New Joliet Area Restaurants We Welcomed In 2024: Lots Of Photos

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As the proud owner of Joliet’s only soul food restaurant, Tamu Underwood is garnering lots of positive feedback and new customers. One family of three that came for Thursday’s lunch told her they drove 45 minutes to get here.

Her weekly specials are delicacies you won’t find at most Joliet restaurants. Take Thursday’s daily specials: “Turkey Legs or Cornish Hens.” Friday’s daily special will feature “Seafood Boil Bags.”

Saturday’s special will be the Smoked Brisket with two sides, pulled pork with two sides or the BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich.

“And Sunday is our biggest,” Underwood explained. “Oh yeah, that’s our soul food Sundays. I love seeing all the people from church come here. It’s like an after-church meeting.”

Irish Corner Cantina Opens On Black Road: ‘Everybody Is Welcome Here’

Eight months after Fireman Ted’s closed at 2771 Black Road, Kevin Kelley and his wife Gilda have brought the property back to life in a mighty big way. June marked the grand opening for Joliet’s newest restaurant and bar, The Irish Corner Cantina.

The Kelleys know what they’re doing when it comes to operating a bar. They previously lived in Mexico where they ran “a lazy beach bar in southern Mexico” for nearly 10 years. In Mexico, their bar featured hammocks and a book exchange.

“We know we can’t bring that back,” Kevin Kelley said of 2771 Black Road. “We’re very kid friendly with board games. Everybody is welcome. We are a very diverse family and everybody is welcome here.”

Kelley wants Irish Corner Cantina to be known for its food and as a quality restaurant that draws people from Joliet and the surrounding communities.

“We will be starting slow with $11 lunches,” he said. “And that will be for the meal, with a side and pop. We’ll also come up with chef specials, and we will do some daily specials.”
Friday’s grand opening menu unveiled “The Tornados.”

“That’s going to be our first hit, I hope,” Kelley remarked. “Delicious cone-shaped bread, Milano’s creation, filled with your favorite option,” his menu reads.

New Cemeno’s Pizza Open, ‘That’s What Makes Joliet, Joliet’: D’Arcy

July marks Cemeno’s first month of business at the Joliet Park District’s Inwood Recreation Center, 3000 West Jefferson St., replacing The Dock at Inwood, which left at the end of the year and relocated back to owner Rick Trafton’s hometown of Mokena.

“So I’m just old enough to have been in every one of the Cemeno’s restaurants,” Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy opened his remarks to a round of hearty laughs. “But the funny thing is, all the Cemenos start in the car business, and then they go back to the pizza business. What’s wrong with the car business?

“You know, I always say that Joliet’s the smallest big town in America,” D’Arcy continued. “But you feel the love here. This is what the city’s all about. We come together at times like this, good times and bad times, and we love each other and this is a perfect example of how this city runs, and I’m so proud of the Cemeno’s for 48 years of partnership with this community and all the wonderful things they do for the community, that’s what makes Joliet, Joliet, so thank you very much, and we appreciate everybody coming out today.”

New Bar & Grill: There’s Nothing Like Papa Magoo’s Near Shorewood

A bar like no other in the Shorewood area will mark its grand opening celebration on August 2. You won’t find Papa Magoo’s Bar & Grill along Route 59, or the Jefferson Street corridor in the heart of the village.

“I like it because it’s hidden. People like that … but we’re off Route 52 and County Line Road,” explained Jim Moretti, owner of Papa Magoo’s. “We’re attached to the big white dome. Everything is brand new. We built this place from the ground up. “The menu will grow as the business will grow. We are going to have the NFL (Sunday) Ticket and all the sports.”

Located a couple miles west of Shorewood, Papa Magoo’s is surrounded by farmland, thousands and thousands of giant cornstalks. The mailing address is 14285 South County Line Road, Shorewood. It’s just within the boundaries of Kendall County.

New Joliet Restaurant Opens: Menu, Prices Revealed By Patch

August marks the first month of business in Joliet for the new Carnitas Aguascalientes #2. The Chicago Ridge-based Mexican restaurant has expanded into Joliet, now giving it two locations. Although the new Joliet restaurant has a small seating area, most of the business is expected to come from takeout orders.

Carnitas is in the same business plaza as the Tony’s Auto Repair. The phone number to place carryout orders is 815-582-4906. The menu features several flavors of tortas including sausage, barbacoa and torta tongue-lengua. The quesadillas include steak-asada, chicken-pollo, pork-pastor and sausage-chorizo.

The burritos, called burros, come in chicken-pollo, pork-pastor, steak-asada as well as barbacoa and tongue-lengua.

New Joliet Restaurant At Ruby, Hickory Offers ‘Something Different’

A new sit-down Joliet restaurant on the city’s near side called Pollo Loco Latino Bar-Restaurant is hoping to attract customers by offering unique cuisine at 751 N. Hickory St. Their menu focuses on authentic dishes that mostly originate in South America, including:

The Bandeja Paisa, a ribeye steak, chorizo, avocado, fried egg, arepa, sweet plantain and crispy pork rinds. The Lomo Saltedo, a sliced rib eye steak sautéed with peppers, onions, tomato and cilantro served with fries and rice. And, Pollo Loco, a half rotisserie chicken with rice, beans, avocado salad and maduros (also known as fried sweet plantains).

Burrito Guacamole Opens In Joliet At Former Jimmy K’s

If you were thinking that the demise of the Jimmy K’s Handcrafted Burgers restaurant near Houbolt Road and Interstate 80 would spur the addition of a Mexican fast-food restaurant, you hit the jackpot. It did. On Nov. 6, Burrito Guacamole Authentic Mexican Food opened at the former Jimmy K’s, 1422 Riverboat Center Drive.

Joliet Patch’s editor discovered the new fast-food restaurant on Friday while working on a separate story about Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy’s latest recommendation to deny a liquor license for the BP Gas Station facing Houbolt Road.

Upon discovering Burrito Guacamole, Joliet Patch’s editor went inside and spent $10.99 for the steak burrito. It was terrific. Meanwhile, at a separate table, a FedEx driver was complimenting the employees, telling one of them how their food was excellent.

Hello, Harold’s Chicken Shack, Goodbye Giovan’s Pasta & Pizzeria

For the past 15 months, the Giovan’s Pasta & Pizzeria carryout restaurant has remained empty at 2308 Route 59 at the Tony’s Fresh Market shopping center. People wondered whether a new restaurant would ever open there. Now, we know the answer.

Harold’s Chicken Shack, a legendary Chicago fried chicken restaurant, already has one location in downtown Joliet at John Bays’ Catholic Charities building, 201 North Ottawa St., at the corner of Ottawa and Cass Streets.
Now, Harold’s is bringing a second location to Joliet, and this one will also draw customers from Plainfield and Shorewood.

Popular Joliet Restaurant Brings Tasty Food To Channahon: Photos

A Mississippi pot roast dinner for less than $20. A pork tenderloin dinner for $15. Grilled Grecian style pork chops with a side for $15. A 10-ounce rib eye steak dinner with two sides for $25. Or, for less than $30, the Surf & Turf — 10 ounce rib eye, four shrimps and two sides.

With business flourishing the past few years at The Grill at Fritz’s Pour House, Joliet restaurateur Miguel “Mike” Villarreal took a leap of faith this fall by adding another location. In Channahon, he opened The Grill At The Office in October.

The Grill At The Office is at 25520 Pheasant Lane, near the busy intersection of Route 6 and Ridge Road, near the boundary lines for Channahon and Minooka.

The Clifton Brings Wood-Fired Pizza Back To Downtown Plainfield

Giambotta Pizza’s closing in 2022 marked the departure of a go-to spot for wood-fired pizza in downtown Plainfield. The Clifton, which opened July 15 in its place, brought it back.

The Clifton, located in the white former house at 24136 W. Lockport St., is the latest venture from co-owners Dan Tacone and Ben Devee, who operate Next Whiskey Bar across the street.

Tacone described the new restaurant as a “modern American wood-fired kitchen.” What that means, besides offering wood-fired pizza, is a majority of the menu is “touched” by the wood-fired oven.

New Restaurant Replacing Former Tap House Grill Space Unveiled

The new restaurant replacing the former Tap House Grill space on Lockport Street was unveiled. Fuse’d is expected to open in mid-April at 24402 W. Lockport St., across from Village Hall. Mayor John Argoudelis announced the new eatery Friday morning on Facebook, more than two months since Tap House Grill suddenly closed.

Fusion is the latest concept from the Major Threat Restaurant Group, which also operates Khaos Brewcade, Craft’d and Chop’d in Plainfield. Corey Knowles, the founder of Fuse’d, described the restaurant as guest-forward, approachable and fun.

“We believe that food is a universal language that has the power to bring people together,” Knowles said in a statement. “Our goal is to create a space where the local community can gather and enjoy dishes inspired by cultures from every corner of the globe, all made with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients.”

HUGE Lines At Roosty’s Chicken For Grand Opening Weekend: 6 Photos

About a once a year, a new fast-food restaurant, often focused on chicken, creates such a buzz in the Joliet area that hundreds of people flock to the grand opening, willing to stand in line forever, to be a part of history.

We saw it happen in January 2021 when the first Joliet Chick-fi-A opened on Route 30 near the Louis Joliet Mall. We saw history being repeated in March 0f 2022 when as many as 4,000 customers flocked to the Raising Cane’s grand opening along Plainfield Road near the mall, on the former Diamand’s Family Restaurant property.

And we saw history being made in March, this time in Minooka, when Kerem Kok opened the first Roosty’s Chicken & Shakes in Illinois, a fast-food restaurant that sells chicken wings, chicken tenders, chicken sandwiches, milk shakes and a whole more.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Opens With ‘Chipotlane’ Off Ridge Road

MINOOKA — Chipotle Mexican Grill announced that it is opening its first location in Minooka on Friday, March 29. The restaurant features the brand’s signature Chipotlane, a drive-thru pickup lane that allows customers to conveniently pick up digital orders without leaving their cars. What other important things do you need to know? Hours: Open every day 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m

The new Minooka Chipotle is located at 462 W. Mondamin Street, at the corner of Ridge Road inside the Parker Square shopping plaza.

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