Hamburgerseria Owners To Open Steakhouse Downtown

JOLIET, IL - During an interview in August, the owners of Joliet's popular Hamburgersia restaurant on Essington Road hinted at plans to open a steakhouse in downtown Joliet as their next restaurant venture. It turns out they were not kidding. The recently vacated Tin Roof Restaurant building at 158 North Chicago Street soon will be opening as Cut 158 Chophouse.

Executive chef Mario Rubio will oversee the new steakhouse coming to Joliet. This will be the fourth business venture in Joliet for the family that operates Hamburgerseria. In August, Joliet Patch wrote a story about Cork Wine Bar, which opened at 2302 Essington Road, near Joliet Fire Station No. 8.

In February, the family also opened Panino Fresco, Italian Street Food, on Jefferson Street directly across the street from the Will County Courthouse. That building used to be a Subway.

On Monday morning, Joliet Patch interviewed the new executive chef for Cut 158 Chophouse. He has an engaging personality and wants prospective customers to know that the Cut 158 Chophouse will be a high-quality steakhouse experience.

Rubio said he worked in south Florida as an executive chef for Hilton Resorts in Key Largo for more than 10 years, but his family was ravaged by the hurricane in 2017; it destroyed their home, he said. He also joked that he is not related to the prominent Florida U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio.

For the past year, he and his wife have lived in Joliet, but he has commuted to Chicago. His wife is from Joliet, he said.

Rubio said he was excited to partner up with the operators of Hamburgerseria in hopes of bringing downtown Joliet a high-end, sit-down steakhouse. He believes he can draw a good weekday lunch crowd from the thousands of people who work downtown, and also piggyback on the success of the Rialto, which has been adding a number of quality shows and concerts of late.

Rubio said his goal is to draw 10 to 15 percent of the Rialto's regular customers to visit Cut 158 Chophouse either before or after the shows.

RELATED STORY: Hamburgerseria Owners Open Cork Wine Bar In Joliet

When will it open?

"We're shooting for the first week of January," Rubio told Patch on Monday. The restaurant goes before the city's liquor commission next week for a Class E liquor license.

What makes Cut 158 Chophouse stand out?

"It's going to be a nice steakhouse," Rubio said. "All steaks will be cooked in our in-house rub and served with a compound butter. I know if we get people in here to taste our food, they're going to love it."

What can you tell me about some of these steaks and other entrees?

The Tomahawk, pictured at the top of this article, will be a 38-ounce steak. There will also be a porterhouse and bone-in ribeyes, a bone-in pork chop and grilled Jamaican jerk shrimp with pineapple salsa as well as blackened grouper with grilled asparagus and risotto. Rubio said he is still finalizing the menu pricing, but explained there will be separate entrees for lunch and dinner. There will also be a half dozen different salads as well as appetizers.

Why the former Tin Roof building for this venture?

"I love the high ceilings and old architecture," Rubio told Patch. "I love that old history."

Are you in good shape for a January opening?

Rubio said he has his main chophouse staff in place, but added that"I'm still looking for a couple more cooks and dishwashers."

Main photo via Shutterstock