State Street to be Closed July 5 in Downtown Lockport

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that a culvert replacement project on Milne Creek will require closing State Street (Illinois 171) between Seventh and Eighth streets in downtown Lockport for approximately three months beginning July 5.

Access to residences, businesses and side streets north and south of Milne Creek will be maintained, however, through traffic will not be permitted. Detour routes will be posted.

Southbound traffic will be detoured west on Main and Illinois streets in Lemont, south on New Avenue, west on 135th Street, south on Illinois 53 and east on Illinois 7 to reconnect with Illinois 171.

Northbound traffic will be detoured west on Illinois 7, north on Illinois 53 and east on 135th Street, north on New Avenue and east on Illinois and Main streets in Lemont to reconnect with Illinois 171.

The improvements consist of replacing the culvert where Milne Creek flows under State Street with a new steel-lined structure.

The tentative completion date is Oct. 1.

Motorists should anticipate delays and allow extra time for trips through this area.

For information on other construction projects in IDOT’s District 1, visit http://www.dot.state.il.us. Updates on the impacts to traffic are available at www.travelmidwest.com.

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.