Grand opening for Orland sushi restaurant

Yucca Asian Cuisine will hold its grand opening this week in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Yucca Asian Cuisine, a new restaurant that features sushi and Asian fusion dining, will hold its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at 16081 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park, behind Houlihan's.

The restaurant, which has been open for a couple of months, specializes in traditional sushi but also features dishes such as walnut shrimps, kungbao chicken, orange chicken,   Macau curry,  Singapore  beef and yucca special fried noodle.

Its chef, John Zhao, has 20 years experience at five-star hotels in China including Hyatt Macao as well as Peninsula in Chicago.

Grand opening festivities will take place from 5:15-6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Hours for Yucca are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Yucca is offering a grand opening discount through April starting at $10 off a $50 bill.

For information, call 708-460-4778 or visit Yucca Asian Cuisine.

Ford City AMC to get star treatment

AMC Theatres has plans to give the Ford City 14 theater the same kind of renovation it gave the Chicago Ridge Mall AMC theater a couple of years ago.

The company is seeking bids on a $4 million makeover for the 68,000-square-foot theater complex at Ford City Mall at 76th Street and Cicero Avenue, according to bidclerk.com.

Changes will include new seats with power recliners, new screens, upgraded food and drink menus and possibly the addition of a MacGuffin's Bar, which AMC added at Chicago Ridge and has been adding to theaters ever since.

At theaters with a MacGuffin's Bar, which is named in homage to noted director Alfred Hitchcock, patrons can take their cocktails into the theater to enjoy while watching the movie. 

The mall was taken over by iStar Financial Inc. last year from Chicago real estate investor Sam Zell as part of a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

There is no timetable for the construction.

Jacob's Ladder closes in Brookfield

Jacob's Ladder, a gift and collectibles shop in Brookfield, closed at the end of January because its owners  wanted to retire.

Bobbi and Bruce Jacobs opened the shop 37 years ago and bought the building it was located in 29 years ago.

Bruce Jacobs is in his late 70s and said running the store was getting to be too much for the elderly couple.

Smokehouse reopens

Smokehouse restaurant has finished its remodeling and reopened recently in the Chicago Ridge Mall food court in Chicago Ridge.

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.com.

Unique Resale Shop now open in Justice

Justice Unique Resale Shop opened last month.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A new resale shop opened recently at 8533 W. 79th St. in Justice with the apt name of Justice Unique Resale Shop. 

Owner Mariola Hagen said the shop is open every day and there's a sign out front that says they speak Polish.

Gilly Hicks closes in Orland Park

Gilly Hicks, a branch of the Abercrombie & Fitch retail chain that specialized in women's underwear, sleepwear and swimwear, closed all of its retail locations in the U.S. on Jan. 1 including two Illinois stores at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park and in Schaumburg.

The retailer will continue to operate as an online only store.

Mother Butter’s moves to Evergreen Park 

Mother Butter's Popcorn & Confectionary, which opened in 2009 at 17 W. 35th St. near U.S. Cellular Field, moved to new digs at 3342 W. 95th St. in Evergreen Park on Jan. 25.

The shop, which is owned by Tim and Jennifer Donnelly, has been praised for its gourmet popcorn and also sells fudge, individually hand-dipped caramel pecan patties, bulk candy and nuts.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

For information, call 708-423-7677 or visit motherbutterspopcorn.com.

Grand opening party for Pure Barre

Pure Barre, a new fitness center, will hold its grand opening party from 7-9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at 14932 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park. Light snacks will be provided.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6. A free class will be offered after the ceremony.

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.com.

Demon Dawgs opens in Alsip

Demon Dawgs is now open in the former Frosted Mug drive-in at 11541 S. Pulaski Road in Alsip.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Demon Dawgs, a new fast-food restaurant, opened Friday at 11541 S. Pulaski Road in Alsip in the former Frosted Mug drive-in.

Owner Rusty Findlay, who was an original partner in the popular Devil Dawgs hot dog stand on Chicago's North Side, opened after six months of remodeling the former Frosted Mug.

"We won't have carhop service," Findlay said. "But we have 60 seats inside and another 60 outside along with a drive-through."

Findlay said he hired 22 people as cooks and servers.

Findlay said the menu will include hot dogs, hamburgers, sliders, sausage and wings along with fresh-cut french fries.

Findlay, who has been in the restaurant business since 1989, said he picked the former drive-in because "it was the best location I could find."

He might be on to something. His Facebook page said the eatery ran out of food and had people waiting in line for up to 45 minutes for the grand opening.

The restaurant will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the drive-through staying open until 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Italio to open Tuesday in Orland Park

Italio, a fast-casual Italian restaurant chain based in Florida, is opening its first location outside of the Sunshine State in Orland Park this week.

The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will open at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 15139 S. LaGrange Road in the Orland Park Place mall, in the former Cosi restaurant.

Guests all day Tuesday will receive free food -- either a crisp salad bowl, a heaping pasta bowl or a one-of-a-kind piadina, a kind of Italian-style wrap. All three entrees are customizable with toppings and extras.

The restaurant features family-style communal tables, a patio and serves beer and wine.

The restaurant will be open from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily in Orland Park.

For information, call 708-403-5555, visit www.ItalioKitchen.com.

No local Penney stores to close

Whether J.C. Penney will still be in business a year from now is a hot topic again now that the troubled retailer has announced that it is closing 33 "underperforming" stores and cutting 2,000 jobs as part of its turnaround efforts.

The Orland Park and Mokena stores were not included among the list of locations scheduled to close, but stores in Bloomingdale and Forsyth in Illinois were on the list.

The closures and job cuts are expected to save the company about $65 million a year.

Sears to close Downtown store

Sears Holdings Corp. is closing its downtown Chicago flagship outlet in April, which will leave the retailer with three stores in the city.

The store has begun holding a closing sale.

Sears Holdings has closed about 300 U.S. stores since 2010. The company has about 2,000 Sears and Kmart locations in the United States.

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.com.