Southland visitors bureau debuts restaurant week
Restaurant weeks have been a mainstay in the suburbs for a while now.
The Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau has not done one, until now.
The first Chicago Southland Restaurant Week will be held Feb. 21-27. More than 20 restaurants around the region are participating.
“We felt like now would be an excellent time to do our part to help promote local restaurants. The pandemic is actually what inspired us to create our own program this year, and we hope to continue Chicago Southland Restaurant Week in the future,” said Jim Garrett, President/CEO of the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau.
After all, businesses, visitors bureaus and chambers have already spent about a year coming up with new ways to navigate closings, mitigations and safety protocols with members.
“We are especially encouraged by the news that COVID-19 mitigations are lessening, and local restaurants can now open for indoor dining,” Garrett said.
Mike Clark, owner of Ed & Joe’s Pizzeria in Tinley Park, said thanks to a generous customer base, his restaurant is staying afloat. Ed & Joe’s, which recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of its opening, said customers
tipped hundreds of dollars a night at the carryout window, something that barely happened prepandemic.
For restaurant week, Clark said they will offer a variety of specials, including a free order of Scmods with a pizza order on Friday.
What is Scmods, you ask? The name comes from the 1979 comedy “The
Blue Brothers.” “Tinley Park radio dispatchers ordered our tomato bread and asked for it with beef juice and mozzarella cheese. We started calling it ‘Scmods’ after ‘The Blues Brothers’ movie came out and it stuck.”
A $19.61 one-topping pizza is another special that will be periodically offered this year.
Ed & Joe’s customer base through the years is “20,000 strong. They have really supported us, it was sometimes overwhelming.”
For the established pizza place, “(the) best thing is our delivery and carryout is very strong. That’s how my dad (Ed Clark) started the place,” and unlike other restaurants that had to scramble to figure out carryout and delivery, they already had their own drivers.
They came up with some new ideas to help the changing landscape. “We started doing family meals like pizza, salad, garlic bread for a good price.” Clark was aware people were losing jobs and tightening their belts.
Indoor dining restrictions led to other changes.
“Prior to COVID, we got 80% dine-in and 20(%) carryout. Now it’s flipped.
“I’m excited now when it’s 40% dine-in,” he said. “The dining room will come back stronger. I don’t think we’ll lose much carryout, though. I think that’s here to stay.”
For Meg Sakka, manager of La Banque Hotel and La Voute Bistro & Bar in Homewood, Restaurant Week came at a perfect time. “We just opened for indoor dining (Feb. 9). I can’t even remember when we last closed, we were open, closed, open, closed so many times.”
She hopes the week will raise the visibility of the restaurant, which has been open for about five and a half years. “We did have a great summer,” she said, thanks to outdoor dining.
La Voute offers indoor dining, carryout and room service in the 18-room hotel that houses the restaurant. The cuisine is “American with a French twist,” according Sakka, who lives in Homewood. It once was a bank, hence the name.
“We’re excited to be back, but the governor only gives you a day’s notice. It took some time to get team back together — some people were on unemployment, some had other jobs,” she said.
Sakka’s staff has busily been creating menus for months to accommodate the changing times, including carryout family meals, a Valentine’s Day menu, and now restaurant week. The restaurant week menu includes a grilled vegetable salad, choice of entree including a cheeseburger, salmon, or mushroom ravioli, and a poached pear tart for dessert.
“Prior to the beginning of Chicago Southland Restaurant Week, we created a landing page on our website promoting local restaurants that offered carryout and delivery. Plus, every Tuesday, we highlight a new restaurant using #TakeoutTuesday to further promote local eateries, which we continue to do,” Garrett said.
“Of course, we hope that things go well, and the campaign is successful. We’d love to plan a Chicago Southland Restaurant Week for the summer, and of course, for 2022,” Garrett said.
“We also hope we can expand the program, potentially extending it to two weeks in the future,” Garrett said.
Diners who take advantage of a Chicago Southland Restaurant Week special and share a photo using the #FoodieFebruary hashtag on social media will be entered to win one of five prizes, including one $25 gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts or one of four $25 gift cards to Jenny’s Steak and Banquets in Chicago Ridge.
La Voute and La Banque are at 2034 Ridge Road in downtown Homewood near train station. Call 708-798-6000 or go to labanquehotel.com. Ed & Joe’s Pizzeria is at 17332 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park. Call 708-532-3051 or go to ednjoes.com.