Former Bear Doug Buffone Birthday Bash at Sam’s Triple Crown

Former Bears linebacker Doug Buffone will celebrate his birthday
Wednesday night at Sam's Triple Crown in Orland Hills.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Former Bears linebacker Doug Buffone will celebrate his 68^th birthday with other Bears alumni from 7-10 p.m. Wednesday night at Sam’s Triple Crown, 9201 W. 159^th St. in Orland Hills.

Joining Buffone will be former Bears Dan Hampton, Otis Wilson and Ed O’Bradovich, said manager Tony Mannerino who added that a few more Bears alumni are also expected to drop by.

Buffone played 15 seasons with the Bears after being drafted in 1966. He still holds team records for most sacks in a season and most career interceptions.

Mannerino said there is no charge to attend and drink specials that night include UV martinis for $3.75, Jaeger barrels for $3.25 and imported beer in bottles for $2.50.

New Jewel-Osco to Open Thursday Morning in Palos Heights

The new Jewel-Osco store in Palos Heights will open at 6 a.m. Thursday.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Jewel-Osco will open a new and improved supermarket at 6 a.m. Thursday at 12803 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights, only a few feet away from an aging existing store.

Jewel is holding an invitation-only ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new store Wednesday evening after the existing store closes for the last time at 6 p.m. The pharmacy will close at 4 p.m.

“The old store is more than 45 years old,” said Karen May, external communications manager for Jewel. “It has been there since 1967.”

“The new store will be more than 50,000 square feet and feature a lot of the more modern amenities,” May said. Those features include a cheese shop, soup, wings and olive bars, and self-checkout lanes, as well as skylights.

The new store also will serve sushi, gluten-free products, organic produce and ethnic foods.

 The new store will feature an expanded bakery, liquor department and a larger pharmacy with a consultation room, a TCF Bank branch, and a Red Box movie rental kiosk.

“There also will be a pharmacy kiosk in the parking lot so customers can drive up and get their prescriptions,” May said.

Plans call for the old store to be demolished starting in early July and turned into a parking lot.

“Once the old store is knocked down,” May said. “Work on the pharmacy kiosk will begin. I expect it to be installed in August.”

“There are 153 employees moving over from the old store,” May said adding from 15-20 new associates will be added.

While many Jewel stores have been remodeled and expanded recently, this is only the second Jewel that is being completely replaced by a new store in past two years, May said. The other one opened in the fall of 2010 in Chicago’s Lakeview community.

The new store will be open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight. Pharmacy hours will be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Later this year, Wendy’s will build a restaurant in an outlot on the property.

Tinley to Expand Rec Center

The Tinley Park-Park District is expected this week to open bids on a major expansion of the Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center.

Bids are due by 10 a.m. Friday for construction of a 30,000-square-foot addition to the center at 8125 W. 171^st St., which opened a decade ago. The park board expects to award the contracts at its meeting on Wednesday, July 11.

The construction project has a $4.5 million estimated cost with about $1 million coming from existing funds. Construction is expected to begin this fall and be completed late next year.

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.

Sara Lee to Shut Outlet Stores in Homewood, Oak Lawn

Sara Lee will close its outlet stores in Oak Lawn (pictured) and Homewood. -- Courtesy Oak Lawn Patch

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The impending split of Sara Lee Corp. into a global coffee company and a North American operation under the Hillshire Brands banner, also means the demise of its 11 outlet stores including locations in Homewood and Oak Lawn.

The store manager in Oak Lawn said regular customers had been coming into the store today lamenting its eventual closing.

The Oak Lawn store is at 5711 W. 95^th St. and the Homewood store is at 18400 Governors Highway.

Matt Pakula, senior manager for corporate communications for Sara Lee, said there was no timetable for the closings but said the stores will close by the end of November.

Pakula said Hillshire Brands would not be able to devote the “attention required for success in stand-alone retail operations.”

Each store employs about seven people.

New book store opens at Chicago Ridge Mall

Books-a-Million opened its third Chicago-area bookstore on Thursday inside the former Borders Express at Chicago Ridge Mall in Chicago Ridge.

Books-a-Million is the third largest books retailer in the United States with more than 250 stores.

Manager Brandon Wolak said the company has been successful in the South and decided the recent demise of Borders gave it an opportunity to expand in the North. The retailer opened a store in Southlake Mall in Hobart, Ind., late last year and will open another store in a couple of weeks at Fox Valley Center in Aurora. The company has had a store in downtown Chicago for a while, Wolak said.

Wolak said there is still demand for books.

“We have more than enough customers who don’t like to read ebooks or books online,” he said. “They like the feel of a real book.”

The Chicago Ridge location is located close to Sears in the mall and is smaller than most Books-a-Million locations. Wolak said that despite its size, the store features a Joe Muggs Café coffee shop and espresso bar, books, magazines, cards, gifts and collectible supplies.

The store employs seven to eight people, he said.

For information, call 708-423-4285 or visit Books-a-Million.

Fox Head to open next week

Fox Head Inc., which made its name with a worldwide brand of motocross apparel and has since branched out into other performance sports, is scheduled to open its only Chicago-area store at Orland Square Mall on Monday. The company was started as Fox Racing in 1974 in Campbell, Calif.

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.