Sentry Foods closing in Midlothian

Sentry Foods is closing in Midlothian.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Independent grocery store Sentry Foods is in its final days at 4640 W. 147th St. in Midlothian.

Employees said the store's last day would be Monday, March 17, unless it runs out of food and other merchandise over the weekend.

The store opened in 1992 and employed more than two dozen workers.

Calls for comment were not returned, but one employee said the reason they were told for the closing was "not enough business."

The store is not affiliated with the Sentry supermarket chain in Wisconsin.

Yogurt shop to replace Wonderburger

Wonderburger, a restaurant that had been serving some of the best burgers and fries on Chicago's Southwest Side for almost 60 years to the day, called it quits for good last week.

Wonderburger closed abruptly Tuesday night at 11045 S. Kedzie Ave. in Chicago. The closing was announced on the restaurant's website and in a Tweet. 

"It has been an emotional few months for our family, and we will miss this place dearly! We cannot thank our customers, family, and friends enough for all the love and support you have given us throughout the years. 60 years — it's been a great ride!!" was the message posted on its Facebook page.

A day after the closing, Blue Island businessman Amit Patel said he bought the business and would be reopening the eatery as an Orange Leaf frozen yogurt shop.

Patel also owns a Jimmy John sandwich shop at 12601 S. Western Ave.

An original deal to sell the restaurant collapsed in early January.

Frankfort Chamber Community Showcase

The Frankfort Chamber of Commerce invites you and your family to its 30th annual Community Showcase on Saturday,  March 15, at the Lincoln-Way East High School Field House, 201 Colorado Ave. in Frankfort. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and parking is free.

Local businesses will be selling their products at the Showcase, so come prepared to purchase some great items. Businesses will also be eager to share information, offer raffles and promotional items to visitors. Artworks will have more than 800 pieces of student artwork in this year's art exhibit that comes from 31 different schools in the Lincoln-Way area.

The Frankfort Lions Club will again sponsor the Heartland Blood Drive Mobile, outside the Field House, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Official Showcase ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 9:45 a.m. inside the Field House and the doors for the event will open immediately after the ceremony at 10 a.m.

Palermo’s Pizza will be onsite selling treats in the food court area.

For complete information, visit Frankfort Chamber of Commerce. 

Funkie Fashions grand opening

Funkie Fashion, which recently moved from Chicago's Mount Greenwood community to Palos Park, will hold its grand opening from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at its new location at 131st Street and LaGrange Road, next to the Jewel.

The shop offers a mix of tops, tunics, maxi dresses, jeans, shorts, sweaters, jackets, jewelry, fragrances, footwear, swim suits, spanx, hats, gloves and more.

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.

Noodles & Company opens Monday in Frankfort

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy


Noodles & Company, a restaurant that features noodles and pasta dishes, will open its 50th location in Illinois Monday morning at 21075 S. LaGrange Road in an outlot in front of Walgreens and Mariano's Fresh Market in Frankfort.

The 2,434-square-foot restaurant has seating for 64 inside the dining room and 14 on an outside patio.

The Colorado-based chain has more than 380 restaurant locations across the United States. Its menu consists of two dozen customizable dishes such as sweet and spicy Japanese Pan Noodles, zesty Pesto Cavatappi and Wisconsin Mac & Cheese.

Regular restaurant hours will be Monday through Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For more information, call the restaurant at 815- 464-1775.

Last week, Physicians Immediate Care opened a sixth clinic at 21035 S. LaGrange Road in the same outlot building.

The 3,700-square-foot office was the first business to open in the building, which will also house a Jersey Mike's sandwich shop.

The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. It features an X-ray room, labs, six exam rooms, including two trauma rooms and a pediatric room.

The clinic offers a three-tier pricing plan for patients who do not have health insurance.

Nearby clinics are in New Lenox and Orland Park.

Martini Blu closes in Orland Hills

Martini Blu, a nightclub that specialized in martinis, closed early this year at 8927 W. 159th St. in Orland Hills.

The owner said the club closed on New Year's Day because its landlord would not renew the lease after 11 years.

In a posting on the club's Facebook page, the owner said he would reopen in a new location but did not say when or where.

Self-Storage to open in Lansing

Compass Self Storage will celebrate a new location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 11, at 2556 Bernice Road in Lansing. The public is invited.

For information, call 708-418-5950 or visit Compass Self Storage.

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.

Gatto's to open in Orland Park

Brothers Frank and Chuck Gatto are hoping to open their fourth restaurant by mid-April in the Riviera Country Club in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Brothers Frank and Chuck Gatto are hoping to open their fourth restaurant by mid-April in the Riviera Country Club in Orland Park

The restaurant at 8801 W. 143rd St. would offer the same menu as the existing Gatto's locations but the Orland location would also be a first for the chain.

"The Orland location would have a rooftop deck overlooking the pool," said co-owner Frank Gatto. "It's definitely something we haven't done before."

"In addition to being a full service restaurant, we would feature a casual menu for people at the pool," he said.

Gatto said the brothers weren't looking for a fourth location for their restaurant chain, but decided to expand after checking out the location.

"The owner of the country club said the space would be a good fit for us and he was right," said Gatto. "It has some interesting dynamics."

Gatto said the new location would have a main dining room with seating for 140, a party room that could seat 80 and the rooftop deck that could handle at least 60 people.

"The Orland location kind of gives us a chance to focus on the north Orland area and Palos area," Gatto said.

He said the kitchen staff for the Orland location would begin training this week and they were now taking applications for servers, at any of the three existing locations.

"We try to design the line the same from restaurant to restaurant so a staffer would find everything the same whatever restaurant they happened to be working at," he said.

He said the new location would start out by borrowing staff from the existing restaurants so the new restaurant would be able to provide the same service and food as the established sites. 

He said hours haven't been determined yet, but would be close to the hours at the other three locations.

"We'll see what the country club needs and work with them on the hours," he said.

Gatto's will be the third restaurant in the space in recent years. R.C. Mulligan's closed a few years ago and was replaced by Pompei Pizza, which changed its name to Ralph's Pizza late last year and then closed in early January.

Gatto said the brothers opened their first restaurant in Tinley Park in 2000 and opened the New Lenox location in 2006 and the Downers Grove location a short time later.

"Being that there's two of us, we won't be spreading ourselves too thin," he said.

Gatto said the menu would be the same as at the other three locations, which features Italian specialties including some recipes contributed by their mother.

"Mom is a great cook and she provided some of the recipes that we use," said Gatto. "We started out with the basics and now we have 70 things on the menu."

For information, check out their website at http://gattosrestaurant.com. They also have a Facebook page.

Forget paczki, Tuesday is National Pancake Day

Who needs to buy paczki when IHOP restaurants across the country will celebrate Fat Tuesday on March 4 by giving away free short stacks of pancakes in honor of National Pancake Day.

IHOP guests will be asked to make a contribution to benefit the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago before digging into a free stack of pancakes.

Summer jobs at Tinley venue

High school or college students looking for a summer job should check out First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, which is hiring teens to fill 200 part-time seasonal positions.

The venue hosts a couple of dozen shows each summer and is looking for applicants with availability most evenings and weekends. Pay depends on the position and starts at $8.25 per hour. Applicants must be at least 16.

The deadline to apply is March 15. Applications are available online only. 

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.