Frankfort, Mokena Kick Off 2012 Farmer’s Market Season

The annual Country Market returns on Sunday to downtown Frankfort.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Fans of farmer’s markets can get an early start on the season this weekend when Mokena and Frankfort bring back their respective outdoor marketplaces.

First up on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. will be the new Mokena Downtown Farmer’s Market, which is replacing the old French Market.

The new Downtown Farmer’s Market is the brainchild of Tony Dina, Charlene Bergman and Barbara Bergman who wanted something new that might help the merchants on Front Street.

The new market has moved out of the Metra parking lot and instead will fill Front Street from Chase Bank east to Mokena Bank, said Dina.

“Hopefully, we will encourage some foot traffic for the businesses on Front Street,” he said. “The French Market didn’t do anything for the merchants. People would park in the lot, visit the market and leave.”

Dina said the idea for the new market came together very quickly and with the village’s blessing, and is being done on a shoestring budget.

Response, so far, has been good, he said.

“We will have more than 15 vendors,” he said Friday. “We’ve had some call up today that want to be here tomorrow.”

“We’ll have two musical entertainment areas, and hope to offer entertainment every weekend,” he said. “Later on, we’ll have demonstrations, like the Fire Department showing how to do CPR.”

He said the Farmer’s Market would set aside space for civic groups such as the Boy Scouts to showcase their group or promote a special event.

Dina sees the market growing, too.

“I know we’ll have some vendors in the crowd checking us out to see if they want to become part of the market,” he said.

Dina said there will be a ribbon-cutting grand opening of the new market in the next couple of weeks with Mayor Joe Werner.

For information on the market, call Dina at 708-525-0733, Charlene Bergman at 708-479-2706 or Barbara Bergman at 708-479-6182. You can also visit the Facebook page for the new Mokena Downtown Merchants Association.

Next up on Sunday will be the return of the Frankfort Country Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Frankfort.

This year’s market has its traditional site in the Breidert Green parking lot as well as additional space for vendors around the corner in a renovated Fra-Milco Cabinet Co. Parking lot. There are also new vendors coming this season.

For a map of the new layout and a list of new vendors, check out this story by Joe Vince, editor at the Frankfort Patch.

Smokin’ in Orland Park

Smokehouse, a restaurant that features burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and like fare, opened three weeks ago at 15020 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park.

Owned by Brian and Mary Yates, Smokehouse also will feature smoked chicken and ribs once some equipment issues have been fixed.

“I think we’ll have smoked chicken and ribs back on the menu by next week,” he said Friday.

Hours for Smokehouse are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The eatery is closed on Sunday.

“I need a day off once in a while,” Yates said with a laugh.

He decided to open the restaurant after retiring from the Evergreen Park Police Department.

Why Orland Park?

“I kinda like it out here,” he said. “The area has a little bit of everything.”

For information, call 708-403-9500.

Tom’s Closing in Homewood

This is the last weekend to enjoy a meal at Tom’s Restaurant at 1944 Ridge Road in Homewood. Longtime owner Tom Kataras is retiring after 65 years in the restaurant business and the eatery will close for the last time at 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 1.

I’d expect long lines as fans of the popular restaurant make a final visit between now and Tuesday.

Bloomin' Again

Every Bloomin’ Thing has reopened at 7648 W. 159th St. in Orland Park after its winter break.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.

You can also catch up on Comings & Goings in other parts of the Southland at www.southlandbusinessnews.blogspot.com.

Book Worm Café Nears First Anniversary in Oak Lawn, Coming to New Lenox

Lisa Abu-Samra and Mohammed Abu-Samra help a customer
at the Book Worm Cafe inside the Oak Lawn Library.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Chef Andy Vaitkus said the hardest part of opening the Book Worm Café in the Oak Lawn Public Library was having to work in such a small space.

“It’s only 550 square feet,” he said. “So, we do a lot of cooking with countertop ovens and convection ovens.”

That restraint hasn’t kept Vaitkus and his partners from making a go of the café, which will celebrate its first anniversary next month.

Vaitkus, who has 12 years of restaurant experience, said business has been great in their first year.

“We’re doing a lot of business,” he said. “But we still get a lot of new customers.”

Book Worm Café has a pretty extensive menu for such a small space. “Everything we make is from scratch,” he said.

The menu, so far, has included deli sandwiches, paninis, mini-pizzas, soups, pastries and brownies, though that’s about to change.

“In another week or so, we’re changing the menu to begin offering healthy choice items, vegetarian dishes, wraps and falafel,” he said.

The business is also expanding.

“We just signed a contract to open a Book Worm Café at the New Lenox Public Library,” Vaitkus said. “It will be opening June 1 and my wife will be running it.”

Vaitkus, his wife Nancy Jensen and sister Lisa Abu-Samra and her husband Mohammed Abu-Samra are partners.

Vaitkus and his sister grew up in Oak Lawn and his sister and her family still live in the village.

The café is located on the library’s first floor near the Raymond Avenue entrance. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m.

The café offers free wireless Internet access.

For information on daily specials, call 708-357-9676.

PNC Branch in Oak Forest Closes

PNC, which was one of the original businesses to locate in Oak Forest’s Gateway development at 159th Street and Cicero Avenue, closed its doors last week. The branch was closed on Friday as PNC moved accounts at that location to its branch at 7151 W. 159th St. in Tinley Park.

Lockport Express Medical Opens

Lockport Express Medical opened an immediate care facility Wednesday at 16427 W. 159th St. in Lockport, just off the Interstate 355 exit.

An open house grand opening will be Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with food, music and giveaways. White Sox mascot Southpaw will pose for pictures from 10-11 a.m. WCCQ DJ Roy Gregory will broadcast live from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be free blood pressure screenings and child car seat inspections by the Lockport Police Department. There also will be drawings for a Kindle Fire, a Day at American Girl Place and two tickets to a White Sox game.

The clinic is open daily and accepts most insurance plans. Staff doctors are Nagui Hanna, an MD who specializes in pediatrics and emergency medicine, and Matthew Glowacki, a DO who specializes in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine.

Clinic hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. No appointments are necessary.

For information, call 815-588-1111 or visit their website or check out their Facebook page.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@chotmail.com.

You can also catch up on Comings & Goings in other parts of the Southland at http://www.southlandbusinessnews.blogspot.com./

Convergence Technologies to Open New Mokena Location

By Bob Bong

Southland Savvy

Convergence Technologies will hold its grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at its new Mokena location at 19112 Blackhawk Parkway.

Convergence, a computer and networking technology company based in Burr Ridge, is celebrating the opening of a new broadband network servicing Mokena, Alsip, Frankfort and Orland Park.

It will eventually offer its new service across the Southland and into northwest Indiana thanks to a $12 million Federal Broadband Stimulus Grant the company received.

The network provides high speed Internet phone service (Voice over IP), payment processing for merchants and cloud technology for residential and business customers.

The company has added 75 new jobs to the Mokena area.

For information on Convergence and its services, call 630-887-1000 or visit its website at http://www.converge-tech.com/.

Orland Square to Open Family Lounge

Orland Square Mall in Orland Park, which first opened in 1976 and is in the midst of a long overdue face-lift, will celebrate the grand opening of its new Family Lounge with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday on the lower level next to Bare Berry Yogurt with activities and refreshments.

The lounge will feature five family restrooms, privacy rooms for mothers who are breastfeeding, bottle warming stations and a family seating area. The lounge also will be adjacent to the children’s playing area.

Other renovations now under way at the Simon Properties mall include new entrances, new signage and resurfacing of the parking lot.

Tinley Aquarium Shop Closes

Capture the Sea, a fish and aquarium shop at 8010 W. 171st St. in Tinley Park, closed recently.

Marquette Bank Offers Life Car, Estate Planning Seminar

Marquette Bank and the law offices of Stephen M. Sutera are partnering to offer a free life care and estate planning seminar at the Oak Lawn Hilton at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 3.

Sutera will answer questions regarding wills, trusts, estate planning and senior life care planning at the seminar entitled, Effective Senior Life Care & Estate Planning Strategies – Understanding Your Options in Today’s Complex World.

Light refreshments will be provided during the event. Anyone interested in attending should register by calling 708-460-5166 as seating will be limited.

CUB to Pay Lucky Someone’s April Electric Bill

The Citizens Utility Board announced on Earth Day that one out of every 10 families who sign up for the consumer group’s free online energy bill-cutting service, CUBenergysaver.com, will have their electric bills paid in the month of April, up to $150.

CUBenergysaver.com was launched in June 2010 as a partnership between CUB and New York City-based Efficiency 2.0. Since then, the tool has helped consumers trim their gas and electric bills by an average of $130 a year by recommending hundreds of personalized energy-saving actions.

Efficiency 2.0 has offered to cover the April electric bill, up to $150, for one out of every 10 consumers who join CUB Energy Saver before June 1. Join at www.CUBenergysaver.com/earth.

“Protecting the planet starts at your doorstep,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said in a release. “CUB Energy Saver proves that there are hundreds of ways to cut costs and reduce energy waste. It’s simple, it’s free, and it’s what Earth Month is all about.”

CUB Energy Saver links to a household's Commonwealth Edison account to track actual reductions in energy waste. It then rewards those reductions with points — two for every kilowatt-hour saved — that can be redeemed for shopping and restaurant discounts. The tool works for all residential electric consumers, including those who have signed up for alternative electric suppliers.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.

You can also catch up on Comings & Goings in other parts of the Southland at www.southlandbusinessnews.blogspot.com.