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Business & Tech

Business Comings & Goings: Video Poker Arrives in Oak Lawn

Fashion Bug stores in Bridgeview and Merrionette Park to close after holidays.

Legalized video poker arrived in Oak Lawn this week when five of the gambling machines were turned on Monday afternoon at Murphy’s Law Bar & Grill at 9247 S. Cicero Ave.

Business has been brisk at the machines, Diane Cech, a bartender at Murphy’s, said Tuesday.

“People have been coming in that I have never seen before,” she said. “They have been coming in, having lunch and playing a little poker.”

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Cech said Murphy’s has five video machines, the most allowed by state law, and each machine offers a variety of games including poker and blackjack.

Video gaming became legal in Illinois on Oct. 9, when machines were turned on at dozens of establishments in the state under a law approved in 2009.

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The Illinois Gaming Board said it initally approved more than 60 licenses and is processing more than 2,000 more.

Fashion Bugs Closing

Fashion Bug, a national retail chain that carries women’s fashions in sizes 6 to 30 and caters to plus-size women, is being phased out by its new corporate parent Ascena Retail Group.

Ascena earlier this year completed its buyout of Charming Shoppes Inc., which owns Fashion Bug, and now plans to close the remaining several hundred Fashion Bug stores by early next year.

Fashion Bug stores at 8735 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview and 3209 W. 115th St. in Merrionette Park are among five Southland stores the retailer will be closing after the Christmas shopping season.

“We don’t have an exact date for the closing,” said a clerk at the Bridgeview store. “It will be after the holidays, either at the end of the year or in early January.”

She said employees have been told they can apply to transfer to a sister store including Lane Bryant, Catherines, Maurices, Dressbarn and Justice, but no jobs are guaranteed.

Day Spa Celebrates Anniversary

Sole’Le About You Day Spa celebrated its first anniversary in September at 8851 S. California Ave. in Evergreen Park.

“Everything is going good,” said Bryant Madison, the owner. “We have several good customers.”

Madison said the spa was a natural adjunct to the Bun Inc. hair salon his wife, Ramona Madison, has been operating next door.

“Women get their hair done next door and then come here to be pampered,” he said.

He said the spa specializes in manicures and pedicures and also rents out the boutique for parties.

Hours for the spa are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and closed on Sunday and Monday.

For information, call 708-499-2386.

Evergreen Farmers Market Closes This Week

The Evergreen Park Farmers Market will close for the season at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25. The market runs from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Yukich Field.

Office Depot Closing

Office Depot will be closing its store at Orland Park Place on Dec. 12 and is expected to move sometime in 2013 into a much smaller space across LaGrange Road in Ravinia Plaza.

The move is part of the office supply retailer’s move away from larger stores into much smaller stores.

The company said it would continue to serve customers through its retail stores in Chicago Ridge and Frankfort or online at www.officedepot.com.

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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