Uncle Julio's opens today in Orland Park

Uncle Julio's opens today in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A new Mexican restaurant will open to the public today in the former Harrison's brew pub at 15845 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park. 

 The building has been undergoing a major renovation since Harrison's closed earlier this year and the restaurant will now feature a horseshoe-shaped bar with monitors to catch the latest game.

The 10,000-square-foot restaurant has seating for 350 along with a large outdoor patio. The interior features fireplaces and informal seating areas. 

Dallas-based Uncle Julio's kicked off its Orland location on Oct. 4 with a benefit for Together We Cope. The restaurant also made a $2,500 donation to the organization that helps families in crisis.

“The spirit of Uncle Julio’s is the fun we have and the unparalleled flavor and experience we provide to our guests,” Todd Conger, president and chief operating officer of Uncle Julio’s, said in a release. 

“We can’t wait for all of Orland Park to walk through our doors and make this tradition of enjoying authentic Mexican cuisine their new favorite thing to do with friends and family.” 

The Orland location is the chain's 18th restaurant. The eatery features traditional Tex-Mex fare such as tacos and enchiladas as well as specialties such as Fajitas al Carbon and Honey Chipotle Salmon.

Uncle Julio’s invented the famous Swirl Margarita, made with layers of frozen margarita and homemade sangria. Diners can also choose a custom margarita, made from their choice of 15 different tequilas. Other signature drinks include the Patrón Skinny Margarita (made with Patrón Silver and skinny agave sour).

The restaurant will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.  Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Weekend egg brunch is served along with the regular menu on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For information, call 708-942-4700, visit their website or check out their Facebook.  

Middle Eastern restaurant closes in Orland

Shami Kabob & Grill, which opened in June 2011, closed recently at 15222 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park in Ravinia Plaza. The 1,900-square-foot eatery specialized in Middle Eastern food. No sign was posted on the door regarding the closing but the windows are covered in paper. There is no posting on its Facebook page about the closing and its phone number was disconnected.

Rosati's reopens in Tinley Park

Rosati's pizzeria, which closed at 171st Street and Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park in August 2012, reopened recently at 15911 S. 76th Avenue in the village.

Rosati's, which has hundreds of locations, operates under two different corporate parents. The Tinley location is part of the chain that is based in Elgin.

For information, call 708-444-1400 or visit Rosati's.

Orland gas station on the block

The BP station at 143rd Street and LaGrange Road in Orland Park is one of five BP convenience store-gas stations that is being sold as part of a bankruptcy sale by NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC.

The 4,200-square-foot station sits on more than one acre and was built in 2002.

The other stations are in Elk Grove Village, Joliet, Oswego and Romeoville.

Any bids must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Hawk Chevy building a new showroom

Hawk Chevrolet in Bridgeview is open while the dealership expands its showroom.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Hawk Chevrolet, which took over the Rizza dealership on Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview a couple of years ago, has started work on major renovations.

Hawk is building a new showroom and a new service lane, which will take about six months to complete.

The dealer will remain open during construction and has opened a temporary showroom on the lot at 8200 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview.

Chick-fil-A now open in Chicago Ridge

Oak Lawn area fans of the chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A won't have to travel to Lombard or Orland Park now that the fifth Chicago-area location of the Georgia-based fast food chain has opened in an outlot at Chicago Ridge Mall at 96th Street and Ridgeland in Chicago Ridge.

The restaurant opened last week and gave out free food for a year to the first 100 fans who camped out in the parking lot at the shopping mall, which is a tradition for the chain that began in 1946 and found its niche in the early 1960s as a staple at Southern shopping malls.

The Chicago Ridge location is owned by Peter Glanville, who hails from South Africa and has been in the United States for about 16 years.

"I love the hustle and bustle of this area," he said. "It's a great business center with remarkable demographics. Where else could you be in a traffic jam at 9 in the morning."

Glanville said the area reminds him of South Africa.

"It's not quite downtown and it's not quite suburban," he said. "It's kind of in between and I find that interesting."

Glanville said his goal was to eventually have his wife and sons work at the business with him.

The restaurant will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. It will be closed on Sundays.

Homewood Super Kmart closing 

Kmart has announced it will be closing its superstore at 17550 Halsted St. in Homewood by Christmas.

The store has about 185 employees and Kmart said they would have the opportunity to apply for positions at other Kmart and Sears stores.

A store liquidation sale began this week.

The store was among a handful of south suburban Super Kmarts that were reported to be for sale or that were looking for store-within-a-store retail partners back in April. Other stores were in Lansing, New Lenox and Tinley Park.

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 follow business happenings at Comings & Goings.

Texas Roadhouse to open latest location Monday in Countryside

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse will officially open at 4 p.m. Monday at 9960 Joliet Road in Countryside, but the steakhouse will play host to veterans and Special Olympians over the weekend as its works out the kinks for its cooks, meat cutters and other kitchen staff.

 “We have so many veterans in our family, including my wife,” said Eric Stewart, managing partner in a release. “We are passionate about giving back to the women and men who have served our country. We’re also proud to support Special Olympics here locally and can’t imagine a better way to celebrate our opening than by helping these two organizations that serve so many families across this community.”

In addition to rolling out the carpet for local organizations, the restaurant will donate food from this weekend's invitation-only events to Countryside police and firefighters.

The restaurant, which is bringing 200 new jobs to the area, will be open from 4-10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 4-11 p.m. Friday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

The steakhouse chain, which started in 1993, has more than 395 locations in 48 states.

For more information, call 708-482-7870 or visit Texas Roadhouse.

Zombie Safari opens in Tinley Park

Zombies are back on the attack in Tinley Park at Odyssey Fun Farm at 19111 S. OK Park Ave., across the street from Odyssey Fun World arcade.

The Zombie Safari Hayride runs from 7-midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (no Sundays in September) after the much more kid friendly Fun Farm shuts down at 6 p.m.

For $20, you are driven into a 15-acre maze and then attacked by zombies. You fight back with paintball guns mounted on the sides of the hayride truck. You start out with 100 paintballs but can buy more ammo if you are particularly trigger happy.

“We have a lot of cool stuff going on at night this year,” said Clint Paraday, general manager of the arcade and Fun Farm, which offered the Zombie Safari for the first time last Halloween.

The safari lasts for about 15 minutes, Paraday said.

The Fun Farm has been offered for three years now and features a 15-acre pumpkin patch, 15-acre maze, corn cannon, zip line and a corn crib that holds upward of 15 tons of corn.

The Fun Farm will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Sept. 28 to Oct. 27. General admission is $11 with additional costs for the zip line and pony rides. 

For information, visit Odyssey Fun Farm.

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 follow business happenings at Comings & Goings.