4 Southland Blockbuster Stores Closing

Blockbusters stores in Tinley Park, Frankfort, Hickory Hills and Lansing are closing.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The Blockbuster stores in Tinley Park, Hickory Hills, Lansing and Frankfort are closing as part of a new round of closings for the video chain since the retailer was acquired last summer by Dish Network Corp.

Area stores that will remain open – at least for now – include locations in Evergreen Park, Merrionette Park, Homer Glen and Lockport.

Dish, which acquired thousands of Blockbuster locations in July for $320 million, plans to add some kind of Dish customer service desk in the stores it keeps open.

Blockbuster rental kiosks are expected to be unaffected by the closings.

All four stores have begun going out of business sales. The Tinley, Hickory Hills and Lansing locations will close by Feb. 19 unless they run out of inventory before that. The Frankfort store is scheduled to close by March 18.

There are signs up saying the stores are moving, but that is a marketing ploy as the signs say the stores are moving online. A clerk at the Tinley store said it best, “We’re closing.”

Dickey’s Barbecue to Open Wednesday
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, a Texas-style smokehouse, will open at 11 a.m. Wednesday at 15110 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park.

The first 100 customers on Wednesday will each receive a free pulled pork sandwich. or check out their Facebook page.

Pizza King Deal at Ed n Joe’s
In honor of owner Pizza King Michael Clark’s birthday, Ed n Joe’s, 17332 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park, will give customers 50 percent off of their first pizza on Tuesday, Jan. 17. The offer is good for lunch or dinner and is available for dine-in, take-out and delivery orders.

The restaurant also is holding a Facebook promotion from Jan. 17-29. Anyone who "likes" Dickey's will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card.

For more information, call 708-226-3090, fax 708-226-3091, visit http://www.dickeys.com/

Carm’s Beef Opens in Tinley Park

Carm's Beef opened this week in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Carm’s Beef, a new Italian restaurant with a rich history, has opened at 17801 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.

The original Carm’s was opened in 1947 by owner Mick Nebren’s grandmother at Cicero Avenue and what would become the Eisenhower Expressway. A second store followed in Berwyn and then a store was located in Hillside for more than three decades.

“I left the restaurant business for a while to be a Realtor,” said Nebren. “But I decided it was time to bring back Carm’s Beef.”

The restaurant that also features pizza, hamburgers, Italian sausage, subs, deli sandwiches and all kinds of salads opened Jan. 9, said Nebren who owns Carm’s with his wife Judy. Both hail from Plainfield.

“If you remember my grandmother’s place, that’s the kind of food we’ll have,” said Nebren who added that lots of people have been calling to ask if the new place is related to grandma’s original Carm’s.

A special of the house will be 99-cent hotdogs every Saturday. No limit.

“We have a special blend of hotdogs served Chicago-style,” said Nebren.

Hours will be Monday to Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Nebren said a website and Facebook page are in the works.

For information, call 708-444-4272.

Grand Reopening for Velocity Sports
Velocity Sports Performance of Tinley Park will hold is grand reopening Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 7700 Graphics Drive.

The athletic training facility closed last fall when its original owners went bankrupt. New owners Mike and Cindy See stepped in and reopened late last year.

Special guest on Saturday will be former NFL star Chuck Thomas of the San Francisco 49ers who will visit with guests and sign autographs.

For information, call 708.444.3278 or visit their website at http://www.velocitysp.com/tinleypark.

Brown’s Chicken Closes in Orland
Brown’s Chicken served its last wings last week when the restaurant closed at 14450 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park.

A company spokeswoman told the Orland Park Patch that the restaurant lost its lease. “Right now, there are no plans to reopen Brown’s at that location,” said Jennifer Gordon.

The building and business had been listed for sale for $929,000 for months on various real estate and commercial property websites.

Payless Shoes Closing in Markham
The Payless ShoeSource store at 2959 W. 159th St. will close on Monday, though the store has almost depleted its inventory.

The store is one of 475 underperforming locations the retailer announced in August it would be closing.

A Payless store in Chicago Heights also is closing, and a store on Harlem Avenue in Orland Park closed some time ago.

Dunkin’ Donuts to Open 500th Chicago Area Shop in Mount Greenwood

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Dunkin’ Donuts will open its 500th Chicago-area shop at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 3206 W. 111th St. in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community.

As part of the celebration, the first 500 customers will get a Dunkin’ Donuts travel mug and a $2 gift card. The chain is also collecting food from 8 a.m. to noon for FeedChicago.org. Anyone who makes a cash or food donation will get a coupon good for a free doughnut. Dunkin’ Donuts will make a $2,000 presentation to the organization.

There also will be a raffle for a chance to win a $100 gift card, Bulls and Blackhawk tickets and a Pepsi bike and helmet.

On hand for the celebration starting at 11 a.m. will be Benny the Bull, the Luvabulls, Bulls broadcasters Bill Wennington and Chuck Swirsky, B96 personalities J, Julian and Showbiz Shelly and Ald. Matthew O’Shea.

The shop is owned by Sam Savani.

Game Time, Carmen’s Close in Palos Heights
Game Time Sports Grill & Pub closed recently at 6405 W. 127th St. in Palos Heights. The 5,400-square-foot building and business has been listed for sale for months at prices ranging from $3.1 million to $399,000.

Also closing recently in Palos Heights was Carmen’s Jazz Bistro at 7210 W. College Dr. The bistro’s website and Facebook page are still active but the phone number has been disconnected and the bistro is not included on the Palos Heights list of businesses.

There is a new business in town as a Cricket Wireless cell phone store opened recently at 7202 W. 119th St.

Shoes Walking Out of Chicago Heights
The Payless Shoe Source is holding a store closing sale at its 321 W. Lincoln Highway location in Chicago Heights. The company has already deleted the store from its website.

Beggars Opens in Bourbonnais
The newest Beggars Pizza opened this week at 165 S. Main St. in Bourbonnais. The restaurant features a dining room, delivery and free wi-fi.

Hours are Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sundays from noon to 10 p.m.

The phone number is 815-937-9999.