patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Small Business

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

New Lenox Stores Open on Thanksgiving

Get the hours for New Lenox grocery stores, convenience stores and liquor for all your last-minute needs on Thanksgiving.

No doubt you'll forget something you need to make the Thanksgiving meal perfect. Don't panic. Here's a list of the Thanksgiving Day hours for grocery stores, convenience stores and liquor stores in New Lenox. OPEN 24 HOURS OPEN PART OF DAY CLOSED LIQUOR STORES

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Readers' Choice Winners 2012

Who's the best mechanic in town? Who serves the best breakfast? Here are your picks for Readers' Choice in New Lenox.

All this summer you've nominated and voted for your favorite local businesses in categories including best burger to best preschool. We've tallied all the poll votes and now it's time to announce the winners. See below for our complete list of Readers' Choice winners Best Movie Theater (Southland) Best Summer Festival (Southland) Best Breakfast Spot Best Pasta Best Burger Best Chinese Food Best Catering (Southland) Best Ice Cream (Southland) Best Preschool Best Day Care Best Pool (Southland) Best Chiropractor Best Nail Salon Best Dentist Best Veterinarian (Southland) Best Home Remodeler Best Lawn Care Best Photographer Best Jeweler Best Martial Arts Best Dance Studio Best Place to Cycle In an earlier version of Readers' Choice, you …

Monday, August 20, 2012

Kup A Joe: Owner Continues to Build Breakfast Business (Video)

Learn how the new breakfast-and-lunch restaurant that took over in Plaza Cafe's old location is doing. Plus, watch video footage from inside the eatery.

Kup A Joe owner James Garofalo is no stranger to the breakfast café business. After opening up Egg and I restaurants in both Chicago Heights and Tinley Park, Garofalo decided to bring his breakfast and lunch dining experience to Frankfort on April 16. His new establishment opened in the old location for Plaza Cafe, which closed in January because of tax issues. “This is an ideal location in Frankfort, and it’s the only existing breakfast location in the main part of town,” Garofalo said. How Has Business Been Since the Opening? "We had to build up our traffic, since (there was no recent activity at the location),” Garofalo said. “It’s been a little difficult trying to get people to know we’re here. … So we’re doing our best.” Who Works …

The 1st Winner of Patch's Rt. 30 Raffle Is …

Help establishments in the construction zone get through these tough times. Some participating businesses include: Perfect Nails, Aurelio's, Caffé Milan, Hawgs 'N Dogs, New Lenox Travel and Bobbie Noonan Child Care.

The Frankfort, Mokena and New Lenox Patch sites are partnering with establishments along U.S. Route 30 to help these businesses who are feeling the pinch from that roadway's widening project, which stretches 8.5 miles from Harlem Avenue in Frankfort to William Street in New Lenox. Here's the plan: The L-W Patch sites will hold a weekly Rt. 30 raffle where a random reader could win a variety of prizes provided by Rt. 30 businesses and Patch. To enter, residents need to sign up for a Patch newsletter at a participating Rt. 30 business. Patch will routinely list those businesses where customers can find newsletter sign-up sheets. Residents only have to enter once to be eligible for all the raffle drawings. Easy, huh? The idea is to rally the …

Friday, August 17, 2012

LAST CHANCE! Pick New Lenox's Best Businesses

We need you, the local experts on local business, to vote for your favorites for a variety of categories. Pick the best mechanic, the best breakfast spot and lots more.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Little Joe's Will be 'Different Experience' When it Opens in Frankfort

The Frankfort location won't be quite like the Little Joe's Famous Pizza restaurants in New Lenox and Tinley Park, the owners say. Doors at the new space should be open by next month.

As residents of Frankfort, the owners of Little Joe's Famous Pizza, which has locations in New Lenox and Tinley Park, have always wanted to open an eatery in the village. Although it's taken longer than they had hoped, setting up a pizza place in their hometown will soon become a reality. The Village Plan Commission recommended Thursday the approval of special use permits for outdoor dining and a liquor license for a Little Joe's location in the Crown Center Building on Lincoln Way Lane in the storefront that formerly housed Smooth Joe's Cafe. The Frankfort Village Board now needs to give final approval. READ: Little Joe's Pizza to Open Frankfort Location "I'm excited you guys are coming," said Commissioner John Newton. "I've always …

Comment_arrow

lala

8:57 am on Sunday, January 20, 2013

You should go to a village board meeting and ask questions.   more ›

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

UPDATED: Support Rt. 30 Businesses Through These Tough Construction Times

The continuing delays and aggravation of the U.S. Route 30 widening project are putting many businesses in the construction zone in a financial crunch. But Patch has a plan to help ease the pain a bit. Find out how you can help.

Stop me if you've heard this one. It's a little joke going around the Lincoln-Way area about the U.S. Route 30 widening project, which began last summer and appears to have no end in sight. It goes something like this: IDOT says the construction on Rt. 30 will be done by November. They just haven't said what year. (Cue rimshot) It's the kind of joke that musters a chuckle or two because it falls into that vein of "it's funny 'cause it's true" humor. But when you're a business whose livelihood depends on customers being able to find your parking lot, the continuing construction delays aren't amusing. In fact, they're devastating. Some stores and restaurants have even lost about 50 percent of their business because of the widening project. …

Friday, July 27, 2012

Obama's 'You Didn't Build That' Business Comments: Is He Wrong?

The president's small-business comments upset many people and gave Republican Mitt Romney a point of attack. But Barack Obama said the comments were taken out of context. What do you think? Take the Patch Poll.

President Barack Obama's recent comments about small business created a firestorm that could become a focus of the 2012 election — even as Obama and his supporters say his comments were taken out of context.  "Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own," he said during a July 13 speech in Virginia. "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help ... If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen." Take the Patch poll below: Who plays the most significant role in creating jobs and economic growth? That's not the entire speech, which you can read on the independent FactCheck.org. According to that post, the comments were taken out of context: "There’s no question …

Monday, July 23, 2012

Locally Owned

Cuddle Me Babies Gift Shop Can Make You the Hit of the Baby Shower

New Lenox resident Bonnie Norton create the Cuddle Me line and said she "makes a baby in 15 minutes flat."

A home-based business owner and life-long crafter, Bonnie Norton, came up with an idea several years ago to really raise awareness about her craft skills. The owner of Cuddle Me Babies Gift Shop, Norton said, "I used to go to trade shows looking for original pieces to sell," at A Country Florist Gift Baskets and Crafts, which was located in the strip mall in the 300 block of W. Maple Street. The florist shop is still in existence today, but Norton runs it along with Cuddle Me Babies Gift Shop from her home. After some necessary surgery and physical setbacks, Norton moved both ventures home in 2008. From there, she expanded her horizons with the Cuddle Me line.   When speaking about the birth of "Cuddle Me Babies," her eyes light up. The …

Readers Vote 2012: Pick New Lenox's Best Businesses

We need you, the local experts on local business, to vote for your favorites for a variety of categories. Pick the best mechanic, the best breakfast spot and lots more.

Who's the best mechanic in New Lenox? Which day care do you send your child to?  Patch is compiling the best of local business in New Lenox, and we're asking you, the local experts, to vote for the best spots in town.  We're relaunching the Readers' Choice program to make it better than ever, and the first phase was taking nominations for your favorite places. Now we're ready to vote, so see below for links to each topic to give a shoutout for your most-loved businesses.  Voting runs through Friday, Aug. 17. Just click on the links below and vote in the polls. Sign up for the Patch newsletter to find out when voting starts. Entertainment Poll: Pick Your Favorite Theater for a Flick Best Summer Festival in the Southland Food & Drink Best …

Jeremy Kuszciak

3:22 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012

What about picking the governmental agency we like best? They work hard to keep our   more ›

Got a Hot Tip?