Pole Dancing Convention Back in Tinley

A pole dancer competes at last year's competition. -- Photo by Jeremy Farmer, TimeOut Chicago.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Now for something completely different.

The Great Midwest Pole Dancing Competition and Convention is coming this weekend to the Tinley Park Convention Center.

It will be the second year the center will host the pole dancing competition, which is sanctioned by the Pole Fitness Association and Pole Dance and Fitness Association.

The convention begins at 9 a.m. Friday and runs through Sunday. The public is welcome and tickets are $65 per day with weekend passes available.

For information and a complete schedule of prices and events, visit them online at Great Midwest Competition and Convention.

Scrementi’s Returns to Mokena

Scrementi's Italian Grill opened this week in Mokena.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Scrementi’s restaurant has found a new home in Mokena.

Now called Scrementi’s Italian Grill, the restaurant opened Tuesday at 9301 W. 191^st St. in the Boulevard shopping center.

The first Scrementi’s Mokena location opened in the fall of 2010 in the former Angelino’s and was forced out several months later. They searched a long time for a new location before settling on a corner spot at the Boulevard.

 “The new location has a totally different set up,” said Nancy Vandal, manager at the original Scrementi’s in Steger.

The new location is a single-level establishment as opposed to the three-floor former location. There is an outdoor patio, a bar area and a small banquet room for parties of up to 50 people.

“The menu will be very similar to the original location,” Vandal said.

She said owner Sam Scrementi was going for a “casual but elegant feel.”

“He wants people to be able to enjoy a nice dinner or to be able to sit in the bar and relax,” she said.

The new Scrementi’s will be open for lunch and dinner with hours from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

For information, call 708-478-3335 or visit them online at Sam Scrementi’s Restaurant or check out their Facebook page.

Natalie’s Gifts Calls it Quits

Natalie’s Gifts is going out of business after more than 20 years at 7206 W. College Drive in the Tiffany Square shopping center in Palos Heights. The store is holding a liquidation sale through August with prices on collectibles slashed 70 percent. For information, call 708-923-1461.

Gold and More Closing

Gold and More, a resale shop that specialized in buying gold and silver, is holding a going out of business sale at 7220 W. Benton Drive in Frankfort Square.

An employee said the store, which opened in November 2010, will close by the end of the month unless it runs out of inventory.

“We have until the end of the month when the lease runs out, but I don’t see us lasting that long,” the employee said.

Cici’s Closes in Lockport

The Cici’s Pizza restaurant closed recently at 16131 S. Farrell Road in Lockport. If you have a hankering for their pizza buffet or breadsticks, there are still restaurants in Plainfield, Naperville, Schererville, Ind., and at 9218 W. 159^th St. in Orland Park.

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.blogspot.com.

Tribes Alehouse to Open in Former Tinley Park CharleyHorse

Tribes Alehouse is opening a second location in the former CharleyHorse in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

It didn’t take long for a new establishment to gobble up the site of the former CharleyHorse sports pub at 171^st Street and LaGrange Road in Tinley Park’s Park Hill Towne Center.

Niall Freyne, owner of Tribes Alehouse in Mokena, is in the process of converting the former sports pub into a second location for his restaurant and pub.

"We're looking at opening in mid-September," Freyne said Tuesday. "We've only been in here for three weeks and we're almost done."

Freyne said he gutted the interior and started from scratch.

"I went against the rules and made the space inside smaller," he said. "But we are doubling the size of the bar and will have seating for 135."

"We'll start with 50 beers on tap and I hope to add a few as we go along."

Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki said he had been working with Freyne for the past three or four months to open a Tribes Alehouse in the village.

Zabrocki said Freyne has his liquor license and all of the other permits he needs, so it’s up to him when the new Tribes will open.

“I know he wants to open ASAP,” Zabrocki said.

The mayor also is quite pleased to see Tribes moving into Tinley Park.

“He has an excellent reputation,” Zabrocki said. “It’s a great location.”

Zabrocki said the opening of Tribes would be great for the area near 171^st and LaGrange.

“You’ll have Frankie’s Ristorante, a white tablecloth Italian restaurant, and Tribes, a kind of Irish pub. What more could you ask for?”

The website for Tribes says the pub is taking applications for all positions from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Thursday on the patio at the Tinley location and also anytime at the Mokena location, 11220 W. Lincoln Highway.

Freyne, of Mokena, opened Tribes in November 2009 just five months after he closed Galway Tribes in Frankfort. Freyne said the recession and a dramatically increased tax assessment killed Galway Tribes, which has since reopened as Tommy Nevin’s Pub.

Tribes Alehouse in Mokena features craft beers with 45 on tap most days, a full bar and an extensive menu.

Final Days for Enrico's

Enrico's Italian Dining is shutting its doors for a final time tomorrow at its longtime home on LaGrange Road in Frankfort.

The property was sold earlier this year by owners Harry and Bob D'Ercole to Roundy's, a supermarket chain based in Milwaukee that plans to build a Mariano's Fresh Market on the site.

The D'Ercoles have said they want to stay in the village in a new location, but haven't announced a spot.

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.blogspot.com.