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Business & Tech

Business Comings & Goings: Oak Lawn Couple Open Marie's Café

Bookworm Cafe to open second location next week in Will County at New Lenox Library.

When Dean Kochert started looking for a place to open a restaurant of his own, he ruled out being an Italian beef or hot dog kind of place.

“There are plenty of those already,” he said.

Kochert decided on quick casual, a concept he was familiar with after working for years at the Italian Village and Panera.

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The result was Marie’s Café and Catering at 3660 W. 111th St. in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community, which opened on May 7.

“I’ve worked for a number of fast casual restaurants,” he said. “Marie’s is similar to Corner Bakery or Panera.”

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“Our niche is gourmet burgers,” Kochert said. “We have six signature burgers and a BYO burger, all served on a unique butter egg bun; toasted.”

Marie’s also has assorted fresh pastries in the morning, breakfast sandwiches, eight kinds of salads, specialty sandwiches and three Panini sandwiches. For a complete list of their menu items, visit Marie’s Café and Catering.

Kochert and his wife and co-owner, Allison, live in Oak Lawn and wanted to open their café in the village.

“We tried to locate in Oak Lawn,” he said. “We looked and looked and couldn’t find a location that worked.”

They settled on a space owned by St. Xavier University that formerly was a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream shop.

“It’s a good space,” Kochert said. “It seats 55 and is across the street from Mount Greenwood Park, so we get a lot people in from the neighborhood or after they visit the park.”

Kochert said Marie’s has a great stereo system that plays Frank Sinatra music in the morning, easy rock like the Eagles and Bruce Springsteen in the afternoon and dinner music like Natalie Cole in the evenings.

Marie’s is open from Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For information, call 773-840-3344 or visit Marie’s Facebook page.

Bookworm Café to Open 2nd Location

, which just celebrated its first anniversary at the Oak Lawn Library, is scheduled to open its second location on Monday, June 11, at the New Lenox Library. Co-owner Nancy Jensen is set to manage the new location, which will feature the same menu items as the Oak Lawn location.

Farmer’s Market Returns Today

The annual Oak Lawn Farmer’s Market returns today from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 52nd Avenue and Dumke Drive. It will run every Wednesday through Oct. 17.

Visit here for a complete list of vendors.

Evergreen Park Market Resumes Thursday

The Farmer’s Market in neighboring Evergreen Park resumes from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow at Yukich Field. The Evergreen Park market runs every Thursday through Oct. 26.

Everything’s Relative to Host Chamber

is hosting a Business after Hours for the on Wednesday from 5:30-8 p.m. at 5126 W. 95th St. No RSVP is necessary.

Garrett to Address Oak Lawn Chamber

Jim Garrett from the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau will be guest speaker at the monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. June 12 at the , 9333 S. Cicero Ave.

After the lunch, Laura Urban of Globus Family of Brands will have a travel presentation.

Cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members.

For information, call 708-424-8300 or visit the Oak Lawn Chamber.

Baise to Address Southland Chamber

Illinois Manufacturers Association President and CEO Gregory W. Baise will talk about the state’s fiscal recovery during his keynote presentation at the June 11 Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce Regional Consensus Luncheon at the Tinley Park Convention Center.

With more than 20 years in the IMA top spot, preceded by several high level state appointments, Baise has an inside track on just about everything in Illinois. He will talk about how to change non-residents’ perception of doing business in Illinois as well as the present state of manufacturing.

The luncheon, which begins at 11:30 a.m., is open to the public. Reservations are $30 for members, $40 for non-members and can be made on the chamber's website, and by telephone at 708-957-6950.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bob@chicago-patch.com.

You can also catch up on Comings & Goings in other parts of the Southland at www.southlandbusinessnews.blogspot.com.

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