Mama Maria's taco bar opens in Orland

Mama Maria's opened earlier this summer in Orland Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy 

Owner Patrick Concannon says the idea for his latest restaurant, Mama Maria's Taco and Tequila Bar, is "sports bar meets cantina meets Orland Park."

Mama Maria's opened earlier this summer at 16117 S. LaGrange Road right next to Concannon's Ottimo Ristorante Italiano, which he opened in 2008.

Mama Maria's features Mexico City-style tacos, tortas and quesadillas.

"We specialize in hand food," he said. "Basically, we can put anything into a tortilla."
 

Specialties include Baja Fish Tacos, Pescado tacos, Roasted Vegetable Tacos along with appetizers and entrees such as enchiladas and fajitas. 

Concannon has had a long career in the restaurant business starting in 1984 at Gordon restaurant in Chicago's River North neighborhood. His travels have led him to Hawaii, Europe, San Francisco and back to Chicago in 1990 when he joined Charlie Trotter's crew.

From there he moved on to Don Juan and eventually opened his first restaurant Fahrenheit in Chicago.

Along the way his path crossed with Laco Seeber, who is the chef at Mama Maria's and has a distinguished culinary resume as well.

As the name implies, Mama Maria's is not just about the food. The restaurant specializes in drinks made with tequila -- there are 17 different kind available -- ranging from margaritas to mojitos. There's a variety of beers available including craft brews as well as sangria and other wines.

Mama Maria's can seat about 120 people with room for more than two dozen people at its bar.

"We have a really long bar," he said along with a banquette of seats that runs parallel to the bar.

Concannon hopes to add outdoor seating next summer.

Sports fans will feel right at home, Concannon said. There are five big screen TVs tuned to favorite sports games and teams.

Concannon is also a neighbor, he said, as he lives a block away from both restaurants.

Concannon said the restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Tuesday, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For information, call 708-403-3346 or visit the website Mama Maria's. 

Tinley Culver’s gets a new look

The Culver’s at 18248 Sayre Ave. in Tinley Park is expected to reopen Friday after being closed since Monday for remodeling, said district manager Jack Rush.

The restaurant, which is one of five in the Southland owned by Justin Obriecht, will sport a new look inside and outside, he said.

The restaurant will hold its official grand reopening celebration on Aug. 28 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. 

Countryside rejects new swimming school 

Aldermen in Countryside took the unusual step last week of voting against a Plan Commission recommended  special-use ordinance that would have allowed a new swimming school to open at 9930 W. 55th St.

Aldermen rejected the proposed School of Fish Swim School not because they don't like swimming, but because the site didn't have nearly enough parking spots.

Plans called for a four- or five-lane pool inside the 14,000-square-foot building. City rules require a space that size to have 72 parking spots, but the property has only 20 parking spaces in front of the building with another dozen spaces behind the building, which belong to a separate business.

Ald. Sean McDermott said the school didn't belong at that location and added he would be open to a better-suited location.

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.

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.”