On Friday afternoon, Joliet Pop's franchise owner Joe Haberkorn had great things to say about the City of Champions. He said he plans to become a strong community partner and use his new fast-food restaurant to help support Joliet's schools.
Haberkorn said he is purchasing the Boston Market property and "he should have the keys within a month."
"I really like the Joliet area," he remarked. "I'm a big, big, fan of the Pops" concept.
The new Pop's owner said he grew up in Evergreen Park and sees a lot of similarities between Evergreen Park and Joliet.
"I'm really excited to do business out in Joliet," Haberkorn said. "I'm a real believer in neighborhoods."
Haberkorn said he currently owns six Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen fast-food restaurants in the Chicago suburbs, but none is in Joliet.
Joliet will mark the opening of his first Pop's franchise, he said.
He said the vacant Boston Market at 1888 West Jefferson St. is a terrific location, near Joliet's busiest intersection at Larkin Avenue and Jefferson.
Haberkorn said the fact that the Boston Market already has a drive-thru lane and window was paramount to buying the property.
He will never open any restaurant unless it has a drive-thru, he said. Getting people in and out of his Joliet restaurant is vital to his success.
"Seventy-percent of business is drive-thru," he said. "I would not be opening without a drive-thru" in Joliet.
Haberkorn said his Popeyes restaurants average less than three minutes time from the moment someone pulls up to place their order to the time they reach the window to grab their food.
He also plans to partner with Uber Eats and DoorDash for his new Joliet business.
"We're going to be open by the early part of the summer," Haberkorn said Friday. "First, we're going to do quite a bit of work inside the building."
City of Joliet economic development director Derek Conley said the addition of a standalone Pop's restaurant on West Jefferson Street is great news for that commercial corridor.
Joliet does have one Pop's, but it's at an out-of-the-way location for most residents. It's inside the Route 66 Food N Fuel along Route 53 out toward Elwood.
Shorewood has a Pop's inside the Gas N Wash at River Road and U.S. 52. Romeoville has a Pop's on South Weber Road and Lockport has a Pop's on West 159th Street.
"Boston Market closed almost a year ago, and we're happy to have this building filled," Conley told Joliet Patch. "I believe that Pop's is going to be successful there, and Joliet residents will be very happy with it."
The addition of Pop's replacing the Boston Market marks the third major real estate redevelopment this winter for Joliet along West Jefferson Street.
Last month, Joliet Patch broke the news that Tony's Fresh Market would be opening a new grocery store at the empty Kmart, bringing 250 permanent jobs to Joliet.
The other big announcement came when an East Coast restaurant chain, Red Crab Juicy Seafood, opened its first restaurant in Illinois. The Red Crab Juicy Seafood opened in December at the vacant WildHorse Bar & Grill on West Jefferson Street.
In mid-February 2020, Panera Bread opened its new restaurant, complete with a drive-thru window, at 2400 West Jefferson St., filling the vacancy caused when Applebee's closed in 2018.
"Recently, we've had a couple of successes here on Jefferson Street, and we're confident that we're going to have some more vacant buildings filled this year," Conley said.
Haberkorn said his first Joliet Pop's restaurant will carry many of the traditional menu items that are common at other Chicago area Pop's restaurants: burgers, Italian beef, sausage and hotdogs.
However, some items you can find at other Pop's might not work in Joliet, since the drive-thru operation will be such a critical component to his success or failure.
"We don't want menu items that are going to clog up things," he said, referring to the drive-thru lane.
The new Joliet Pop's will also focus on large volume food orders.
"I'm really big on catering," Haberkorn added.
January 25, 2021 at 09:47AM
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Pops Italian Beef Coming To Joliets Jefferson Street - Patch.com
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