Beef Shack: Two Months Later
It has been more than two months since the grand opening of Beef Shack, one of Joliet’s newest restaurants, located at 1606 W Jefferson St.
From the early 1970’s to the late 1990’s, the building was occupied by Taco Bell until another Taco Bell was opened further down the street on Larkin Ave.
After that, the building sat vacant until it was turned into a seafood restaurant called Shrimp House. This restaurant closed its door soon after opening, resulting in the lot sitting unoccupied for many years.
Construction on the building to be transformed into Beef Shack's newest location began during the summer of 2018, and doors opened to the public on November 27. There are now 5 locations across northern Illinois, including Joliet, Elgin, St. Charles, Dekalb and Huntley.
The constant patronage of Beef Shack is paying off as the location was a bit of a gamble, being situated in close proximity to many well established restaurants including McDonald’s and the Silver Spoon.
According to the Patch, when asked why Shrimp House was the chosen location for their newest restaurant, franchise owner Spiro Douvris said “There's great traffic flow and great visibility here," he said. "We'll have a drive-thru and delivery service, plus an outdoor patio."
Shortly after the first week of operation, however, the restaurant was not receiving the rave reviews that were expected. In a post on a Facebook group for Joliet residents, Belinda Garcia wrote, “Went to Beef Shack today. They were very busy and I did wait quite some time.”
Ken Dantzler also added that “[The] beef sandwiches are great. It's a little pricey though.”
Less than two months later, these issues seem to have been resolved and customers are noticing.
Rickey D Bradshaw remarked “The first time we went to Beef Shack we had a not so good experience. We decided to give them a second chance, and wow did they redeem themselves! The first time we went in, they were extremely busy. This time, there was only one car in the drive thru, so maybe that’s why we had a bad experience at first. I suggest everyone give them a second chance!”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of John Ferak
