Business Comings & Goings: Leona’s Closes on 95th Street

Leona’s restaurant closed over the weekend at 6616 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn.

The move was part of the 63-year-old chain’s retooling that includes shutting down its Hop Haus gastropub, moving a city location, closing two of its suburban locations and selling its headquarters and production facility at 3931 S. Leavitt St. in Chicago.

Chicago Real Estate Daily reported that northwest Indiana-based Texas Corral Grill & Saloon had signed a lease for the Oak Lawn building, but a manager at the steakhouse’s Highland, Ind., location refused to comment and referred calls to the corporate office, which were not returned.

Calls to the former Oak Lawn Leona's location are being forwarded to the Calumet City location, where a manager said half of the Oak Lawn Leona's staff was transferred. The manager also said the Calumet City location was not closing.

“That was misreported,” she said.

The other half of the Oak Lawn staff was transferred to the Leona’s at 11060 S. Western Ave. in Chicago’s Beverly community.

“Half of the staff came here,” confirmed Beverly manager Gabriel Rodriguez. “Leona’s is good about finding a spot for its people.”

Rodriguez said the Beverly location had added Oak Lawn to its delivery area as of the weekend. He said customers could call his location for delivery at 773-881-7700.

Horse Thief Hollow Now Open

will open at 11 a.m. today for lunch, no ticket or reservation required. Lunch will be served daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dinner between now and the grand opening on Monday is another story. A limited number of daily dinner tickets have been issued for today through Sunday and a post on Horse Thief’s Facebook page said all available tickets have been claimed. Anyone holding a reservation for 6 p.m. can arrive between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The brew pub will hold its official grand opening at 11 a.m. Monday.

The owner is Beverly native Neil Byers who is leasing about 5,900-square-feet of space for his brew pub from adjoining Chatham Rug. Byers said the pub should be able to seat about 90 customers.

For information, call 773-779-2739 or visit its Facebook page.

Clarification on Oak Lawn Midas Free Repairs

Oak Lawn Midas, 11009 S. Cicero Ave., is offering free auto repairs to Oak Lawn residents in need.

The shop is a family business owned by Dorothy Bratcher with family members including her grandson Matthew Corlieto, his dad, Robert Bratcher, Walter Bratcher, and Jim and Cheryl Allen.

Corlieto said it could be a family that needs auto repairs but doesn’t have the financial resources, or a jobseeker who can’t find work without a car, or a mom that needs to drive the kids to school or caring for a person with special needs.

Corlieto said this is a joint effort that includes the employees of the Oak Lawn shop and some of its suppliers

Corlieto, whose family has owned the shop for 12 years, said he deals with a lot of charities and he felt this was another way of giving back to the Oak Lawn community.

Anyone who knows of someone in need of auto repairs can contact Midas at 708-425-2100.

Baker’s Footwear to Liquidate Stores

Bakers Footwear, which operates Bakers and Wild Pair shoe stores, has begun a liquidation sale at its remaining stores including locations at Chicago Ridge Mall and River Oaks Center in Calumet City.

There is no timetable for the store’s to close. The locations will close as soon as they are out of inventory.

The St. Louis-based chain filed for bankruptcy protection in October and was granted approval last month to conduct the going-out-of-business sales.

Fifth Third Bank has Auto Show Discounts

Fifth Third banking centers in Oak Lawn, Evergree Park and Morgan Park and anywhere else in Illinois and northern Indiana have free discount coupons for the annual Chicago Auto Show that runs from Feb. 9-18 at McCormick place in Chicago.

General admission to the show is $12 for adults (ages 13 - 61), $6 for children (ages 7 - 12) and $6 for senior citizens (ages 62 and up). Any child 6 years or younger may enter the show free of charge with a paid adult. Advanced ticket sales are available online.

Fifth Third Bank will host an interactive display at the show where the public can enjoy racing simulators and see the bank's #17 NASCAR Ford Fusion.

For information, visit ChicagoAutoShow.com.

To find a banking center near you, visit Fifth Third Bank.

Moraine Valley Seeks Interviewers

The Job Resource Center at Moraine Valley Community College is seeking employers to participate in Mock Interview Day on Wednesday, Feb. 20, from 2-5 p.m. in the Moraine Business and Conference Center (Building M), 9000 W. College Pkwy., Palos Hills.

Participating employers will engage in a formal, 30-minute mock interview with students, alumni and community members. During the first 20 minutes, employers will ask a series of general interview questions provided by the college. The remaining 10 minutes will be used to offer feedback and helpful tips to the interviewee.

Business people who would like to volunteer their time as interviewers should call 708-974-5313 or email jrc@morainevalley.edu.

Tinley Park Golf Expo

The second annual Tinley Park Golf Expo is returning to the Tinley Park Convention Center, 18400 Convention Center Road, on Feb. 8-10.

Admission is $5 on Friday and $10 on Saturday and Sunday. Juniors 12 and young are free with a paid adult.

Parking is free.

For information, visit tinleyparkgolfexpo.com or call 708-990-3779.

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.blogspot.com.