Tasty Buffet Coming To Frankfort

The owners of New Work Chinese Restaurant in Frankfort will soon be opening Tasty Buffet.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

New Wok Chinese Restaurant in Frankfort’s Walt’s plaza closed recently but its owners are planning to open Tasty Buffet, an Asian buffet restaurant, in the former Mary Todd’s space on the other side of the plaza.

The New Wok website is still up and its phone number is still connected, so I’m guessing those will be updated when the new location opens.

Construction on the new location delayed its planned April opening and the owners now hope to open later this month.

VA Opens Bigger Clinic in Oak Lawn

Edward Hines VA Hospital recently opened a bigger and better outpatient clinic at 10201 S. Cicero Ave.

The new clinic is about a mile away from the old clinic but it has almost three times as much clinical space and much more parking. The Department of Veterans Affairs opened the clinic a decade ago to serve veterans who can’t make the trip to Hines in Maywood. The clinic serves more than 5,400 patients per year.

"VA is committed to providing our veterans with top quality health care as close to their homes as possible,” Peter Dancy, Acting Director of the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, said in a release. “We are always looking for better ways to serve our veterans.

“This new location in Oak Lawn allows us to expand our services to veterans in areas like mental health and social work, women’s health, nutrition, pharmacy, etc. We are thrilled to provide our top quality health care to veterans in this area in a brand new state-of-the-art clinic location.”

For information, call 708-499-3675.

Deal of the Week: Free Comic Books

Amazing Fantasy Books and Comics is again taking part in the annual Free Comic Book Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at all four locations (no purchase necessary).

Each location is having its own special appearances, signings, raffles and food. For example, Darth Vader and some Imperial Storm Troopers are expected to descend on the Frankfort location from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. So check with each location for its particulars.

AF Books locations are:

• Calumet City, 582 Torrence Ave., 708-891-2260
• Frankfort, 20523 S. LaGrange Road, 815-469-5092
• Lockport, 1128 S. State St., 815-834-1658
• Tinley Park, 15948 S. Harlem Ave.,708-633-0837

For information, visit AF Books website or http://www.freecomicbookday.com/.

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 and read past colunms at http://www.southlandbusinessnews.blogspot.com/.

Sam’s Triple Crown, Trackside OTB Now Open in Orland Hills

Sam's Triple Crown and the Trackside OTB
opened last week in Orland Hills.

By Bob Bong

Southland Savvy

Sam’s Triple Crown restaurant and Trackside OTB opened for business last week at 9201 W. 159th St. in Orland Hills.

“It’s been fairly busy since we opened,” manager Tony Mannerino said on Tuesday. “That will pick up now that we have our sign.”

Mannerino said he expects a big crowd on Saturday for the Kentucky Derby.

“We’ll have two 40x60 tents outside with tables and chairs, a makeshift bar, beer in tubs, betting stations and TVs,” he said. “We’re also taking reservations for inside seating.”

The 5,000-square-foot facility seats 200 and has more than 50 flat-screen HDTV televisions.

“We expect to do very, very well in Orland Hills,” said Gil Carmichael, director of Off-Track Operations at Arlington Park race track, which operates the Trackside OTB locations.

“So will Orland Hills,” he said. “As 1 percent of the gross revenues are returned to the village every year.”

Admission to Sam’s Triple Crown is free, but bettors will have to pay a $1 tax, Carmichael said.

“The tax was a parting gift from (former Cook County Board president) Todd Stroger before he left office,” Carmichael said. The tax is collected under a 1987 law that allows government bodies to impose a $1 tax on OTB parlors.

“Only Cook County and Chicago charge the tax,” he said, explaining why OTBs in Mokena and Lockport do not tax bettors.

The OTB opens at 10:30 a.m. and Sam’s is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight and from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

For information and to make Derby reservations, call 708-873-0900.

Firehouse Subs Opens in Munster

Firehouse Subs opened today at 8153 Calumet Ave. in the new Shops of Munster plaza in Munster on the former Carpetland USA site.

Specializing in hot subs, Firehouse Subs serves large portions of premium meats and Sargento cheeses, steamed hot and placed atop fresh produce on a toasted sub roll. The Munster location also offers catering.

Each restaurant offers a family-oriented dining atmosphere, complete with an authentic firefighter theme that celebrates local firefighting history, as well as the founding family’s 200 years of firefighting service. The Munster location features a mural of a new Munster Fire Department truck.

Hours will be daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For information, visit the company’s website or its Facebook page.

Potempa Agency Has New Digs

The Potempa Agency, which represents Allstate Insurance, moved into new digs today at 20879 S. LaGrange Road in Frankfort, in the Walt’s Plaza. Her phone number remains 815-469-8200.

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.

RoccoVino's Italian Restaurant Opening This Week in Orland Park

RoccoVino's is opening this week in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

RoccoVino’s Italian Restaurant is expected to open this week in the former Palermo’s location at 11255 W. 143rd St. in Orland Park.

General Manager Tony Gloria said the restaurant was going to have an invitation-only soft opening tonight and then probably open to the public on Friday.

“We should be ready by Friday,” he said.

Gloria said the Orland location is the chain’s fourth stand-alone restaurant and the first in the Southland. The chain also operates 10 satellite locations in places such as park district concession stands, but none are in the Southland.

“We open a new restaurant every couple of years and this year we stumbled across this location,” he said. “One of our owners knows the owner of this shopping center from Easter Seals and he told us this spot was coming open and here we are.”

Gloria said RoccoVino’s features upscale Italian in a casual atmosphere, and added the Orland location would offer a hybrid menu a little different from the other locations.

“We’ll have some creative pasta dishes, fresh seafood, veal and chops and all kinds of pizza, but with moderate pricing, especially for this area,” he said. “And our entire menu will be available for delivery.”

Gloria said the restaurant will be very involved in the community, as it elsewhere.

“We work with area groups on hot lunch programs and offer special discounts for schools. In fact, I’m catering the lunch for this year’s Orland Park Chamber golf outing.”

Gloria said in addition to dine-in, delivery, catering and carry-out, RoccoVino’s also has a small banquet room with seating for about 40.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For information, call 708-460-5900 or visit their website or their Facebook page.

Palos Driving School Opens

Palos Driving School opened recently at 8134 W. 111th St. in Palos Hills, across the street from Stagg High School.

The school says its instructors are all teachers who have at least 17 years of teaching driver's education. It says it caters to busy students who can't take driver's ed at school, as well as adults. The school offers free home pick-up and drop-off services for behind-the-wheel lessons.

For information, call 708-974-8003 or visit the company's website.

Bath & Body Works Moves

Bath & Body Works opens at 10 a.m. today in its new space (across the hall from its old location) at Orland Square Mall.

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.