Wu's House opens in Orland Park

Wu's House Japanese Restaurant has opened in Orland Park. (Photo by Bob Bong)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A  new restaurant that caters to fans of Asian cuisine has opened in Orland Park.

Wu's House Japanese Restaurant held its grand opening last month at 16310 S. LaGrange Road complete with a traditional Asian Lion Dance.

"We had lots of festive events and a display cake by Creative Cakes," said General Manager James Aday, who added that all of the desserts at the restaurant are supplied by Creative Cakes in Tinley Park.

Aday said Wu's House offers a wide range of Asian cuisines including sushi, Thai and Thai, but specializes in hibachi cooking.

"All of our hibachi chefs have more than seven years of experience," he said. "They are very good."

Aday said a special offer at Wu's is an all-you-can-eat lunch that includes sushi, sashimi and chef rolls.

The restaurant is in the former Round the Clock restaurant and its owners, who also operate Woow Sushi restaurants in Orland, Frankfort, LaGrange and Algonquin, spent months remodeling the building.

Aday said the new name was chosen to distinguish the fine dining restaurant from the sushi locations.

Wu's House is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Aday said there is no lunch offered on Sundays but the dinner menu is available all day.

The restaurant also has carry out and will deliver within a five-mile radius, for a $3.50 delivery charge.

For information, call 708-737-7357 or visit Wu's House.

Snackville Junction reborn as French/Vietnamese diner

The longtime home of Snackville Junction has come back to life in Evergreen Park.

Gone are the model trains that for about 60 years used to deliver burgers and fries to kids. They have been replaced by a martini bar and a kitchen that specializes in Thai, Vietnamese and French dishes.

ThiThi's opened in July at 9144 S. Kedzie Ave. after giving the building a complete makeover from a burger joint to a fine dining restaurant.

ThiThi's is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Glenn Pniewski, who works for the village of Evergreen Park, said the new owners did a "wonderful job revamping the place." He said that the early reviews had been very favorable.

According to their Facebook page, they do take reservations.

For information, call 708-634-3925 or visit their Facebook page at ThiThi's Restaurant.

Hills Family Drug moves store to Palos Heights

Hills Family Drug, a locally owned chain of pharmacies, has moved one of its stores from Palos Hills to Palos Heights. With the move came a name change from Palos Hills Pharmacy to Palos Drugs.

The chain was founded in 1965 when Phillip Gustarella joined Hickory Hills Pharmacy and quickly became a partner.

He followed that up by starting Forest Hills Pharmacy, a professional pharmacy, in 1976 in a medical building in Justice. In 1985, he partnered with another local pharmacy to open the Palos Hills location.

In 2004, he expanded again with another professional pharmacy, Hills Drug Orland, in a Palos Community Hospital Immediate Care Center in Orland Park.

His daughter, Gia, who followed in her dad's footsteps and became a pharmacist in 1995 now runs the Palos Heights location at 7600 W. College Drive.

"The chain stores are not into personal care or service," Gustarella said as to his success. "I have good rapport with my customers. I probably know 90 percent of them by their first name. We cater to the customer and don't gouge them on the price."

The personal touch includes free delivery. "Free delivery is a big deal for the seniors," he said.

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 

Last hurrah for Kris Kringle Haus holiday store in Orland Park

Jim Gierucki stands next to a giant Nutcracker in Kris Kringle Haus. (Photo by Bob Bong)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A 25-year Christmas tradition will be ending after this holiday season when Kris Kringle Haus finishes one last go round as Orland Park's pre-eminent Christmas store.

Co-owner Jim Gierucki has decided to hang up the Christmas stockings for good when the shop closes in January at 9500 W. 143rd St. in Orland Park Crossing, in the former Coldwater Creek store.

Gierucki and his wife, Cleo, have operated Kris Kringle Haus for a quarter of a century. For the first 16 years, the shop was operated year-round in Geneva. The Palos Park couple closed that shop in 2006 and opted for a season store that would operate from the beginning of October to early January.

The first year the store was in Palos Heights, but the couple have been in Orland Park ever since always in a storefront somewhere on or near LaGrange Road.

"This is the nicest space we've ever had since we went to a seasonal store," said Gierucki.

The store opened earlier this month and will remain open until Jan. 9.

"We'll have a retirement party that day," Gierucki said. "We'll have a cake and cookies and mulled cider."

Until then, the store will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

"Everything is for sale," Gierucki said. "Everything is 20 percent off and we have never had anything on sale this early before."

The decision has been well received by his customers, Gierucki said.

"Regulars have been coming in and buying heavy. Hopefully, we won't have anything left by Jan. 9."

As for Jim and Cleo, "We'll take things a little easier. Next Christmas we'll put up our own Christmas tree in our house. We've been so busy we haven't had one up for the last 25 years."

New name, new location for Frankfort gift shop

Cottage Creations Gift Shop, which first opened in 2000 as an Irish, German, Austrian import shop  in Mokena, has now opened as Isabel's Journey in its newest location at 28 Kansas St. in historic, downtown Frankfort.

 “We felt we’ve been on a journey since first opening in August 2000," Liz Connolly, who owns the business with her husband Marty, said in a release.

She said they decided to change the name party because the new location is their fourth since moving from Mokena.

"We thought a name change to match our journey fit well. I’ve always loved the name and feel along the way we were watched by a guardian angel that I, of course, named Isabel," she said.

When they first moved to downtown Frankfort four years ago, the couple discontinued the imports and have evolved into a more general gift shop striving to offer an eclectic mix of products with a priority of service and friendliness.

“We have had the good fortune of a very loyal customer base that followed our relocations and remained with us on our journey," she said. "Over the 15 years, we’ve also been blessed with having so many of those customers become wonderful friends.”

The new location is more than twice as big as their previous location. Because of the extra space, the couple plans to add unique and different gift items, many one of a kind, along with an expanded offering of prepackaged food items.

They said they will have a retail food license and the room to create a hospitality area with complimentary beverage and product samplings to enhance the shopping experience.

They will continue offering their popular Nora Fleming serving ware, cutwork and embroidered table cloths and tea light luminary shades.

For information, call 815-464-5240 or visit them at Isabel's Journey.

Outriggers closes in Countryside

Outriggers Flame, a seafood restaurant that opened in early 2014 in the former Flame steakhouse at 803 Joliet Road in Countryside, appears to have closed.

The restaurant has had a closed sign on the door for a couple of weeks and its website has been taken down. Calls to the phone number go unanswered.

The closing came about two and a half years after the same restaurant abruptly closed its doors at 15917 S. Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park.

 At that time, a manager said the restaurant lost its lease but promised the Greek seafood eatery would be back soon.

 “We won’t be gone for too long,” said Dimitri, a manager who declined to give his last name. “We don’t want our customers to forget us.”

Outriggers, which had other south suburban locations over the years including a restaurant a block north in Orland Park, had been in the Tinley location for several years.

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 

Doughs Guys Bakery now open in Palos Heights

Store manager Annette Cramer stands in the new Doughs Guys bakery location in Palos Heights.
(Photo by Bob Bong)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy 

Although it took about a month longer than expected, Doughs Guys Bakery has finally reopened at 12248 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights.

The bakery opened Sept. 12 in the former Baumann Bakery after closing its former location on 111th Street in Chicago Ridge where they had been for two and a half years.

"We anticipated two weeks and it ended up being six," said owner Sharon O'Neill who was happy the bakery was finally back in business.

"it is definitely busier at this location," she said. "We've doubled or tripled the number of customers compared to the Chicago Ridge site.

"In general, Palos people were used to having a good bakery at Baumann's and we intend to be as good a bakery."

Based on comments from customers there on a recent morning, local residents agree.

O'Neill said Doughs Guys moved because of the lease terms demanded by the landlord and "they raised our rent 37 percent."

She said the new site is much better. "The layout works a lot better for us."

O'Neill said there are four bakers and three cake decorators on staff at Doughs Guys.

"We make everything from doughnuts to wedding cakes."

Winter hours are in effect, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call 708-931-5199 or visit Doughs Guys.

Convenience store closes in Tinley

The Tinley Park Food Mart convenience store closed suddenly last  month at 16701 S. 80th Avenue in Tinley Park.

Speedway closes for face-lift

The Speedway gas station at 103rd Street and Roberts Road in Palos Hills recently closed to undergo a remodeling project, according to a sign on a construction fence surrounding the property. The nearest open Speedway stations are at Roberts and 95th Street and 80th Avenue and 95th in Hickory Hills.

Cafe au Parc opens in Orland

A new cafe and wine bar opened recently in the Ninety 7 Fifth apartment complex at 9450 Crescent Park Circle in Orland Park.

Cafe au Parc is owned by Kevin Gawlinski and Nathalie Baranyk.

The cafe is open for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to  2 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. It is open as a wine bar from 6 p.m. to midnight Monday to Saturday.

For information, call 708-645-4874 or visit Cafe au Parc.

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

Schoop's now open in Tinley Park

Schoop's hamburgers is now open in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Schoop's, a popular hamburger chain based in northwest Indiana, has opened its newest location in Tinley Park.

A franchised location opened Aug. 31 at 16703 S. Harlem Ave. in a small retail strip next to the CVS pharmacy. The site was formerly a breakfast restaurant and an ice cream shop.

Co-owner Maria Venardon said the first week was a little rough but worth it. "This location has a lot of potential.

"We did a lot of testing but you never know for sure until you open the doors," she said adding that she's still working on getting the right number of crew members per shift.

She said the customers said they liked the food and service despite the birthing pains of the new business.

"This is a great location," she said. "It's a residential area but there are a lot of nearby businesses. I saw a lot more working people coming in today."

The Tinley location is the chain's 19th restaurant and fifth site in Illinois, all in the southern suburbs. 

Two of those south suburban locations are in shopping malls in Orland Park and Chicago Ridge.  Two others are in Monee and Calumet City.

Venardon said this was her first Schoop's, but she has owned restaurants in the past. Her partner is Rich Ferro.

She said the Tinley location features a regular Schoop's menu with a variety of burgers and other sandwiches as well as fries and soups.

She said the Tinley location hours were 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

For information, call 708-781-9715 or visit www.schoophamburgers.com.

Enrico's announces its return to Frankfort

When Enrico's, a hugely popular Italian restaurant, closed in August 2012 to help make way for the Mariano's supermarket on LaGrange Road in Frankfort, the owners promised they would reopen.

The owners finally were able to make good on that promise when they announced earlier this month on their Facebook page they signed a lease for the former Wild Rover space at 20535 S. LaGrange Road in the Vineyards of Frankfort plaza.

Owners Bob and Harry D’Ercole announced renovations are underway and they hope to have a soft opening in December.

They also announced that Chef Frank and Delilah would be returning to oversee the kitchen and that the menu would include all of the old favorites including baked mostaciolli, baked lasagna and banana cream pie.

The announcement came a few months after the death of Enrico's co-founder Harry D'Ercole Sr.

The restaurant was a longtime staple in Frankfort and also operated a smaller pizzeria in Frankfort Square for some years in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The owners said updates would be posted on the restaurant's Facebook page at Enrico's Italian Dining.

Portillo's opens in Homewood

The Portillo's restaurant chain opened its 40th store last week at 17500 S. Halsted St. in Homewood.

The store will feature a "groovy 1970s theme," according to a release from the company.

Company founder Dick Portillo, an Argo graduate, was on hand when the eatery opened  Sept. 14.

The restaurant will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Pink Stone opens in River Oaks

A new women's clothing store called Pink Stones opened recently at River Oaks Center in Calumet City. It is the retailer's first store in the south suburbs.

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

Maher Funeral Home opens in former Tinley Park Public Library

Maher Funeral Home is now open in the former Tinley Park library.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

A new funeral home has opened in the former Tinley Park Public Library building at 7051 W. 171st St.

"We received our occupancy permit last week," said Phil Maher, co-owner of the new Maher Funeral Home.

Maher said the funeral home is a family affair with his business partner and brother John Maher providing elder care and other legal services for their clients, his sister Julia Maher Dombrowski handling public relations and an uncle Robert Maher taking care of community outreach for the business.

Phil Maher has been in the funeral business for 24 years and spent many of those years learning from his late mentor Andrew J. McGann Sr., who operated a funeral home in Chicago's Mount Greenwood community.

"I started with him when I was 19 years old," said Maher.

Maher said he struck out on his own more than a year ago and spent a lot of that time looking for the right location for his own funeral home.

"We found the library in January and spent the last several months remodeling the building," he said. 

"We liked the space that was available and the location and the fact it had parking for more than 100 cars."

The building has two 14,000-square-foot levels and the funeral home is on the main floor. It was built in 1973 and served as the Tinley library until it moved into a new location in 2004.

"We're waiting to see about the lower level," Maher said. "We're not sure if it will offices or storage."

As for the main level, Maher said they kept the library's large windows in the front because of the view they offered. They also did extensive landscaping work to the site.

"We have too large parlors that can combined into one massive parlor, if needed," he said. "Each parlor has its own coffee room and each parlor has its own outdoor seating area. I wanted to make sure they were separate, to be more accommodating for the families."

Maher said village officials were very happy to have the family buy the building.

"It had been vacant for many years," he said. "Even the neighbors are thrilled to finally have the building open again."

Maher said the community was invited to check out the new building at its open house from 3-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20.

For more information, call 708-781-9212 or visit the funeral home website.

Jersey Mike's opens in Palos Heights

Southwest suburban fans of Jersey Mike's sub sandwiches won't have as far to go to get their fill, now that the East Coast-based food chain has opened in Palos Height. The next closest location had been in Orland Park.

Owner Mac Shimmon opened his latest Jersey Mike's recently at 12801 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights in a former Foot Locker shoe store. 

It's the third new business in the former shoe store. A Lou Malnati's pizzeria opened there in September and a Great Clips hair salon opened in November.

It is the 12th Jersey Mike's franchise for Shimmon, who opened his first location in Orland Park in June 2011. He now owns Jersey Mike's in New Lenox, Frankfort, Elk Grove Village, Gurnee, Schaumburg, Glenview, Niles, Park Ridge and Buffalo Grove.

 “I am so excited to bring the Jersey Mike’s brand to Palos Heights,” said Shimmon in a release. 

Fans of the sandwich say you can feel the difference when compared to other submarine sandwich offerings.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. 

For information, call 708-671-8748.

Tinley Kmart adopts K-fresh format

Kmart has reconfigured its Tinley Park store at 16300 S. Harlem Ave. from a Super Kmart into a new format the chain calls K-fresh.

The Hoffman Estates-based retailer is changing most of its remaining Super Kmarts into the new format, which includes the removal of its butcher, bakery and deli food service departments.

The new format also includes less sales floor space, reduced operating hours fewer staff.

The company said least five of its remaining 11 Super Kmart stores would be converted. The Tinley store was the only one in Illinois.

K-fresh stores have replaced the service departments with prepackaged items, and offer reduced brand variety and pack sizes.

Store hours have been cut from 24 hours to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

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.

NAPA auto parts opens in Tinley Park

NAPA auto parts has opened a store at 16086 S. Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

NAPA has opened another auto parts store in Tinley Park in the former Bud's sports bar at 16086 S. Harlem Ave.

The store is a franchise owned by Blissful Solutions LLC, based in Hillside.

Hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For information, call the store at 708-468-8854 or visit NAPA.

Station drops Marathon for BP

Sangha's gas station at 79th Street and Roberts Road in Bridgeview recently converted from a Marathon station to a BP station while a station and convenience store a few blocks away at 7901 S. 87th Court in Justice recently opened as a Marathon station.

Toy store closes in Mokena

Creative Toy Mart, a popular toy store that opened in 2009 at 11326 W. Lincoln High way in Mokena, closed earlier this year after holding a going out of business sale.

Mokena plant moving to South Holland

Fusion Chicago Investments has purchased the 11,000-square-foot former Steiner Electric building at 401 W. Taft Drive in South Holland, said John Watson, director of economic development for South Holland.

The building's new owners have signed a long-term leasing agreement with DirectSat USA, a communications infrastructure provider that provides installation, upgrade and maintenance services for major satellite content providers. 

DirectSat will use the property to warehouse and repair Direct TV equipment and Direct TV products for offsite installations. 

The move will see 44 full-time maintenance personnel and six full-time office workers relocate to South Holland from the Mokena facility. 

Ashley Furniture opens new distribution center

Ashley Furniture, which operates several franchised stores in the south and southwest suburbs, opened its newest retail store and distribution center recently at 1045 W. Crossroad Parkway in Romeoville.

The 425,525 square foot facility was built because of high customer demand in the greater Chicago and Milwaukee markets, the company said in a release.

The chain, which operates as a series of independently owned and operated stores, is known for its merchandising concepts and designs including Urbanology, Vintage Casual, Metro Modern 14-piece packages called The Works.

The chain operates a dozen stores in the Chicago market.

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

Talerico opens retail bakery

Talerico-Martin has opened a retail bakery on 63rd Street in Summit. (Courtesy of Talerico-Martin)

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Summit's Talerico-Martin bakery, which has been selling baked goods wholesale to convenience stores for about three decades, has opened a retail bakery at 7334 W. 63rd St., across the street from Argo High School.

"We have a full line of products," said Gary Willard, assistant general manager. "Doughnuts, cookies, brownies, cakes and pastries."

He said the store would have a full coffee bar as well as offer snacks and juices.

Willard said owner Bob Talerico has spared no expense in opening the retail operation.

"It's a pretty decent setup," he said. "Bob is treating this nice. It's his baby."

"We're going to open the door and see who comes in," he said. "We'll have a grand opening in a month or so. We want to get any kinks worked out first."

Willard said customers would eventually be able to order cakes online and have them made any way they like.

"A customer will be able to have their face on the cake, if they want," he said.

Store hours will be from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Judging from the amazing smells that emit from the bakery on certain days, the goods should be fantastic.

Willard also said anyone who wants to see how the treats are made can just stop by.

"I'll take anyone on a tour who wants," he said.

For information, visit Talerico Bakery or check out their Facebook page.

Walgreens closes in Calumet City

Walgreens, the international pharmacy company that announced recently that it planned to close 200 stores over the next few years, has closed at least three stores in the south suburbs already this year.

The Deerfield-based chain said the stores slated for closing would be locations that were unprofitable. It said the employees would be offered transfers to other stores. It also said closings would hardly be felt by customers because of other nearby Walgreens. The company also said the closings would be offset by new store openings.

Those closings would be in addition to the closing in January of a Walgreens at 159th Street and Wood Street in Harvey, the closing in February of a store at 127th Street and Western Avenue in Blue Island and the closing recently of a location at 626 River Oaks Drive in Calumet City.

Some other south suburban stores are being demolished, and then rebuilt.

A new Walgreens opened recently at Southwest Highway and 95th Street in Oak Lawn. The new store was built on the same site as an earlier store, but the new version has a drive-through lane that the earlier store was lacking. The new store is about 62,000 square feet.

The new building was just sold for $10.7 million to a Northeast-based family office, according to a release from The Boulder Group, which represented both buyer and seller in the transaction. 

Walgreens probably won't be closing that site anytime soon. The chain has a 20-year lease with 11 five-year renewal options.

Domino's opens in South Chicago Heights

A new Domino's restaurant opened earlier this year at 45 W. Sauk Trail in South Chicago Heights.

The Michigan-based restaurant chain recently dropped the word "pizza" from its name but still specializes in pizza and sandwiches.

Hours at the new location are from 10:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday to Thursday and from 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

For information, call 708-441-3338 or visit Domino's.

 

Bobak's closes Archer Avenue company store

Bobak Sausage Co. closed its last company-owned store on Chicago's Southwest Side.

Loyal customers, some coming from as far away as northwest Indiana and Chicago's North Side, trekked to the store at 5275 S. Archer Ave. for the last time just before Easter.

The company, which got its start in 1967 and has operated the store on Archer since 1989, had moved its production to a bigger location last year but left the store open.

According to a letter the company distributed and posted on its Facebook page, a decision was made recently that it no longer made sense to keep the store open. The company said it was time to close the store and sell the building, which was otherwise empty since manufacturing was moved.

The company did hold out some hope for longtime customers by saying it might reopen the store at a future date.

Besides the regular Bobak products, which are carried in stores and markets across the Chicago area, the company store did carry some specialty items not available everywhere, such as its fresh Italian sausage, fresh Polish sausage and bacon sausage.

At one point, the company operated a handful of stores under the Bobak banner, including one in Orland Park. All of those stores were closed by 2007 after a particularly nasty fight between two of the sons of the founder.

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