Baby's Cheesesteak reopens in new Orland Park location

 

Baby's Cheesesteak is open again in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Baby's Cheesesteak, which closed its first Orland Park location last August, reopened last week at its new location at 15020 S. LaGrange Road in the Art Van Furniture plaza.

"We closed because of the expansion of LaGrange Road and because Starbucks wanted our location," said Baby's owner Andreas DeLeon.

But the company remained open at its original location in Country Club Hills as it looked for a new location.

"We had plazas from as far away as Berwyn and Oswego coming to us asking us to open a franchise," DeLeon said. "But we didn't want to venture that far.

"This location is smaller than what we're used to, but it's bigger than our original store. We went from 85 tables to 21 tables," he said. It also doesn't have a drive-through window.

Business has been booming in just the few days the store has been open, he said.

"We are looking at taking the space next door to us," DeLeon said.

Although the front counter staff is mostly new, all of the cooks have made the trip to the new location.

"I was able to keep them on at our Country Club Hills location," DeLeon said.

DeLeon said the opened was delayed because it took longer than expected to get the beef slicer for the new store.

"We wanted to open smart," he said. "Our customers have been pretty cool with the delayed opening. For the past eight months, we've been getting emails asking when we were going to open. So I knew we had something to go with."

DeLeon said the menu was the same as at the old location with one exception.

"We're doing pizza with Clubber's Pizza, which is a hand-tossed pizza that is very cost effective for us," he said.

Baby's will sell whole pizzas as well as pizza by the slice, he said.

Also new is an oven-baked cheese steak.

"We call it the OBC," he said. "We wrap the cheese steak in pizza dough and then we bake it for about 15 minutes. It comes out like a calzone."

You can still get the original cheese steak or the most popular version "crispy."

DeLeon said he's planning a grand opening for later in July and he's working on 10,000 fliers to announce the new location.

"We deliver to all of Orland Park and Orland Hills and to 183rd and Harlem in Tinley Park," he said.

Hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call 708-349-9800 or follow them on Facebook.

Starbucks, which closed a location in March 2013 across the street at 15833 S. LaGrange, is planning on opening in the former Baby's site. One of the reasons for moving the coffee shop was the lack of a drive-through.

Al's Beef teams up with Da Coach

Mokena-based Al's Beef, who signed Mike Ditka as the company spokesman back in May, has announced that in honor of July being National Hot Dog Month, the chain will add Spicy Jumbo  Ditka Dogs to its menu this month.

The special dog will weigh in at one-third of a pound of Vienna Beef on a poppy seed bun. That's about three times the size of a normal hot dog.

Free Slurpees on 7-Eleven Day

Free small Slurpees will be given away from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 11, which is the annual 7-Eleven Day at participating locations.

The giveaway is the Texas-based company's way of celebrating its birthday.

This year, the company will also give away free stuff every day from Saturday, July 12, to Saturday, July 19, to anyone who downloads the 7-Eleven app for your smartphone.

You can get the app at http://bit.ly/1q9Xzbu.

Victoria's Secret to open first PINK store

The first standalone PINK store in the Chicago area will open at 10 a.m. Friday, July 11, at Louis Joliet Mall.

The Victoria's Secret offshoot "will offer lingerie, sleepwear, loungewear, collegiate clothing, beauty products and accessories for college-age women," according to a release from the company.

As a store within a store, PINK was so successful that it was expanded into its own storefront.

Victoria's Secret will expand into the space once used by PINK.

First Midwest buys Great Lakes Bank

The parent of First Midwest Bank has agreed to pay $58 million for a group of eight banks in the south suburbs.

Itasca-based First Midwest Bancorp Inc. is acquiring Blue Island-based Great Lakes Financial Resources Inc., the parent of Great Lakes Bank. The bank, with assets of $582 million, has offices in Alsip, Blue Island, Flossmoor, Homewood, Lansing, Matteson and Mokena.

“We look forward to welcoming Great Lakes’ customers and employees to First Midwest and to building on the long-standing relationships developed over the more than 100 years that Great Lakes has provided financial services to its clients and communities,” First Midwest president and CEO Michael L. Scudder said in a prepared statement.

The companies expect the sale to close by the end of 2014.

 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

Sports Clips grand opening to include free haircuts

Sports Clips will offer free haircuts when it opens Friday in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Sports Clips, a sports-themed hair salon that caters to men and boys, will hold its grand opening on Friday at 7136 W. 183rd St. in Tinley Park.

"We will offer free haircuts all day Friday," said salon manager Jodi Austin. "And not just haircuts. We'll also offer free shampoos, hot towels and massages."

Austin said there would also be free doughnuts and coffee for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Friday. "Everyone in the community is invited," she said.

Haircuts will begin at 10 a.m.

The Tinley location will be the third for the same ownership group that also has salons at 9239 W. 159th St. in Orland Hills and 14005 S. Bell Road in Homer Glen. The group bought the Orland and Homer locations about 18 months ago, Austin said.

Austin, who also cuts hair, said the Tinley location would have eight stations and a well-trained staff with years of experience.

"This staff has been with me for three years and many used to manage their own stores, so we have loads of experience," she said.

Hours for the Tinley location will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call the new salon at 708-285-6349 or visit Sports Clips.

The chain was started in 1993 in Georgetown, Texas.

New owners for Tinley bakery

Although they won't yet name the new owners, Zettlmeier's Bakerei will be under new ownership starting July 1 at 17016 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.

Longtime owners Dee and Paul Zettlmeier announced last week they would be turning over the business at the end of June because they are retiring to Tennessee to tend to ailing parents.

Frankfort General Store to close

The Frankfort General Store, one of those quaint shops in downtown Frankfort, has announced it will be closing June 29 at 119 Kansas St.

The shop has had several owners since opening more than 30 years ago. Its current owners, Jack and Carole Wilger, bought it in 2009. It was known for old-fashioned candy, gourmet foods and specialty gifts.

The owners said a new store was expected to open in July. They also said a neighboring sister store, Glory Bee, which sells patriotic merchandise, antiques and gifts, would remain open at 104 Kansas St.

Merchandise is being discounted up to 75 percent off and they owners said they would offer a thank you gift with any purchase.

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.