CherryBerry yogurt shop opens in Orland

CherryBerry yogurt is now open in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Orland Park’s frozen yogurt scene added another player with the April 26 opening of CherryBerry at 15890 S. LaGrange Road.

The shop’s self-serve style is apparent in its mantra, said general manager Mary Whiteman.

“Swirl it, top it, weigh it and pay it,” she said with a laugh.

“Customers choose from a 16-ounce or 20-ounce cup,” she said. “You decide what you want. You pick out whatever yogurt you want and then your toppings and then we weigh it.”

The cost is then 57 cents per ounce.

“What separates us from most other frozen yogurt shops is that we use real products,” she said. “None of our yogurts are made from mixes or syrups.”

CherryBerry offers 50 different flavors of yogurts with 14 that rotate and 21 more that can be swirled together, she said.

Then there are the 50 toppings.

“I think we have every kind of topping you can imagine,” Whiteman said. “From peanuts to fresh fruit. I also have a cold bar that holds little chocolates that could melt.”

Unless specified, all of the yogurt flavors are gluten-free and peanut free.

“We have non-fat, reduced fat and no sugar added yogurts,” Whiteman said.

“We also have non-dairy sorbets.”

The store has a party room that can used for free for meetings and there are party packages available for birthdays parties and other celebrations.

The store is the first in the south suburbs though the company has other locations are in Plainfield and Bolingbrook.

Store hours are Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

CherryBerry joins three frozen yogurt shops that opened in Orland Park last year. TCBY, Red Mango and Trugurt all opened stores on LaGrange Road.

For information, call 708-349-8800, visit CherryBerry online or check out the shop’s Facebook page.

Back to Bed opens in Frankfort

Back to Bed has reopened its mattress store at 19959 S. LaGrange Road in Frankfort. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 815-464-8003.

Martial arts studio opens in Willow Springs

Team United Martial Arts Academy opened its new sports center at 8695 S. Archer Ave. in Willow Springs on May 1.

The school will offer classes for everyone from 3 years old and up.

For information, call 630-340-2263 or visit Team United online.

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 follow business happenings at Comings & Goings.

Sears closing 47-year-old River Oaks store in Calumet City

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Sears will be the second anchor store to abandon River Oaks Mall in Calumet City when the retailer closes its store at the mall in June. Carsons pulled out of the mall earlier this year.

Sears was one of the original anchor stores when the mall opened in 1966 as an open-air mall. It put a roof on the plaza several years ago.

The retailer has slowly been pulling out of the Southland over the past several years. A store was shuttered years ago in Park Forest and the store at Lincoln Mall in Matteson was closed last year.

When it shuts its door for the last time next month, the retailer will have only its stores at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park, Chicago Ridge Mall in Chicago Ridge and Louis Joliet Mall in Joliet operating in the Southland.

The retailer also operates auto centers, hardware stores and outlet stores in several south suburbs including Tinley Park and Orland Park.

The River Oaks store is holding a liquidation sale.

UGN to expand Tinley headquarters

UGN, an international automotive parts supplier, has received incentives worth more than $50,000 from Tinley Park to expand its headquarters in the village.

The $300,000 expansion will be completed this fall and bring 104 jobs to Tinley Park.

The village is giving the company a property tax abatement, waiver of permit fees and a grant worth a total of $54,700.

The company has six plants in the United States, including a facility in Chicago Heights. It manufactures acoustic, interior trim and thermal management products for the auto industry.

Celtic Cottage closes

The Celtic Cottage, a gift shop with an Irish theme, closed at the end of April at 12244 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights.

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 follow business happenings at Comings & Goings.

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U.S. Cellular shutting down a dozen retail stores in Chicago area

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

As part of the sale last year of the Chicago market and five other Midwest markets to Sprint Nextel for $480 million, U.S. Cellular Corp. will close a dozen retail cell phone stores in the Chicago area.

Stores closing are in Country Club Hills, Countryside, Evergreen Park, Crestwood, Homewood, Chicago, Lansing, Joliet, Olympia Fields, Oak Lawn, Matteson and Orland Park. Two stores in Merrillville and Schererville in northwest Indiana also will close.

The cell phone company will close a total of 70 stores in Illinois and the two stores in northwest Indiana.

The closings will start May 17 and affect more than 100 workers.

U.S. Cellular has said it would remain headquartered in Chicago after the deal closes and intends to retain the naming rights to U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play. That deal is set to run through 2023.

The Great Escape opens pool store in Tinley

The Great Escape has reopened its Tinley Park location at 7787 W. 159^th St. as a pool store selling only pool chemicals and accessories.

The store was turned into an outlet store last year after a new Great Escape opened next to Best Buy at 159^th Street and LaGrange Road in Orland Park and then shut down completely last fall.

Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

For information, call the store at 708-429-3140 or visit TheGreat Escape online.

Justice garden center approved

A business license was approved last month for Sun & Shade Garden Center, 8500 W. 79^th St. in Justice. The store will carry garden equipment and supplies.

Her Closet Boutique moves to Homewood

A longtime fixture in Flossmoor, Her Closet Boutique announced on its Facebook page this week that the store would open in its new home in Homewood’s Cherry Creek Plaza on Saturday.

Owner Rose Demko shut the shop’s doors in Flossmoor at the beginning of the week after 18 years and moved into new and bigger quarters at 18334 Governors Highway. The shop will also double the size of its inventory.

For information, visit Her Closet Boutique online.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.