Golden Corral work starts in Tinley Park

A Golden Corral buffet restaurant is under construction near 159th and Oak Park Avenue in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
 Southland Savvy

Work has finally started on a Golden Corral buffet restaurant planned for near the intersection of 159th Street and Oak Park Avenue in Tinley Park, in front of the Menards home improvement store.

Tinley officials approved a host of incentives to land the restaurant including fee reductions, sales tax sharing and a property tax break.

Developer Bhavin Patel said plans could not move forward without the incentives. Plans call for an 11,100-square-foot Golden Corral at an estimated cost of $3.5 million. The restaurant would create an estimated 100 jobs.

Nick's Steakhouse closes in Mokena

Nick's Steakhouse in Mokena, which had come under new management late last year, has closed its doors for the last time.

The restaurant at 19634 S. LaGrange Road closed in early June without warning.

Its website has been taken down and the building has a large "for lease" sign on the roof.

Eddie Bauer reopens in Orland

Eddie Bauer recently reopened its store in Orland Square Mall as a new Outdoor Concept Store, which caters to active and adventurous shoppers. The new store has a new location on the lower level near the escalator by Sears. Hours are the same at the mall.

Meijer to hire 900 in Illinois

Michigan-based Meijer is preparing to hire thousands of team members as a result of growth and in preparation for fall and holiday selling seasons, the company announced last week.

“Meijer has already opened five of the six new stores planned for this year, with another nine opening next year,” Janet Emerson, executive vice president for operations, said. “Our continued growth, along with the upcoming holiday selling season, make it imperative that we increase our staffing to properly operate our stores and deliver on the Meijer promise of providing exceptional customer service.”

Two of those new stores will be in the Southland. One is planned for Mokena, at Wolf Road and U.S. 30, and another is slated for Flossmoor at Crawford Avenue and Vollmer Road. The chain just bought 13 acres of land in Flossmoor for that store and groundbreaking is expected soon for the Mokena store. 

Interested candidates are asked to complete an online application at www.jobs.meijer.com. During the online application process, prospective team members can indicate their store preference. Candidates may also complete an online application at the employment kiosks located at the front of most Meijer stores. Local store management will then follow up with qualified candidates.

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.
www.southlandbusinessnews.com.

Matteson sues to close Lincoln Mall over ignored safety concerns

Lincoln Mall as it looked last year while emerging from bankruptcy.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The Village of Matteson filed a lawsuit Wednesday asking a Cook County judge to order the failing Lincoln Mall to be closed immediately because its new owner has failed to correct a slew of building and fire violations.

The village also asked the judge to appoint an independent receiver to oversee needed rehab work at the mall at U.S. 30 and Cicero Avenue.

“We want to get the mall back to what we all know how it used to be many years ago,” Matteson village administrator Brian Mitchell said Wednesday at a news conference after the lawsuit was filed.

Attorneys for the village said Lincoln Mall has failed several building and fire inspections over the past two years.

“If there was a fire, and people were trying to get out, there are situations in which exits lead to dead ends, or barricaded doors,” village attorney Tony Licata said.

The mall has been on the decline for the better part of two decades and huge chunks of the mall have been demolished or are in the process of being torn down.

The mall was purchased out of bankruptcy last summer by Michael Kohan, of New York, for the paltry sum of $154,500. Village officials said he has done nothing to correct the safety violations and has been stringing them along with vague promises of redeveloping the indoor mall.

The lawsuit specifically excluded the Carson’s store, which village officials said was the only safe part of the mall.

Two dozen violations were cited in the lawsuit included crumbling façade, exposed wiring, a padlocked emergency exit, dismantled fire sprinkler pipes, unfinished demolition of the former Montgomery Ward store, which closed in 1999.

Last year, the Sears store closed leaving Carson’s as its only anchor.

The mall’s Facebook page, which has been talking for months about its coming redevelopment was silent Wednesday and posted nothing about the lawsuit.

Its last word on the redevelopment was posted on July 27: “Possibly you saw me walking Friday with the Village and the Re-developer. The Village did go over the proposal for the door; the Village wants a new Proposal which will also have ALL Safety and Building codes up to standard. I talked to Mike (The Owner) and the Re-Developer. Mike said he would give his approval to have all work done. The Village wants the Proposal as soon as possible. So they can approve all plans, they want this project done as soon as possible. I told Mike I would like to have approval of an Occupancy date so I can have Tenants in the Mall before Christmas. I will talk to the Re-developer on Monday possibly I will be able to get a estimate date if he is done with the Proposal. It takes a new Tenant time to set up a new Business as I’m sure you all know.”

Irish pub called Ariel's opens in Tinley

Ariel's Bar & Restaurant opened this week in Tinley Park next to the Wingate Hotel.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Another bit of the auld sod has come to Tinley Park with the opening Monday of Ariel’s Bar & Restaurant at 18401 North Creek Drive next to the Wingate Hotel.

The bar had been under construction since last winter and had originally been scheduled to open in June.

Ariel’s says the menu will offer traditional Irish cuisine, such as fish and chips and shepherd’s pie, along with contemporary dishes, such as Moroccan barbecue salmon and seafood paella, in its dining room that has seating for about 80.

The bar seats about 50 and will feature craft beers as well as an assortment of Irish whiskies.

There are another 140 seats on an outdoor patio.

Ariel’s is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

For information, call 708-928-8080 or visit the website at www.arielsirishbar.com.

Tilted Kilt still planned for Orland Park

Even though it has been a year since the Tilted Kilt planned for the former Fat Ricky’s location at 16255 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park was supposed to have opened, plans for the sports bar have not been shelved.

“Tilted Kilt is still scheduled to be in Orland Park,” Joseph La Margo, deputy village clerk and public information officer for the Village of Orland Park, said earlier this month.

La Margo said permits had been pulled for the bar, which is known for its waitresses dressed in plaid miniskirts.

Last year, the Orland Park Plan Commission approved plans calling for adding more than 1,500 square feet to the north end of the building. Plans also called for removal of a turret, elimination of a drive-through and the building of an outdoor dining area.

The closest Tilted Kilt franchises are operating in Bolingbrook, Joliet and Chicago Ridge.

Bonefish Grill now hiring in Orland Park

Bonefish Grill, a 5,800-square-foot seafood restaurant under construction at 15537 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park next to the LongHorn Steakhouse has announced it plans to open its doors on Sept. 16 and has begun accepting applications for 100 positions ranging from kitchen staff to servers.

Applications are being accepted now through Sept. 16 at www.bloominbrandscareers.com/Bonefish. Interviews will be conducted with qualified candidates that apply online. 

Applications are being accepted for various positions including angler (server), host, bartender and kitchen staff. 

Florida-based Bonefish Grill got its start in January 2000 and has grown to more than 100 locations in more than a dozen states.

The Orland Park location will be the chain’s fourth in Illinois and the first in the Southland. The building has an estimated cost of $1 million.

The project is the last outlot in the Lowe’s Home Improvement footprint, and makes for quite a restaurant row with LongHorn, Chick-fil-A, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Jersey Mike’s lined up along that stretch of LaGrange.

For information, visit www.bonefishgrill.com.

Zoup! opens Orland Square Mall location

The newly remodeled food court at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park welcomed a Zoup! Fresh Soup Company restaurant on July 25.

 Zoup! is a fast-casual eatery that is in the midst of an expansion push in Illinois. The Orland location will be the company’s fifth location in Illinois and its first in the Southland. The company now has 51 locations in nine states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada. A store opened two weeks ago in Aurora and another is expected to open in downtown Chicago this fall.

 Owners of the Orland franchise are Mohammad Mansour and Faris Ballouta. It’s their first Zoup! location.

“We are excited to bring the Zoup! brand and culture to Orland Park,” Mansour said in a release.  “The wide variety of healthy choices, including soups, salads and sandwiches provide a great dining alternative for our community.” 

Zoup! features hundreds of award-winning soup recipes with 12 rotating daily varieties, including low-fat, low-cal, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options, all served with a hunk of freshly baked bread, the company said in a release. Customer favorites include Chicken Potpie, Lobster Bisque and Vegetarian Split Pea. The menu also features made-to-order salads and sandwiches, and all items are available in convenient catering sizes for groups of 10 or more.

The new restaurant will employ about 17 team members and will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. 

For more information, call 708-966-3010 or visit www.zoup.com.

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.