Betty's Bistro, Penny's Place gaming cafes open in Southland

A player tries his luck at one of the machines at Betty's Bistro in Countryside.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The gaming cafe scene in the Southland added another player recently with the opening of new gambling parlors under the ownership of Blackhawk Restaurant Group, which operates its cafes as Penny's Place or Betty's Bistro.

The company has opened more than two dozen cafes in communities including Hickory Hills, Countryside, Calumet Park, Lemont, Lockport, Crestwood, Alsip, Joliet and Crest Hill. A new one is expected to open this month on the border of Oak Lawn and Chicago Ridge and new locations are being built or planned in Bridgeview, Calumet City, Matteson and Tinley Park.

"Ours operate like delis or bistros," said co-owner Mike Thiessen. "We offer sandwiches and a light menu with free coffee for players.

"We are not a bar," said Thiessen. "We are well lit. We have plenty of cameras for security. We have a three-drink limit. We figure our clientele to be about 60-40 women."

The cafes range from about 1,500 square feet to 2,100 square feet. Each has five of the gambling machines allowed by state law and there are attendants to make sure the players have what they need.

"We specialize in customer service," said Jerry Luterman, an attendant at the Countryside Betty's Bistro since it opened in February. "There are about 20 regulars who come in on my shift. Some like friendly banter while others want to be left alone with their cup of coffee.

"The guests love that there are no TVs," he said.

As for their locations, Thiessen said "we like busy corners. We usually like to be near malls with grocery store anchors. The Hickory Hills location is in the same mall as a Fairplay Foods."

"We figure to have 50 to 60 open eventually," he said with each cafe employing from 10-16 employees.

Hours can vary from location to location but generally are open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the week and as late as 11 p.m. or midnight on weekends.

"We are flexible on our hours," Thiessen said. "We can close early if business is light or stay open as long as our liquor license allows if we are busy."

The company got its start in Oregon and operates cafes in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Illinois.

Angelo's now open in Tinley Park

Angelo's Fresh Markets finally opened last week at its second location at 7150 W. 183rd St. in Tinley Park, after equipment delays pushed the original opening back more than two weeks.

Owner Carla Bolin said a large meat case, which is a focal point of the new shop, arrived with a glass panel shattered and other problems.

The case finally arrived last week and the store held its grand opening over the Father's Day weekend.

Angelo's will feature top quality meats and also a full deli line, she said, which is not available at the original Flossmoor location.

"We will carry homemade pastas, sauces and flavored olive oils," she said. "The menu will offer 14 different sandwiches, both hot and cold."

The Tinley Park store is about 1,800 square feet and Bolin said she hired four people to work the new store.

Hours will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

For information, visit them online at Angelo's Fresh Markets or check out their Facebook page at Angelo's Fresh Markets.

Georgious closes without warning in Burbank

Georgious Restaurant, a family eatery that specialized in American and Grecian food since 1965, closed at 5900 W. 79th St. in Burbank without notice at the end of May.

The restaurant had been fighting foreclosure proceedings for more than a year filed by American Metro Bank in Chicago. 

The establishment posted a notice on its front door saying the business was closed because of action by American Metro. It's phone has been disconnected and its website has been taken down.

The eatery had been in receivership since November, according to court records. The foreclosure proceedings began in March 2013, according to court records.

The restaurant, which had added video gaming devices in the past year, had been robbed in April.

Georgious was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 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.

New market to open in Tinley Park

Angelo's Fresh Market hopes to finally open this weekend at 7150 W. 183rd St. in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Angelo's Fresh Market was a logical extension for the family meat-cutting business, says owner Carla Bolin.

"We cut meat for white table cloth restaurants across the country and our family and friends were always asking us for steaks or a roast, so we decided to open a retail store (1044 Sterling Ave. in Flossmoor) last July," said Bolin.

The focal point of the new Angelo's Fresh Market, which is expected to open this weekend after unexpected delays at 7150 W. 183rd St. in Tinley Park, will be its meat case.

"We will have a prime grade meat case," Bolin said. "A steak you buy here will be the same kind you would get at Michael Jordan's restaurant."

"The thing most people say after trying our meat is that they forgot what good meat tastes like," she said. "If you shop here, you are going to get restaurant quality meat."

Steaks, however, are not what the store is known for at its first location in Flossmoor, which opened in July 2013.

"The meatballs are our most popular serving," Bolin said. "They are traditional Italian meatballs made with beef, veal and pork and they were a big hit from the beginning."

Angelo's will also feature a full deli line, she said, which is not available at the Flossmoor location.

"We will carry homemade pastas, sauces and flavored olive oils," she said. "The menu will offer 14 different sandwiches, both hot and cold."

The store will also offer artisan cheeses and breads and milk-fed veal.

Bolin said she settled on the Tinley Park location in part because it was a former restaurant, a Quizno's sandwich shop.

"We heard good things about Tinley Park and it did not require a lot of remodeling because it already had refrigeration," she said.

She said Angelo's will continue to look for new locations.

"I'm thinking we'll open four or five new stores," she said. "Our next location will be somewhere in northwest Indiana."

The Tinley Park store is about 1,800 square feet and Bolin said she had already hired four people to work the new store.

Hours will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

She said the grand opening on Saturday hinges on village inspections and if the remaining equipment arrives on time and undamaged. A meat case that will be a focal point of the new store arrived with one its glass sides smashed and had to be replaced.

For information, visit Angelo's Fresh Market or check out their Facebook page.

Mimi’s Café pulls out of Illinois

Mimi’s Café, a restaurant that prided itself on bringing a taste of France to the Southland, has closed its only two locations in Illinois.

The Orland location closed before Memorial Day at 16154 S. LaGrange Road and the Naperville location shut its doors Saturday.

A manager at Mimi’s Café in Orland Park said the California-based chain decided earlier this month to close both locations May 31 but Orland was closed early because cooks and wait staff stopped coming to work once they were informed of the impending closing.

The manager said the company had decided that even though the Orland location was busy it was too difficult operating in Illinois with only two locations. This closings were part of a corporate strategy to pull out of limited markets.

Since the chain was purchased last year by LeDuff America from Bob Evans Farms for $50 million it has closed several stores, including about a dozen in May.

A sign on the front door simply said the Orland Park location was closed. All of its locations are corporate owned.

The Orland restaurant opened in 2007.

Cafe closes in Mokena

Nevada Cafe closed last month at 19845 S. LaGrange Road in Mokena. 

The restaurant had been placed into receivership and the building is listed for sale at $799,000, which is subject to court approval.

Nevada was the third restaurant to try its luck at that location. Kingsberry closed years ago and its successor Golden Oak fared no better. 

 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

Willie's Wee-Nee Wagon returns to familiar spot in Tinley Park

Owner Steve Wright stands inside the new Willie's Wee-Nee Wagon at 16707 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Steve Wright has decided to try his hand again at running Willie's Wee-Nee Wagon at 16707 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.

Wright, of Mokena, operated a Willie's Wee-Nee Wagon in the same space several years ago but closed it because of declining sales and after a second location in New Lenox near Lincoln-Way Central High School failed.

His second incarnation of Willie's opened last month.

"I love doing it," said Wright, whose day job has been in the construction business for more than 40 years. "I'm going to do it this time. It's a lot of fun ."

Wright said he started thinking about reopening Willie's after Diana's Kitchen, which had opened in the same space, closed last year.

"I thought about it for months before deciding to open it again," he said.

"Everything is basically the same," he said. "I even have three of the girls who worked for me then back. I'm very excited about that."

Wright said the menu is the same one that he inherited when he bought the business from its founder's son Willie Mahoney Jr. The original hot dog stand opened in 1955 near 157th Street and Crawford Avenue in Markham.

"We use Hillshire Farms hot dogs and there's a special way to make the burgers," he said. "The double cheeseburger is our most popular along with the hot dogs."

The Tinley location is small and seats only 16 with a couple of picnic tables outside.

Wright is also thinking about adding some special events this time around.

"I'm thinking of having a steam corn during the sweet corn season and I'm going to organize a hot dog eating contest with prizes for first, second and third."

He has no plans to open a second location.

"Having a second location killed me the first time around," he said. "I won't do that again."

Willie's is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday.

For information, call the restaurant at 708-633-4666.

Eatery closes in Frankfort

Hawgs-n-Dawgs, a restaurant that had an elaborate motorcycle theme, closed recently at 7940 W. Lincoln Highway in Frankfort. The eatery opened in May 2006 and specialized in deep-fried hot dogs and great french fries.

Sleepy's opens second store in Orland

Sleepy's, a New York-based company that calls itself the world's largest mattress retailer and which opened stores late last year in Orland Park, Frankfort, Evergreen Park and Chicago's Southwest Side, opened a second Orland Park store earlier this month at 158th Street and LaGrange Road in the former Starbuck's.

The Hicksville-based company, which has more than 800 showrooms in 14 Eastern and mid-Atlantic states and carries a wide selection of mattress brands, opened its first Chicago-area store last summer.

 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.southlandsavvy.blogspot.com