Odyssey Fun World to Open Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch

Odyssey Fun World in Tinley Park will open a corn maze and pumpkin patch on Friday.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The Halloween season in Tinley Park will officially kick off this week when Odyssey Fun Farm Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maize opens on Friday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m. across the street from the Odyssey Fun World arcade at Harlem Avenue and Oak Park Avenue.

The 15-acre corn maze and pumpkin patch will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Friday to Halloween. Admission will be $10 per person (children 1 and younger get in for free), which includes unlimited use of our courtyard attractions such as hay rides, cow train, inflatable Kids Zone, two corn mazes, petting zoo and pig races.

Children under 12 who visit can also get free ice cream cones at the Culver’s in Tinley Park, Orland Park, Frankfort, Matteson and Homewood, and a free kids meal at Chili’s in Orland Park, New Lenox, Homewood, Calumet City and Chicago Ridge.

Available at additional cost are pony rides for $3, entry to the Beast for $3 and Corn Cannon shots (3 for $3 or 6 for $5).

General manager Clint Paraday said the spelling of maize (which is a Native Indian word for corn) was simple word play, and was the way the company that cuts the maze spells it.

“This is our first year in the business of farming and we are hoping to really bring a fun-filled fall season for all the families,” he said.

The grand opening ribbon cutting and open house will take place at noon Sunday, Sept. 25. The $10 admission fee will be waived for everyone who attends the ribbon cutting and open house.

For more information, call 708-429-3800 or visit Odyssey Fun Farm online.

HomeGoods To Open Sunday
The second new store at Brookside Marketplace opens this week when HomeGoods, a discount retailer that specializes in home fashions, opens on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 8 a.m. at 191st Street and Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park.

The 25,000-square-foot store is next to the recently opened Five Below location. It will have about 60 full-time and part-time workers. It will be the 21st HomeGoods location in the Chicago-area.

Grand opening hours will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and afterward will be Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

As part of the grand opening, Massachusetts-based HomeGoods will donate $5,000 to the Crisis Center for South Suburbia shelter.

For more information, visit HomeGoods Tinley Park online.

Neat Repeats Resale Shop Open Again
Neat Repeats Resale is sporting a new, bigger look in its new digs at 9028 W. 159th St. in Orland Park.

The store now has 3,650 feet of space to display its selection of small household items, giftware and clothing.

The grand reopening will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. Regular hours will be Monday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“It’s been a long process, with more than a year of planning and several weeks of actual construction,” Joyce Athey, Director of Neat Repeats Resale, said in a release. “But the result is just fabulous! Our volunteers and customers are really excited about the new space.”

All proceeds support the Crisis Center for South Suburbia shelter.

For information or to volunteer, stop in or call 708-364-7605.

Crab House To Reopen

N’awlins Crab House has closed at 200 Dixie Highway in Chicago Heights but never fear seafood lovers, the restaurant is expected to open soon under new ownership.

The old phone number has been disconnected but the chain’s website says the Chicago Heights location is opening soon.

For information, visit N’awlins Crab House online.

Hhgregg Opens Store in Orland Park

hhgregg opened its largest Chicago-area store on Thursday in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Appliance and electronics retailer hhgregg would not have opened a new store in Orland Park this week without the failure of other retailers such as Circuit City and Linens-N-Things.

“We are coming to Chicago because we were able to get real estate at reasonable prices,” said Jeff Pearson, vice president of marketing for the Indianapolis-based retailer of electronics and appliances. Attempts to enter the Chicago market earlier were thwarted by high rents and few desirable locations.

Hhgregg officially opened 14 stores on Thursday, including the Orland Park store at 1385 Orland Park Place Dr. at Orland Park Place Mall. All of the stores are taking space vacated by other retailers.

In this case, hhgregg is moving into the former Sports Authority store, which moved recently into the former Circuit City location at 94th Avenue and 159th Street in Orland Hills.
Pearson said that hhgregg, which was founded in 1955, was able to finally crack the Chicago marketplace when big box locations started becoming available thanks to the sour economy.
“We were able to take advantage of an opportunity that exists because some retailers were unable to make a go of it,” he said.

Pearson said hhgregg will succeed because “consumers like our retail model. We have fantastic prices, a wide selection and a better level of service” than rival retailers.

“A lot of retailers believe in self-serve,” he said. “We believe in associates who know about all of our products and who can help consumers make an informed decision on what to buy.”

Approximately 700 people have been hired to staff the new Chicago-area stores, he said. All of them have undergone a comprehensive training program and are regularly updated on products, he said.

Pearson said each store will have more than 100 digital televisions and 500 appliances in stock every day.

Pearson said a grand opening sale will run until Sept. 24 with low prices, special financing options and a chance to win prizes including a Frigidaire Stainless Steel Appliance Package, a 55-inch LG 3D TV or a Magellan GPS.

He said hhgregg also has a newly designed website that consumers can use to search and compare products as well as make online purchases.

The 14 openings make Chicago hhgregg’s largest market, and another six stores are expected to open before Christmas including one at Ford City Mall on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

Pearson said the Orland Park store will be 44,000 square feet, which is the largest one opening Thursday. Other area stores are in Joliet, Naperville, and Merrillville, Ind. Store hours are Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

With the addition of the Chicago-area stores, hhgregg will operate 204 stores in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

James & Sons Opens Gold Exchange

James & Sons closed their Olympia Fields jewelry store back in 2008 but continued to buy gold a couple of days a week at the store at 3474 Vollmer Road in the Olympia Square Shopping Center.

The retailer moved back into the community full time recently when it opened J&S Gold & Diamond Exchange in that same location.

The company buys gold and diamonds as well as makes short-term loans much like a pawn shop.

The Sunderland family remains involved with the store, which still operates jewelry stores in Orland Square, Chicago and Schererville, Ind.

J&S is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, call 708-481-1500 or visit their website at http://www.jandsgold.com/.

Hallmark Store Closes

Rand’s Hallmark closed recently at 91 Joe Orr Road in Chicago Heights.

Bears Deal of the Weekend

Watch the Bears take on the Saints on Sunday and get free appetizers at halftime at Oliver’s Bar & Grill, 6150 W. 159th St., Oak Forest.

Jewel Sells Gas Stations to Circle K

Jewel is selling its gas stations to Circle K.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

SuperValu Inc. agreed last week to sell its Jewel Express gas stations in the Chicago area, including the one at 16625 W. 159th St. in Lockport, to Couche-Tard/Circle K.

Other fuel centers in the Southland are in Orland Park, Oak Forest, New Lenox, Homewood and 9400 S. Ashland Ave. in Chicago.

The stations are among 107 SuperValu is selling to raise money to strengthen other parts of its core grocery business.

The sale is expected to close this fall.

Visitors Bureau Annual Meeting
The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau's annual meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the Tinley Park Convention Center. Keynote speaker will be Warren Ribley, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity. For information, contact Elizabeth Baun at 708-895-8200. To register, go to http://budurl.com/AnnualMeeting.

Chamber Doings
Bananas Restaurant is hosting a Business After Hours on Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 5-8 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Tinley Park, 18335 S. Harlem Ave. The restaurant was recently renovated. RSVP to the chamber at 708-532-5700, info@tinleychamber.org or http://www.tinleychamber.org/.

Wehmeier Portraits is hosting a Business After Hours on Thursday, Sept. 15, at 4:30 p.m. at 9540 W. 144th Place, Suite A, in Orland Park. RSVP to the Orland Area Chamber at (708) 349-2972 or http://www.orlandparkchamber.org/calresp.asp?id=14786

Archer Bank is hosting a Business After Hours on Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 5-7:30 p.m. at 16700 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park. RSVP to the chamber at 708-532-5700, info@tinleychamber.org or http://www.tinleychamber.org/.

Ribbon Cutting for Billy’s Char-House
Billy’s Char-House at 703 E. Ninth St. in Lockport will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

Ribbon Cutting for Pompei
Pompei Little Italy will hold a ribbon cutting grand opening on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 11:45 a.m. at the Riviera Country Club at 8801 W. 143rd St. in Orland Park.

Educator to Speak to Rotary
A Lincoln-Way educator and Rotarian who travelled to Uganda this summer to work with teachers and students at a school for orphans and underprivileged children will talk about his experiences with the Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Tim Reilly, director of instruction for Lincoln-Way High School District 210, spent eight days in Uganda this past summer observing and coaching eight teachers at Miracle Destiny School.

“I went to visit our `sister school’ and help their teachers,” said Reilly. “But I was impacted by the kids and teachers more than I helped.

“I thought I knew what to expect from the pictures and correspondences over the years,” he said. “But until I could see the school and community and feel their need personally, I really didn’t understand. That school is doing incredible work with so few resources. I was honored to work with them.”

Reilly will share stories and photographs from his trip at 7:15 a.m. Sept. 15 in Phoenix Hall. The community is invited to attend.

Each year, the club presents dictionaries to third-graders in Harvey School District 152, raises money for the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, donates eyeglasses for use in underprivileged countries and awards scholarships to graduating seniors from Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way North, Tinley Park and Andrew high schools who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and service to the community.

For information, contact President Karen Wegrzyn at 708-359-4715 or visit the club’s website at http://www.tinleyparkfrankfortrotary.com/.

Postal Connections Announces Winner
Cary Sheehan, of Mokena, takes home an Apple iPod Touch as winner of the grand opening sweepstakes at Postal Connections, which opened recently at 18090 S. Wolf Road at the Marley Creek Shopping Center in Orland Park. Postal Connections is a retailer of postal, business and communication services. For information, contact owner Eric Czerwonka at 708-478-4965 or online at http://www.postalconnections.org/.

Fire Closes Franconello
A fire and explosion over the Labor Day weekend has temporarily closed Franconello Italian Restaurant at 10222 S. Western Ave. in Chicago’s Beverly community. The popular restaurant opened in 1993. Its owners told the Beverly Review they fully intend to reopen the establishment.