David Hammond wrote:Although Sloppy Jo's may not be a franchise at the moment, it seems this place is poised for expansion: the logo, the menu, the "concept," all seem part of a marketing plan for ultimate world dominion.

I think you're right. The food tasted just like a "concept" of food, but nothing more.

David Hammond wrote:stevez, all due respect, I've wolfed down some odd stuff in the past months, but I might have to draw the line at the fluffernutter. The candy peanuts put it, for me, in the realm of the uneatable.

I took my half of the sandwich home, though I forgot to take it out of the car. It was intended for my sister who made fluffernutter sandwiches pretty regularly as a teenager. I showed the mummified sandwich to Josephine and ReneG before tossing. Everyone commented on the circus peanuts.

David Hammond wrote:PS. Although Sloppy Jo's may not be a franchise at the moment, it seems this place is poised for expansion: the logo, the menu, the "concept," all seem part of a marketing plan for ultimate world dominion.

I talked to the owner before it opened. Just from the website, she had several requests from people interested in acquiring franchises. It surprised her quite a bit especially since she had not gotten it off the ground.

The Kaiser roll opened up to insert the Sloppy Jo was an evolution from the hamburger bun I received when it first opened. She recently switched from scooping ice cream to acquiring a soft serve ice cream. Her tiny space did not allow enough storage capacity for her volume of business. Showing her resourcefulness, she contacted me to inquire about independent soft serve ice creams I might know about. I provided a few suggestions, though I don't know what she chose to do.

While I am sure she has something there she can franchise, she is still refining her business.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Showing her resourcefulness, she contacted me to inquire about independent soft serve ice creams I might know about. I provided a few suggestions, though I don't know what she chose to do.

She picked a soy based product, the name escapes me, and it is pretty tasty

There was a small item buried in the TribLocal section today mentioning that Sloppy Jo's is moving to Glencoe. Anyone know what is up with that?

Apparently there was some bureaucratic BS with the city in regards to the outdoor dining. I spoke briefly to the owner a couple weeks ago when I was having lunch there. It's something to do with the HP City Manager and sounds very frustrating. She is moving later this summer to Glencoe, not sure of the exact location. The story is very disappointing to the state of HP restaurants and retail establishments.

It was my husband who wrote the article in TribLocal based on what I told him...

Hi,

That may well be, I think it also may simply be the general lack of traffic, too. Unfortunately, Ravinia is a pretty sleepy part of town.

Brill? I have the Szechuan Kingdon article very likely next to his. I'd be more certain if a production problem caused my TribLocal not be inserted into my paper.

Regards,

I thought they had cleared up their outdoor dining issues. Bummer. It is a nice alternative to the hot dog joints and sub chains and they make a mean, mean Frito Pie.

If you think Ravinia is sleepy, I will argue Glencoe can be comatose.

Hi,

I happen to really dislike the outdoor seating at Tamales and Sushi Kushi, Too. They take up so much of the sidewalk that pedestrians have to walk around them.

Wherever Sloppy Jo's ends up, it will be a unique offering. Especially for families with small children who likely welcome the variety. I simply doubt the sidewalk dining issue was the deal killer. It was probably the final straw.

Regards,

If you think Ravinia is sleepy, I will argue Glencoe can be comatose.

I'm not that familiar with Glencoe but I know its "downtown" is a lot bigger than Ravinia. I think the lack of other shopping in Ravinia limited its clientele since there were no drop in customers doing other errands and made it effectively a destination restaurant.

This just in from Chicago Magazine's Dish

Sloppy Jo’s Lunchroom (733 St. Johns Ave., Highland Park; 847-266-8687) will close at the end of July, but Debi Gordon, the owner, intends to reopen elsewhere on the North Shore in the spring