Carm’s Beef Opens in Tinley Park

Carm's Beef opened this week in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Carm’s Beef, a new Italian restaurant with a rich history, has opened at 17801 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.

The original Carm’s was opened in 1947 by owner Mick Nebren’s grandmother at Cicero Avenue and what would become the Eisenhower Expressway. A second store followed in Berwyn and then a store was located in Hillside for more than three decades.

“I left the restaurant business for a while to be a Realtor,” said Nebren. “But I decided it was time to bring back Carm’s Beef.”

The restaurant that also features pizza, hamburgers, Italian sausage, subs, deli sandwiches and all kinds of salads opened Jan. 9, said Nebren who owns Carm’s with his wife Judy. Both hail from Plainfield.

“If you remember my grandmother’s place, that’s the kind of food we’ll have,” said Nebren who added that lots of people have been calling to ask if the new place is related to grandma’s original Carm’s.

A special of the house will be 99-cent hotdogs every Saturday. No limit.

“We have a special blend of hotdogs served Chicago-style,” said Nebren.

Hours will be Monday to Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Nebren said a website and Facebook page are in the works.

For information, call 708-444-4272.

Grand Reopening for Velocity Sports
Velocity Sports Performance of Tinley Park will hold is grand reopening Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 7700 Graphics Drive.

The athletic training facility closed last fall when its original owners went bankrupt. New owners Mike and Cindy See stepped in and reopened late last year.

Special guest on Saturday will be former NFL star Chuck Thomas of the San Francisco 49ers who will visit with guests and sign autographs.

For information, call 708.444.3278 or visit their website at http://www.velocitysp.com/tinleypark.

Brown’s Chicken Closes in Orland
Brown’s Chicken served its last wings last week when the restaurant closed at 14450 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park.

A company spokeswoman told the Orland Park Patch that the restaurant lost its lease. “Right now, there are no plans to reopen Brown’s at that location,” said Jennifer Gordon.

The building and business had been listed for sale for $929,000 for months on various real estate and commercial property websites.

Payless Shoes Closing in Markham
The Payless ShoeSource store at 2959 W. 159th St. will close on Monday, though the store has almost depleted its inventory.

The store is one of 475 underperforming locations the retailer announced in August it would be closing.

A Payless store in Chicago Heights also is closing, and a store on Harlem Avenue in Orland Park closed some time ago.

Dunkin’ Donuts to Open 500th Chicago Area Shop in Mount Greenwood

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Dunkin’ Donuts will open its 500th Chicago-area shop at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 3206 W. 111th St. in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community.

As part of the celebration, the first 500 customers will get a Dunkin’ Donuts travel mug and a $2 gift card. The chain is also collecting food from 8 a.m. to noon for FeedChicago.org. Anyone who makes a cash or food donation will get a coupon good for a free doughnut. Dunkin’ Donuts will make a $2,000 presentation to the organization.

There also will be a raffle for a chance to win a $100 gift card, Bulls and Blackhawk tickets and a Pepsi bike and helmet.

On hand for the celebration starting at 11 a.m. will be Benny the Bull, the Luvabulls, Bulls broadcasters Bill Wennington and Chuck Swirsky, B96 personalities J, Julian and Showbiz Shelly and Ald. Matthew O’Shea.

The shop is owned by Sam Savani.

Game Time, Carmen’s Close in Palos Heights
Game Time Sports Grill & Pub closed recently at 6405 W. 127th St. in Palos Heights. The 5,400-square-foot building and business has been listed for sale for months at prices ranging from $3.1 million to $399,000.

Also closing recently in Palos Heights was Carmen’s Jazz Bistro at 7210 W. College Dr. The bistro’s website and Facebook page are still active but the phone number has been disconnected and the bistro is not included on the Palos Heights list of businesses.

There is a new business in town as a Cricket Wireless cell phone store opened recently at 7202 W. 119th St.

Shoes Walking Out of Chicago Heights
The Payless Shoe Source is holding a store closing sale at its 321 W. Lincoln Highway location in Chicago Heights. The company has already deleted the store from its website.

Beggars Opens in Bourbonnais
The newest Beggars Pizza opened this week at 165 S. Main St. in Bourbonnais. The restaurant features a dining room, delivery and free wi-fi.

Hours are Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sundays from noon to 10 p.m.

The phone number is 815-937-9999.

Sam Maguire's Closes in Orland Park

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Sam Maguire's Irish Pub is no more.

The establishment closed its doors at 39 Orland Square Drive for the last time Sunday night.

Judging by the comments on its Facebook page, the closing caught everyone off guard.

It also caught the Orland Park Chamber off guard.

Chamber Executive Director Keloryn Putnam said she came in to work Monday and found out she had to find a new venue for this week's Young Professionals Meet Up, which had been scheduled for Sam Maguire's on Thursday.

"They hadn't been a chamber member for awhile," Putnam said. "So I don't really know what happened. I just came in and found out they were closed."

The meeting has been reschuduled for Casa Margarita, 9549 W. 151st St., at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

The phone number and website were both still working Monday, but neither the website nor a recorded phone message indicated the establishment was closed. There also was no indication on its Facebook page that the tavern was closed except for the dozens of comments by former employees and customers.

Mary McNally, a loan officer at the State Bank of Countryside branch in Homer Glen, said the closing was not linked to a foreclosure lawsuit filed against the tavern in September seeking $2.2 million.

"We had nothing to do with their closing," she said. "I know nothing about it."

She also said she believes the foreclosure suit is still making its way through Cook County Circuit Court.

The property has been listed for sale for months for $2.7 million, and was on a Coldwell Banker website as recently as Dec. 27, 2011.