Alzada's Carryout Opens In Joliet's Forest Park Area

JOLIET, IL - In recent days, I've had a number of people alert me to an uplifting news event on Joliet's east side, specifically the Forest Park area. So Friday night, after covering the mayor's door to door walk through the Fairview Public Housing complex, I made a visit to 1023 Woodruff Road. For the past several years, the storefront at the corner of Woodruff Road and Draper Avenue was shuttered. But not anymore. On Friday night, the parking lot was busy, and that's a great sign. People were coming to eat at Alzada's,which is just up the road from Joliet Fire Department station 4.

Alzada's opened in late March. It doubles as a convenient store and a carryout restaurant. There's cheese burgers, catfish steaks, chicken, small rib tips, large rib tips and chicken tenders.

There's 10 additional items on the $5 menu. You can order a side of Okra for $3 or french fries for $1.50

There's Friday and Saturday catfish specials with spaghetti and coleslaw.

Sundays are "Soul Food Sunday Specials."

On Friday night, I went with one of the $5 items: the two-piece dark chicken and fries, which includes colesaw.

"Everything is done fresh daily," Alzada's manager Annette Mathis told me. "Everything is good, but the ribs is the top seller."

Besides Mathis as the manager, Darren Randall is the cook and LaToya Murphy is the cashier. Their new business is open seven days a week although the kitchen is closed on Mondays.

"The cook needs a break," Mathis said, laughing.

Otherwise, the smoker is going daily in the back of the parking lot.

The carryout restaurant is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The kitchen is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

As far as the general convenience store, it sells tickets for several Illinois lottery games, plus cigarettes, soda, lots of candy, milk, eggs and cleaning products.

"Well, everybody kind of grew up in this area, and it was just a chance to come back and try to give back to the community, have something that they could come and be able to get, convenient stuff from the store and get food," Mathis explained. "We're here. We're here to serve. We have very good food. We love what we do, and we'd be happy to have them."

Images and video via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor