boudreaulicious wrote:

blipsman wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Paciugo perhaps (their website shows an unidentified Chicago location...)

Are they opening another Chicago location? They've already got one at 3241 N. Broadway in Lakeview...

They've actually opened two additional stores (Forest Park and Lincoln Square--I think this one is open--if not, it's about to). They also show another unidentified (no neighborhood noted yet) Chicago location on the website.

Boudreaulicious, do you know where the Lincoln Square location is (or will be)? I haven't noticed it.

Giddings Plaza is going to get more crowded this summer, because a new Paciugo outpost is slated to open in the ground floor of the Fountain View building across from Café Selmarie.

http://www.centersquarejournal.com/news ... op-paciugo

gleam wrote:

Giddings Plaza is going to get more crowded this summer, because a new Paciugo outpost is slated to open in the ground floor of the Fountain View building across from Café Selmarie.

http://www.centersquarejournal.com/news ... op-paciugo

I have two buy-one-get-one coupons for the Forest Park location. If they honor them in Lincoln Square, I need three LTH buddies to meet me for lunch.

gleam wrote:

Giddings Plaza is going to get more crowded this summer, because a new Paciugo outpost is slated to open in the ground floor of the Fountain View building across from Café Selmarie.

http://www.centersquarejournal.com/news ... op-paciugo

Thanks . . . glad to see they're willing to move in just doors away from Coldstone. I hope they can make it.

BR wrote:

gleam wrote:

Giddings Plaza is going to get more crowded this summer, because a new Paciugo outpost is slated to open in the ground floor of the Fountain View building across from Café Selmarie.

http://www.centersquarejournal.com/news ... op-paciugo

Thanks . . . glad to see they're willing to move in just doors away from Coldstone. I hope they can make it.

Cold Stones are dropping like flies in this town and elsewhere, closing down left and right. Perhaps Paciugo's entrance can be the final nail in this one's coffin too.

rehorn wrote:This is apparently a ways off (construction beginning in the winter) but Culver's has plans to come to Roosevelt Road.

http://www.wednesdayjournalonline.com/m ... leID=17597

The Roosevelt Produce location has not had a firm tenant in a long time but the 12th St Rag will be missed. Also mentioned in the article...

Wednesday Journal wrote:Another restaurant is also opening on the Berwyn side of the street by October 1. Autre Monde Café & Spirits will take the place of a former flower shop at 6727 Roosevelt.

Oak Parkers John Aranza and Christine Tully Aranza, who also own Horrorbles right next door, are getting $125,000 in TIF money from the City of Berwyn. They're transforming the storefront into a "European-style" restaurant with Mediterranean influences.

Aranza said the design will have a "steam punk" influence, nodding to the B-side of pop culture, with movie and rock posters on the walls and granite countertops. They hope to later add a greenhouse in the back to grow greens for their dishes. They are also planning for a patio.

The menu will feature small plates for sharing, with the early version including dishes such as marrow bones, pork porterhouses, seafood sausage coneys, mini burgers and duck fat fries. They'll also offer craft-brewed beers and artisan wines. The café will be open for dinner and the occasional brunch.

Mmmm... More Duck Fat Fries.

Double G's (formerly Gridley's) in Long Grove is closed.

Shasson wrote:a double-storefront at 3314 W. Foster in Chicago, a site that previously housed Ecuadorian restaurant Delicias Crucitas, is now sporting a bright red awning announcing "Smokey Bears BBQ House." Please let it be good.

Smokey Bears BBQ House is opening this weekend. We were invited to the soft opening and it was pretty good. They're using real smokers. The ribs that I had were not falling off the bone, but not toothsome either. They had a good pull and chew to them. Everything that I tasted at the tasting seemed fresh and made on site, even the bbq sauce. I'll definitely be back as it's really hard to judge them on their food at this point.

The Fountain View condo building at Giddings plaza supposedly was getting both Goddess and Grocer and Feast last year according to this in the Openings etc. thread in February, 2009. I had doubts about the viability of those operations in Lincoln Square at the time so am not surprised that they never happened.

The Coldstone Creamery shop a bit farther south on Lincoln has shut down once already and reopened with a new franchisee.

Kennyz wrote:Cold Stones are dropping like flies in this town and elsewhere, closing down left and right. Perhaps Paciugo's entrance can be the final nail in this one's coffin too.

The one at Winchester & North Ave. closed over the winter, I believe. This is an old article, but it seems CSC isn't exactly a sound franchise investment.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1213217 ... jie/6month

abe_froeman wrote:I heard what I hope is just an ugly rumor on the radio today that Johnnie's Italian Beef, at least the Elmwood Park location, is closing? Anyone heard anything?

From today's Dish

“Oh, God, no. My wife will kill me. Are you kidding? I’ve had it since 1961. I wouldn’t be able to go home.” –John Arto, the owner of Johnnie’s Beef (7500 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park; 708-452-6000), in response to a rumor that Johnnie’s was closing.

Marshall K wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:I heard what I hope is just an ugly rumor on the radio today that Johnnie's Italian Beef, at least the Elmwood Park location, is closing? Anyone heard anything?

From today's Dish

“Oh, God, no. My wife will kill me. Are you kidding? I’ve had it since 1961. I wouldn’t be able to go home.” –John Arto, the owner of Johnnie’s Beef (7500 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park; 708-452-6000), in response to a rumor that Johnnie’s was closing.

Well, that's a relief. Someone needs to tell John Prine to stop spreading this rumor on WXRT.

I noticed the other day that Coyote Ugly and its liquor license are for sale. So if anyone wants to turn that train wreck into something cool, here's your chance!

The Portage opened last night. The little lady and stopped by to check it out, and were well pleased. My take on the place is here:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=28886
3938 N. Central Avenue
Chicago, IL 60634
773.853.0779
http://www.theportagechicago.com

The GP wrote:Dona Lolis, 6924 N. Clark, has the dreaded "restaurant for rent" signs in the window. They had been struggling for a long time as their offerings had grown to include hot dogs, gyros and 99 cent tacos. We did not frequent Dona Lolis much, but it does make me sad to see another empty storefront on Clark.

This storefront is empty no longer. While driving down Clark yesterday, I noticed "Grand Opening" signs in the windows for Fahrenheit (no relation to other and/or previous Fahrenheits, I'm assuming). The woman who answered the phone said they are open 6 am to 7 pm, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, "American food."

Fahrenheit
773/338-3900

yet another location of La Pasadita Express is coming soon to 3720 W Belmont, only a few blocks from the brand new Las Asadas at 3243 N Pulaski.

LAZ wrote:I'm sad to report that Sun View market in Niles and the Chicago location of Renee Gourmet/Odessa Market just south of Niles have both closed.

Damn, I knew as soon as Meijer moved into that mall, that SunView was done for, like Wal*Mart did to Farmer's Best. That makes 2 of my favorite markets that have closed in Niles in the past year. Who is there left to serve the diverse ethnic communities in that area? Certainly not Meijer and Wal*Mart. The bread selection alone was worth the trip to SunView, with breads from at least a dozen different bakeries representing styles from scores of European and Asian countries. They had seven different kinds of feta cheese, for dog's sake, and goat ribs. Does Meijer sell goat ribs?

Meijer and Mallwart may have killed a couple, but the general Golf-Mill area still has a lot of diversity.
In the same stretch of Golf as Meijer there's a couple of Indian places, and an Eastern European market (a little to the east). Is there still an Indian market where WM is?

Going south on Milwaukee, there's Brillakis on the east side, an Indian place on the west, Zander on the east again (although they closed the second storefront which had their meats), Sara Meats (east side at Ballard, I haven't been in), Assi Plaza (east) -- which might even have your goat, and a Philipino place on the west (it's still open, isn't it?). North on Milwaukee there's Asia Super, but I really haven't been in there since Assi opened.

d4v3 wrote:Who is there left to serve the diverse ethnic communities in that area?

Niles still has plenty of ethnic groceries:

Greenwood International Market, 8716 W. Golf, (847) 803-0013, sells a broad range of European specialties including Bulgarian, Hungarian, German, Polish, Russian with all kinds of deli items.

Jerry's Fruit & Garden Center, 7901 N. Milwaukee, (847) 967-1440, offers a multi-ethnic mix of produce, fresh breads and groceries.

Shop & Save, 229 Golf Mill Center, (847) 803-6590, http://www.shopandsavemarket.com, is a supermarket with a large stock of European and Asian goods and its own smokehouse and bakery.

Schmeisser's Meats & Sausage, 7649 N. Milwaukee, (847) 967-8995. is a full-service butcher specializing in German foods but branching out into other cuisines, with its own sausages, smoked meats and prime dry-aged beef, plus some prepared foods.

Fresh Farms, 5740 W. Touhy Ave., (847) 779-7343, is another supermarket with a broad ethnic mix.

That's not counting the individual Niles stores specializing in Middle Eastern, Filipino, Korean, Indian, Polish, Serbian, Greek, Italian, etc. While there have been some changes, closures and openings since, this article and its accompanying list still offer many pointers to extant Niles ethnic shopping. This thread contains some updates.

LAZ wrote:

d4v3 wrote:Who is there left to serve the diverse ethnic communities in that area?

Niles still has plenty of ethnic groceries:

My question was mostly rhetorical (obviously I see trading a Meijer for SunView as a major downgrade), but thanks for the list. I will have to check out Shop & Save, I always forget about that place. I know Niles has many other ethnic options, but SunView and Farmer's Best were two of the largest, and they had products from many different cultures, as well as good cheap produce and really decent meat. Most of the other stores (like Greenwood) specialize in a single ethnicity and don't carry American staples, so they are more "special stops" than places to do daily shopping. Fresh Farms is most similar, but it is pretty far from Golf Rd.

d4v3--

Village Market Place
4034 West Dempster Street
Skokie, IL 60076-2128
(847) 933-0900
http://www.villagemarketplace.net

Great source for ethnic foods, with a wide selection of breads from multiple bakeries. Also good produce and six kinds of feta cheese. Good pricing, too.

And, it's closer to RP.

JoelF wrote:Is there still an Indian market where WM is?

No. But Fresh Farms has a pretty extensive Indian section.

jimwdavis wrote:d4v3--

Village Market Place
4034 West Dempster Street
Skokie, IL 60076-2128
(847) 933-0900
http://www.villagemarketplace.net

Great source for ethnic foods, with a wide selection of breads from multiple bakeries. Also good produce and six kinds of feta cheese. Good pricing, too.

And, it's closer to RP.

And don't forget:

MarketPlace on Oakton
4817 W. Oakton
Skokie IL 60077
847-677-9330
marketplaceonoakton.com

MarketPlace on Oakton is the same concept but quite a bit bigger - breads from a bazillion different bakeries (including D'Amato's), ethnic foods from all over the world, one of the best selections of produce anywhere, good quality fresh meats and fresh fish, etc., and all at very reasonable prices. And, yes, much closer to Rogers Park than going all the way to Niles.

We shop at both Village Market Place and at MarketPlace on Oakton. VMP is a bit closer to us so we tend to go there when we need a few produce items, but go to MPO when we need lots of produce, deli meats (they carry Boar's Head), and other items. Both of them are excellent places and worth checking out.

One tip at MarketPlace on Oakton, so you don't look foolish the first time you go there (like I did) - the shopping carts require a 25-cent deposit (and they are NOT interchangeable with the ones at the Aldi next door). If you're at the rack of carts, putting a quarter in separates the cart from the ones behind it; when you return it to the rack, you can stick the metal tab to lock it in and it will push your quarter back out to you. It's also common that as you're walking towards the store, another customer may offer you their cart (so they don't have to wheel it all the way back to the store); take it and give them a quarter.

Also, the two Asian mega-stores, Assi Plaza and Super H Mart.

Assi Plaza
8901 N. Milwaukee Ave
Niles, IL 60714
847 - 470 - 9450

Super H Mart
7801 North Waukegan Road
Niles, IL 60714-3217
847 - 581-1212

And Produce World in Morton Grove:

8800 Waukegan Road
Morton Grove
847 - 581 - 1029

Lauretta's Italian Bake Shop
446 North Lake Street
Mundelein, IL

closed recently and is supposed to reopen as:

Courtyard Cafe'
446 North Lake St.
Mundelein, IL.

by the end of the week.

I believe it is the same owners. I really liked their pastries. Per a phone call to them, I was told they will be keeping them and adding gelato.

D.

nsxtasy wrote:One tip at MarketPlace on Oakton, so you don't look foolish the first time you go there (like I did) - the shopping carts require a 25-cent deposit (and they are NOT interchangeable with the ones at the Aldi next door). If you're at the rack of carts, putting a quarter in separates the cart from the ones behind it; when you return it to the rack, you can stick the metal tab to lock it in and it will push your quarter back out to you. It's also common that as you're walking towards the store, another customer may offer you their cart (so they don't have to wheel it all the way back to the store); take it and give them a quarter.

Same deal with Fresh Farms, but if you're all out of quarters, there's a money changer just inside the door. I suggest getting a cart from the corrals outside, because inside it's a real clusterfuck.

Pie Lady wrote:Same deal with Fresh Farms, but if you're all out of quarters, there's a money changer just inside the door. I suggest getting a cart from the corrals outside, because inside it's a real clusterfuck.

Or borrow a stray cart from Walmart.

Dave148 wrote:Or borrow a stray cart from Walmart.

I like your style!

Pie Lady wrote:

Dave148 wrote:Or borrow a stray cart from Walmart.

I like your style!

All kidding aside, I like the 25-cent charge for the cart. It encourages good citizenship and accomplishes the task nicely. Compare that to many Jewel/Dominicks where the carts litter the parking lot and are often blocking parking spaces. And it's nice to see that people can still be bought off relatively cheaply.

Romano's on Oakton in Des Plaines has a sign up that says this is their last week, after 60 years looks like they will be closing. It is the end of an era, they have great pizza! The best around here for sure.