Sweet Frog hops into Frankfort

Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt opened last week at 9645 Lincoln-Way Lane in Frankfort.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The frozen yogurt craze has reached Frankfort. Texas-based Red Mango opened a shop on U.S. 30 earlier this summer and now Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt has opened a shop at 9645 Lincoln-Way Lane in the Crown Centre plaza.

Sweet Frog is like most other fro-yo stores in that it offers dozens of flavors of frozen yogurt along with dozens of toppings and sprinkles. It does feature two mascots, Scoop and Cookie, who are lime green and hot pink frogs.

Owners are John and Liz Sciaccotta, who live in neighboring Mokena.

Sweet Frog carries more than 70 flavors of frozen yogurt and features 14 specialty flavors such as thin mint and cotton candy. It also has fat-free, sugar-free, gluten-free and kosher varieties. The shop opened last week, just in time for the Frankfort Fall Festival.

Frankfort is the first location in Illinois for the Richmond, Va.-based chain that was founded in 2009 and has grown to 260 stores in 23 states as well as the United Kingdom and Domenican Republic.

Hours are noon to 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and noon to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For information, call 815-277-2269.

Orland convenience store opens and closes

Stop and Shop Fresh Market opened earlier this summer and has already closed at 17849 S. Wolf Road in Orland Park. The store opened in May and closed a few weeks ago. It was the latest attempt to operate a store in that location. Previous incarnations included a White Hen Pantry and a Frangella Italian Imports deli.

Mariano's to anchor Evergreen Promenade

Mariano's, which opened a popular supermarket in Frankfort earlier this summer and has broken ground on a new location in Oak Lawn, last week agreed to open a 75,000-square-foot supermarket as the anchor for the new Evergreen Promenade shopping center in Evergreen Park.

The Evergreen Promenade is a planned 92,500-square-foot plaza on a seven-acre site at 2601 W. 95th St. It will be a joint venture among Inland Real Estate Corp., Dutch pension fund advisor PGGM, IBT Group LLC and Pine Tree Commercial Realty.

Mariano's is owned by Milwaukee-based Roundy's Inc., which has been aggressively adding locations in the Chicago marketplace.

Including the lease signed with Mariano's, Evergreen Promenade is already over 80 percent pre-leased, with another 15 percent of the space currently in negotiation with other national retailers.

Construction is expected to begin this fall and Mariano's estimates it will open in the fall of 2014. Upon completion, the joint venture with PGGM will have the option to acquire 100 percent ownership in the shopping center.

Zoo City Treats opens in Brookfield

A new sweet shop that carries ice cream, Hawaiian shaved ice and gourmet popcorn opened a couple of weeks ago in Brookfield.

Zoo City Treats held its grand opening Sunday at 3748 Grand Blvd. in downtown Brookfield.

Longtime village business owner Fred Tyler, who has owned a variety of businesses in town, opened the shop on Aug. 15.

The store is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For information, call 708-255-5481 or visit their Facebook page.

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 business openings at Comings & Goings.

Asia Palace opens in Tinley Park

Asia Palace opened earlier this summer in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong

Southland Savvy 

A new Asian fusion restaurant called Asia Palace opened earlier this summer at 7138 W. 183^rd St. in Tinley Park in the same location previously occupied by an Asian restaurant called G-in Sushi but has a new set of owners.

Asia Palace features Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines and has a full-serve bar. Take-out orders are accepted but there is no delivery.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call 708-342-1652.

Chimera’s Comics grand opening in Oak Lawn

Chimera’s Comics, a comic book shop that got its start in May 2011 in LaGrange, will hold the grand opening of its Oak Lawn store this weekend at 5307 W. 95^th St. in Oak Lawn, across the street from the Oak Lawn Library.

The store opened earlier this summer but will hold its ribbon-cutting at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, followed by an open house until 8 p.m. with snacks and refreshments. There will be a magic tournament starting at 3 p.m. Saturday followed by Kids Day on Sunday with free comic books, and lessons on how to play Heroclix from noon to 3 p.m.

All weekend long the store will give away free comics for all our customers (one per customer). Everyone who shows up will get a raffle for a chance to win a hardcopy copy of “Watchmen: Absolute Edition” (a $75 value).

Store hours are from noon to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call 708-422-4900 or visit Chimera’s Comicsonline or check out their Facebook page.

Frankfort Fall Festival returns this weekend

 

The annual Frankfort Fall Festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of guests to downtown Frankfort every Labor Day weekend, opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The fest features a craft fair with hundreds of vendors selling their wares, a food court, a carnival, and a parade that starts at 1 p.m. Sunday in the Borg Warner parking lot.

For information on parking and a complete list of events, visit Frankfort Fall Festival.

The Dome closes

The Dome Restaurant, which got its name from the building's unique shape, closed recently after being open for more than 25 years in Indian Head Park.

The restaurant opened in 1987 at 6921 Joliet Road and was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The phone number has been disconnected and its Facebook page gave no indication of why it shut down, but residents told me it closed a few weeks ago.

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.

Evilena’s expands in Frankfort

Evilena's Red Dresser has opened a second location in Frankfort.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Evilena’s Red Dresser upscale consignment shop at 59 W. Bankview Drive in Frankfort recently added a second location across LaGrange Road in the Frankfort Town Center shopping center.

The second location was added to accommodate the store’s growing furniture collection and will be open through at least October.

The second location opened last month and has the same hours as the main store from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

For information, call 815-464-4426 or visit Evilena's.

Baby’s Cheesesteak delivers

Baby’s Cheesesteak closed its Orland Park location near 159^th Street and LaGrange Road a couple of weeks ago, but fans were told they wouldn’t miss out on the eatery’s fare while the owner works on finding a new location.

It seems the business is trying to keep its customers happy by offering delivery to Orland Park, Orland Hills and Tinley Park.

Customers can order at 708-349-9800 or online at www.BabysCheesesteak.com for delivery from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

If you prefer your food served in a building, you can always go to Baby’s location at 4019 W. 167^th St. in Country Club Hills.

Jaycees forming Tinley chapter

Illinois Jaycees in cooperation with the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce and the Woodridge Jaycees will hold a meeting from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, at Durbin’s, 17265 S. Oak Park Ave. to form a new Tinley Park Jaycees Chapter.

Young professionals from 18-40 are invited to attend the meeting to discuss the new chapter.

The mission of the Jaycees is to provide developmental opportunities that empower young people to create positive change. They offer a wide variety of networking opportunities, professional and personal trainings and community development projects. 

 

For information, call Melissa Kivi at 708-724-1173, email her at mkivi1101@gmail.com or visit the Illinois Jaycees Website. 

If interested in attending, RSVP to the Facebookevent.

 

Tailgate party at FirstMerit Bank

FirstMerit Bank will host a tailgate party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30, in the bank parking lot at 14701 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park.

There will be burgers and brats, light refreshments and frozen treats from the FirstMerit Treat Truck. There will also be music and a mini car show (weather permitting).

This event is free to Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce members. RSVP to Frank Kurzawa, Mortgage Loan Officer, at 708-590-7567 or email him at frank.kurzawa@firstmerit.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.