Tilted Kilt closes in Chicago Ridge

The Tilted Kilt closed in October at Chicago Ridge Mall. (Photo by Bob Bong)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Las Vegas-based Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery at Chicago Ridge Mall closed without warning Oct. 29 and workers have leveled the building.

The pub — sort of a Gaelic cousin of Hooters with bosomy waitresses wearing plaid miniskirts and open midriffs — occupied an out lot at the mall, according to a mall spokeswoman. She said the pub closed at 2 a.m. Oct. 29 and never reopened.

Kelly McNamara, an account manager with FishmanPR who represents Tilted Kilt, said in an email, "We were notified yesterday (Thursday) at 2:30pm PST of the closure and are still gathering the details. We will keep you informed as more information becomes available."

An extensive renovation of the building is planned, Matt Robitaille, a superintendent with Venture Construction Co., based in Greensboro, N.C., said last week.

The plans call for an expansion, he said, and the opening of Miller’s Alehouse is tentatively scheduled for April, he said.

The Chicago Ridge location was the chain's only spot in the south suburbs. It opened several years ago in a former Bennigan's restaurant.

There were plans in 2012 to open a Tilted Kilt in the former Fat Ricky’s at 16255 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park, but that project never moved forward.

There were rumors about the same time that a Tilted Kilt was planned for the Boulevard Plaza at 191st Street and LaGrange Road in Mokena – fueled in part because a Tilted Kilt van was parked there for several weeks – but nothing ever materialized.

There are still nearby Tilted Kilt locations in Joliet, Bolingbrook and Merrillville in northwest Indiana.

Durbin's opens in Summit

The Burbank-based Durbin's Restaurant chain opened its latest location earlier this month on Archer Road in Summit.

"It's a nice fit for us," said Durbin's owner Tom McAuliffe, of Palos Hills.

The restaurant at 5719 S. Archer Road is smaller than most Durbin's locations at about 2,000-square-foot, but serves a typical Durbin's menu including pizza as well as burgers, sandwiches, steak, pasta and seafood.

"All of our food is homemade," he said.

"It's a smaller location," McAuliffe said. "It's a lot like the location in Frankfort."

The Summit location opened Nov. 6 and was several weeks behind its original projected opening date.

The restaurant has a staff of a couple of dozen people. All Durbin's are owned and operated by family members.

"We've been doing this for 28 years," McAuliffe said, adding that he wasn't done opening new locations.

"We're also looking for a spot in Lyons and, if everything works out, we'll be opening at Toyota Park," he said.

Other Durbin locations are in Tinley Park, Plainfield, Evergreen Park, Palos Hills, Manteno and Midlothian.

For information, call 708-924-6000 or visit www.durbinspizza.com.

Taco and tequila bar opens in Frankfort

A new Mexican flavored restaurant opened recently in downtown Frankfort.

Fat Rosie's Taco and Tequila Bar opened Tuesday in the former Cottage Creations at 28 Kansas St., which just opened in a new location in downtown Frankfort.

Rosie's is owned by Scott Harris, who also owns Francesca Italian restaurants in Frankfort, Oak Lawn and Palos Park, Davanti Enoteca Italian restaurants and Glazed & Infused doughnut shops.

Fat Rosie’s  serves authentic Mexican street fare, including handmade margaritas, fresh sangrias and local craft beers. The bar features nearly 50 different types of tequilas and mezcals.

The restaurant specializes in small plates and shareable items including tacos, a variety of salsas, and regionally inspired braised meat and seafood entrees.

The restaurant seats 100 with patio seating for 80 more.

The restaurant is now open for dinner at 5 p.m. Lunch service will be offered beginning at 11 a.m. Carryout and catering is available.

For information, visit www.fatrosies.com or call 815-534-1640.

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 

Wu's House opens in Orland Park

Wu's House Japanese Restaurant has opened in Orland Park. (Photo by Bob Bong)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A  new restaurant that caters to fans of Asian cuisine has opened in Orland Park.

Wu's House Japanese Restaurant held its grand opening last month at 16310 S. LaGrange Road complete with a traditional Asian Lion Dance.

"We had lots of festive events and a display cake by Creative Cakes," said General Manager James Aday, who added that all of the desserts at the restaurant are supplied by Creative Cakes in Tinley Park.

Aday said Wu's House offers a wide range of Asian cuisines including sushi, Thai and Thai, but specializes in hibachi cooking.

"All of our hibachi chefs have more than seven years of experience," he said. "They are very good."

Aday said a special offer at Wu's is an all-you-can-eat lunch that includes sushi, sashimi and chef rolls.

The restaurant is in the former Round the Clock restaurant and its owners, who also operate Woow Sushi restaurants in Orland, Frankfort, LaGrange and Algonquin, spent months remodeling the building.

Aday said the new name was chosen to distinguish the fine dining restaurant from the sushi locations.

Wu's House is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Aday said there is no lunch offered on Sundays but the dinner menu is available all day.

The restaurant also has carry out and will deliver within a five-mile radius, for a $3.50 delivery charge.

For information, call 708-737-7357 or visit Wu's House.

Snackville Junction reborn as French/Vietnamese diner

The longtime home of Snackville Junction has come back to life in Evergreen Park.

Gone are the model trains that for about 60 years used to deliver burgers and fries to kids. They have been replaced by a martini bar and a kitchen that specializes in Thai, Vietnamese and French dishes.

ThiThi's opened in July at 9144 S. Kedzie Ave. after giving the building a complete makeover from a burger joint to a fine dining restaurant.

ThiThi's is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Glenn Pniewski, who works for the village of Evergreen Park, said the new owners did a "wonderful job revamping the place." He said that the early reviews had been very favorable.

According to their Facebook page, they do take reservations.

For information, call 708-634-3925 or visit their Facebook page at ThiThi's Restaurant.

Hills Family Drug moves store to Palos Heights

Hills Family Drug, a locally owned chain of pharmacies, has moved one of its stores from Palos Hills to Palos Heights. With the move came a name change from Palos Hills Pharmacy to Palos Drugs.

The chain was founded in 1965 when Phillip Gustarella joined Hickory Hills Pharmacy and quickly became a partner.

He followed that up by starting Forest Hills Pharmacy, a professional pharmacy, in 1976 in a medical building in Justice. In 1985, he partnered with another local pharmacy to open the Palos Hills location.

In 2004, he expanded again with another professional pharmacy, Hills Drug Orland, in a Palos Community Hospital Immediate Care Center in Orland Park.

His daughter, Gia, who followed in her dad's footsteps and became a pharmacist in 1995 now runs the Palos Heights location at 7600 W. College Drive.

"The chain stores are not into personal care or service," Gustarella said as to his success. "I have good rapport with my customers. I probably know 90 percent of them by their first name. We cater to the customer and don't gouge them on the price."

The personal touch includes free delivery. "Free delivery is a big deal for the seniors," he said.

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 

Last hurrah for Kris Kringle Haus holiday store in Orland Park

Jim Gierucki stands next to a giant Nutcracker in Kris Kringle Haus. (Photo by Bob Bong)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A 25-year Christmas tradition will be ending after this holiday season when Kris Kringle Haus finishes one last go round as Orland Park's pre-eminent Christmas store.

Co-owner Jim Gierucki has decided to hang up the Christmas stockings for good when the shop closes in January at 9500 W. 143rd St. in Orland Park Crossing, in the former Coldwater Creek store.

Gierucki and his wife, Cleo, have operated Kris Kringle Haus for a quarter of a century. For the first 16 years, the shop was operated year-round in Geneva. The Palos Park couple closed that shop in 2006 and opted for a season store that would operate from the beginning of October to early January.

The first year the store was in Palos Heights, but the couple have been in Orland Park ever since always in a storefront somewhere on or near LaGrange Road.

"This is the nicest space we've ever had since we went to a seasonal store," said Gierucki.

The store opened earlier this month and will remain open until Jan. 9.

"We'll have a retirement party that day," Gierucki said. "We'll have a cake and cookies and mulled cider."

Until then, the store will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

"Everything is for sale," Gierucki said. "Everything is 20 percent off and we have never had anything on sale this early before."

The decision has been well received by his customers, Gierucki said.

"Regulars have been coming in and buying heavy. Hopefully, we won't have anything left by Jan. 9."

As for Jim and Cleo, "We'll take things a little easier. Next Christmas we'll put up our own Christmas tree in our house. We've been so busy we haven't had one up for the last 25 years."

New name, new location for Frankfort gift shop

Cottage Creations Gift Shop, which first opened in 2000 as an Irish, German, Austrian import shop  in Mokena, has now opened as Isabel's Journey in its newest location at 28 Kansas St. in historic, downtown Frankfort.

 “We felt we’ve been on a journey since first opening in August 2000," Liz Connolly, who owns the business with her husband Marty, said in a release.

She said they decided to change the name party because the new location is their fourth since moving from Mokena.

"We thought a name change to match our journey fit well. I’ve always loved the name and feel along the way we were watched by a guardian angel that I, of course, named Isabel," she said.

When they first moved to downtown Frankfort four years ago, the couple discontinued the imports and have evolved into a more general gift shop striving to offer an eclectic mix of products with a priority of service and friendliness.

“We have had the good fortune of a very loyal customer base that followed our relocations and remained with us on our journey," she said. "Over the 15 years, we’ve also been blessed with having so many of those customers become wonderful friends.”

The new location is more than twice as big as their previous location. Because of the extra space, the couple plans to add unique and different gift items, many one of a kind, along with an expanded offering of prepackaged food items.

They said they will have a retail food license and the room to create a hospitality area with complimentary beverage and product samplings to enhance the shopping experience.

They will continue offering their popular Nora Fleming serving ware, cutwork and embroidered table cloths and tea light luminary shades.

For information, call 815-464-5240 or visit them at Isabel's Journey.

Outriggers closes in Countryside

Outriggers Flame, a seafood restaurant that opened in early 2014 in the former Flame steakhouse at 803 Joliet Road in Countryside, appears to have closed.

The restaurant has had a closed sign on the door for a couple of weeks and its website has been taken down. Calls to the phone number go unanswered.

The closing came about two and a half years after the same restaurant abruptly closed its doors at 15917 S. Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park.

 At that time, a manager said the restaurant lost its lease but promised the Greek seafood eatery would be back soon.

 “We won’t be gone for too long,” said Dimitri, a manager who declined to give his last name. “We don’t want our customers to forget us.”

Outriggers, which had other south suburban locations over the years including a restaurant a block north in Orland Park, had been in the Tinley location for several years.

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