Fashion Guru Clinton Kelly To Open Store Friday in Orland Square Mall

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Clinton Kelly

Fashion guru Clinton Kelly will be at Orland Square Mall on Friday, Nov. 4, to open his own custom tailoring store Perfect Fit by Clinton Kelly at the Stitch It store.

Kelly, who co-hosts What Not to Wear on TLC and The Chew on ABC, will arrive at 2:30 p.m. At 5 p.m., he will provide one-minute style consultations to the first 100 people to visit the store. The store opens at 10 a.m.

The new store is a joint venture between Kelly and Stitch It to combine the efforts of expert stylists with skilled tailors.

According to a news release, Perfect Fit works with both men and women and can work its magic with clothes just bought, that have hung in the closet for years or were found at a thrift store.

The Wild Rover in Frankfort

Owners Jim and Jack Dillon hope to open The Wild Rover Restaurant and Tavern at 20535 S. LaGrange Road in Frankfort at 6 p.m. Friday as long as the new establishment passes its final village inspection.

The new eatery will be open for lunch and dinner and drinks from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

The brothers have added a small outdoor seating area to the former K.T. Mae's in the Vineyards Plaza.

For information, visit their Facebook page at The Wild Rover Restaurant and Tavern.

Family Martial Arts Opens in Tinley

A new martial arts school called Family Martial Arts opened earlier this month at 16707 S. 80th Avenue in Tinley Park.

Family Martial Arts also has locations in Mokena and Shorewood. Those locations teach both tae kwondo and hapkido but the Tinley location is at present teaching only tae kwon do. Classes are available for anyone 4 and older.

The new school or dojang is open Monday through Friday from 4-6:30 p.m.

The school is offering a grand opening special to its first 30 students: one month free, a free uniform and 40 percent off class rates.

For information, call 708-444-2110 or visit their website at http://www.fmakick.com/.

Rotary Donates Dictionaries

The Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club recently donated dictionaries to every third-grader in Harvey School District 152 and English Language Learners and English as a Second Language students at Tinley Park High School.

The dictionaries are multi-faceted, with sections about weights and measurements, biographies of the U.S. presidents and copies of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.

“Literacy has always been an important issue for Rotary International. At the local level, this project allows us to make an impact on those who live right here in our own back yard,” Karen Wegrzyn, president of the Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club, said in a release.

This is the fifth year the club has donated dictionaries to the Harvey School District and the second year it has donated dictionaries to students who are learning English as a second language.

For information about the club’s efforts and how you can join, contact Wegrzyn at 708-359-4715 or visit the club’s website at http://www.tinleyparkfrankfortrotary.com/.

The group meets at 7:15 a.m. every Thursday at Lincoln-Way North High School, 19900 S. Harlem Ave., Frankfort.

Casto’s Closes in Tinley Park

The sign in front of Casto's is now blank along Oak Park Avenue.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The economy claimed another victim in Tinley Park this week when Casto’s Ristorante suddenly closed its doors at 16846 S. Oak Park Ave.

Calls to owner Bill Casto were not returned, but a message on the front door of the restaurant cited “the economy, high taxes and unwillingness of Archer Bank to work with small business” as reasons for the closing.

The restaurant opened in 1999 and was noted for its Christmas in July celebrations, which sometimes included holiday inflatables on the front lawn.

Oak Lawn Dominick’s Closing

Dominick’s is closing another Southland location. The supermarket chain will shut down its store at 8700 S. Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn on Monday, Jan. 1.

“The lease expired and the store did not meet sales expectations,” said Lauri Sanders, director of Public Affairs and Government Relations.

She said the store had 75 full-time and part-time employees.

Also, Sanders dispelled rumors that the store at 127th Street and Ridgeland Avenue in Palos Heights was closing.

“We have no plans to close our Dominick’s in Palos Heights,” she said.

The company did close its Orland Park store recently.

Once the Oak Lawn store closes, Dominick’s will have 76 stores in the Chicago marketplace.

Doc Popcorn Opens at Chicago Ridge

Doc Popcorn is now open at Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall in the Center Corridor near Bed, Bath and Beyond. This Sunday from 2-4 p.m. you can get a free bag of popcorn in celebration of its grand opening. Just mention you saw the Yellow Ad.

Bear Sighting

Wide receiver Johnny Knox of the Chicago Bears will be at Phillips Chevy, 9700 Lincoln Highway in Frankfort, on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. to sign autographs.

There’s no Bears deal this weekend because the team is on its bye week.

Halloween Deal

Applebee’s is holding a Kids Eat Free promotion on Monday, Oct. 31. Kids 12 and under can order for free from the Kids Menu. Two free kids for every paid adult entrée.

Berkot's Eyes Orland Park Location

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Orland Park looks like it will be getting a new grocery store to replace Green Food and Produce, which closed earlier this year at 11333 W. 159th St. in the Wolf Crossing plaza at 159th and Wolf Road.

Mokena-based Berkot’s Super Foods has applied for building permits and the village is reviewing plans, Karie Friling, director of development services, told me recently.

“It’s no secret,” she said.

Indeed not, I have received emails from a couple of readers asking me when Berkot’s was going to open.

For its part, Berkot’s is staying mum. I received an email recently from Luke Kotara at Berkot’s who said he would contact me when he could confirm the plan.

Berkot’s has a nice history of taking former supermarkets and breathing new life into them. They did it most recently this past summer in Lockport when they converted a former Sterk’s and Fairway Foods into the company’s 13th location.

Season of the Witch

Remember when Halloween was all about candy and carving pumpkins? Those days are long gone and Halloween is now the second biggest retail season behind Christmas and several seasonal shops have opened in the Southland in advance of next week’s holiday.

Spirit Halloween is now open in the former Borders store in Ravinia Plaza in Orland Park, in the former Borders Express in Chicago Ridge Mall, at 14726 S. Cicero Ave. in the former Walgreens at Mid-Oak Plaza and at the Long Run Marketplace, 13462 Archer Ave. in Lemont.

Halloween City has set up shop at 15852 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park, at 4824 Lincoln Highway in Matteson, and 19816 S. LaGrange Road in Mokena.

Halloween Express is open at 7260 W. 159th St. in the Home Depot Plaza in Orland Park and at 6101 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn in a former Men’s Wearhouse.

Chick-fil-A Celebrates Anniversary

Chick-fil-A will celebrate its first anniversary at 15605 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park by giving away free chicken sandwiches from 6-10:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 29. The eatery is also offering free kitchen tours from 2-4 p.m. sign up at http://cfarestaurant.com/orlandpark

Happy Halloween at Orland Square Mall

Simon Kidgets Club is hosting a free Halloween party for kids 3-8 at Orland Square Mall on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The event, presented by Dole, will include activities and games, crafts, a costume contest, and trick-or-treating through the mall. Dole will be handing out Real Fruit Bites sample. Free Trick-or-Treat Bags will also be distributed while supplies last.

Orland Park Bakery Announces New Home

Orland Park Bakery, which is losing its longtime home at Orland Plaza, has finally announced it will be moving into new and larger digs at 14850 S. LaGrange Road next to Dania furniture.

“We’re very excited about moving there,” Dan Major told Orland Park Patch last week about the bakery’s new location. There’s plenty of parking there, and it’s easy to access both from LaGrange and Ravinia.”

Café Gaston Ribbon Cutting
Café Gaston is unveiling its new look and menu to the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce at a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 14438 John Humphrey Drive in Orland Park.
RSVP to the chamber at http://www.orlandparkchamber.org/calresp.asp?id=14807

Downtown Tinley Halloween Kiddie Parade

The Oak Park Avenue Mainstreet Association is holding its 13th annual Halloween Kiddie Parade and Party on Sunday, Oct. 30, from noon to 3 p.m. outside its office at 170th Street and Oak Park Avenue in downtown Tinley Park.

There will be a walking parade, trick-or-treating at local businesses, games, prizes, snacks and refreshments. Prizes will be awarded in “Best of” categories.
Businesses are invited to set up a table and pass out treats to the kids along with a coupon or promotional item to the parents. In past years, there have been 450-500 children, not including their parents, grandparents and pets. Go to http://www.opama.org/ to download an entry form.

Ford to Add Jobs at Local Plants

Ford Motor Co. plans to invest up to $200 million to expand its Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Heights Stamping Plant and add upwards of 1,200 jobs between the two plants.

Gov. Pat Quinn last week said the automaker will add a third shift at the Assembly Plant in Chicago’s Hegewisch community, which makes the Taurus, Lincoln MKS and Explorer. The investment will allow the plant to produce new sedan and SUV police interceptors.

Ford will invest $117 million at the Assembly Plant and $86 million to upgrade the stamping plant, which makes body panels.

Crematorium OK’d for Homewood

Homewood has approved a special-use permit that will allow the Cremation Society of Illinois to build a crematorium at 17859 Bretz Drive. The society operates two other crematoriums in Romeoville and Rockford.

Annual Legislative Breakfast


 The Southland Chamber of Commerce will hold its Annual Legislative Breakfast on Friday, Oct. 28, from 8-10 a.m. at The Horton Group, 10320 Orland Parkway in Orland Park. For information, call 708-957-6950 or visit their website at http://www.chicagosouthland.com/.