Little Joe's open again in Frankfort; 350 Brewing opens in Tinley

Little Joe's is now open at its new location in Frankfort.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Little Joe's Famous Italian Ristorante, which closed its location in the Crown Centre shopping center in Frankfort in January, is finally open again in its new digs a few blocks away at 20805 S. LaGrange Road in the Walt's Foods plaza in Frankfort.

The restaurant chain, which also has locations in Tinley Park and New Lenox, had been open since September 2012. But its owners decided they needed more spacious digs and found them in the former Mary Todd's cafe location, which also had short-lived incarnations as Entree Alehouse and Tasty Buffet.

The decision to move was made in part because the Crown Centre location was much smaller than the Tinley and New Lenox locations.

While construction took a lot longer than anticipated, the new owners finally were able to have a soft opening earlier this month with a limited pre-grand opening menu. 

A grand opening is in the works.

The new Little Joe's features a bar, banquet room and outdoor patio. It also features gluten-free pizza and other specialties. The Frankfort location will also be offering a free pizza buffet at halftime of Bears football games.

Gerardo Vazquez remains as general manager of the new location. He is the son of co-owner Sue Vazquez.

Hours for the soft opening are weekdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For information, call 815-534-5084 or visit their Facebook page or website at www.littlejoesfamouspizza.com.

350 Brewing opens in Tinley Park

Tinley Park got its second craft brewer when 350 Brewing Co. opened its tap room earlier this month at 7144 W. 183rd St. 

The brewery, which is owned by Todd Randall and Erik Pizer, had hoped to open several months ago in downtown Tinley Park on Oak Park Avenue, but those plans were delayed and the location eventually moved.

350 Brewing has nine beers on tap daily and the tap room is open from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and from noon to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Unlike many of the new small tap rooms opening in the south suburbs, 350 Brewing said it will offer a small food menu consisting of appetizers and snacks.

The brewer also has set up a growler's club for customers to take home any of its brews in jugs for home consumption.

The company did not respond to requests for an interview, but information on the brewery can be found on the company's website at www.350brewing.com.

Starbucks opens in Orland

A new Starbucks has opened in the former Baby's at 15833 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park. The new location replaces one across the street that closed last year.

The new Starbucks features a drive-through lane.

School district buys All-Star Sports Bar in Bridgeview

Indian Springs School District 109 has purchased the former All-Star Sports Bar in Bridgeview.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Indian Springs School District 109, which operates schools in Bridgeview and Justice, in June purchased the closed  All-Star Sports Bar at 8000 S. Roberts Road in Bridgeview.

The establishment had been for sale for some time. 

The school district approved the purchase of the 5,000-square-foot bar and restaurant for $609,000 at its board meeting in April.

Penny Mustard now open in Orland Park

A new Penny Mustard Furnishings store opened recently at Orland Park Place mall in Orland Park next to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The store is about 21,000 square feet and is the Wisconsin-based furniture retailer's fifth Chicago-area store. It used to be an Office Depot office supply store and was the largest vacant space at the shopping center.

Penny Mustard was founded by two brothers in Wisconsin in 1993 and carries a variety of furniture for the entire home and office.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call 708-949-4441.

New construction in Oak Lawn 

Oak Lawn Bank and Trust, which is being built at 5300 W. 95th St., is scheduled to open this fall, while a new First Midwest Bank is being built at 95th and McVicker Avenue. 

The Old Carpet One store at 5849 W. 95th St. is being demolished and will be replaced by a 20,000-foot state-of-the-art Women’s Health Institute of Illinois Ltd. 

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.com 

Vito & Nick's changes name in Tinley Park

Vito & Nick's II in Tinley Park changed its name a few weeks ago to Rich's Pizza Joint.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

The only thing that has changed at Vito & Nick's II in Tinley Park is the name, according to co-owner Colleen Loftus.

The restaurant at 7020 W. 183rd St. dropped its franchise agreement with Vito & Nick's about six weeks ago, Loftus said. She said the matter was in litigation and left it at that.

She said the new name is Rich's Pizza Joint after her co-owner Rich Chearo. 

Why not Colleen's?

"People ask me that all the time and I have different answers," she said with a laugh. "Rich deserved it."

She said the restaurant has the same menu and specials and is now free of franchise constraints.

"We're the same people, only its better," she said of the name change.

Since the change, she said the restaurant has expanded its indoor seating as well as added a small outdoor eating area in the front of the dining room.

"We expanding onward and upward," she said of the eatery that has been open since April 2008.

She Rich's also offers carry outs, catering and delivery to an area from U.S. 30 to 159th Street and from LaGrange Road to Oak Forest.

"We'll deliver to about a five-mile radius," Loftus said.

Restaurant hours remain 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call 708-532-8486, visit Rich's Pizza Joint or check out their Facebook page.

Family Hearth opens in Frankfort

The Family Hearth General Store, the retail storefront ministry of Forming Faithful Families, which is a nonprofit public charity, moved into bigger digs a couple of weeks ago at 119 Kansas St. in downtown Frankfort and celebrated its grand opening and ribbon cutting on Thursday.

The store is operated by Frankfort residents Kathleen and Jim Littleton and offers vintage gifts, jewelry, old time candy, bottles of pop, gourmet coffee and ice cream. The storefront offers a reading room and Wi-Fi.

Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.

For information, visit The Family Hearth General Store.

Taste of Heaven now open in Summit

A new restaurant that also includes a massive banquet hall opened earlier this summer at 6254 S. Archer Road in Summit after an extensive and expensive remodeling of a former glass works building.

Co-owners Marco Valladolid and his son Adrian, said they wanted to create a restaurant that would bring the neighborhood closer together. 

They said they accomplished that by offering a nice friendly, sit down family experience with a menu  that is based on comfort food with great taste and superior quality.

The restaurant has a number of televisions to help guests cheer on their favorite sports teams.

Taste of Heaven also offers a spacious banquet hall that sits more than 300 people. 

Restaurant hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, while banquet hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with walk-ins welcome.

For information, call 708-701-2134 or 708-701-2135.

Spencer's Gifts opens in Chicago Ridge

Spencer's Gifts, which specializes in edgy novelties and collectibles, has opened a new store at Chicago Ridge Mall. The store is next to Charlotte Russe between Sears and Kohl's.

MB Financial closes deal for Cole Taylor

MB Financial Inc. last week completed its acquisition of Cole Taylor Bank’s parent company in a deal valued at $680 million.

The merger of MB Financial Bank and Cole Taylor Bank, which was first announced a year ago, creates a middle-market bank with about $15 billion in assets.

Cole Taylor locations include a branch at 5501 W. 79th St. in Burbank.

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.com