold 61,000 square feet of the Park Center Plaza at 16000 S. Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park to Piggly Wiggly Midwest LLC for $3 million.

The space is leased by Eurofresh Market. The rest of the plaza remains the property of Inland Real Estate Corp.

Piggly Wiggly has said it has no intention of taking over the space.

Car Wash Closes

Supreme Car Wash closed recently at 15812 S. Wolf Road in Orland Park. The longtime business has been listed for sale for $500,000 and was foreclosed on earlier this year. The building was constructed in 2002.

Dentist Opens in Tinley

Performance Dental Care, an office operated by Dr. Kevin Fatland, opened recently at 7230 W. 191st St. in Tinley Park in the Brookside Marketplace. For information, call 815-526-0360.