Joliet's New Bagel Destination: Cup Of Joe By Cemeno's Off To Smashing Start, 'It's Blown Us Away'

JOLIET, IL — Joliet has been without a go-to bagel shop after owner Tom Grotovsky closed up his Great American Bagel restaurant on Essington Road. But not anymore. This month, droves of people are flocking to the lobby of the Joliet Park District's Inwood Athletic Club where Cup of Joe By Cemeno's has quickly emerged as Joliet's most popular destination for homemade bagels.

Located at 3000 West Jefferson Street, Cup Of Joe is now open from 6 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to noon on Friday and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Cup Of Joe has seating for about 40 to 45 people and plans are in the works to add more, if the customer demand continues to soar.

"We are open this Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. because of the big swim meet," Nick Cemeno told Joliet Patch at Friday's interview.

"This is our eighth business day. It's blown us away, we're blessed. We're very fortunate to have all this support. We named it after my grandfather, Joe. His favorite thing to do was to have a cup of coffee and a slice of toast. I was thinking this would be more of a grab and go, but people are coming in droves and dining in and hanging out. It's becoming more of a community center."

Indeed, business is booming for Nick Cemeno, the son of Michael Cemeno. While Joliet Patch interviewed Nick Cemeno, one woman sat at the counter and told the staff that she works at one of the warehouse facilities near Joliet Junior College. She raved about the quality of their bagels and then she tried a slice of their breakfast pizza.

"Everything is homemade. We are spreading our love through our food, that's who we are," Nick Cemeno said of his family.

'We've Opened 2 Businesses In 18 Months': Nick Cemeno

As practically everyone in Joliet knows, Cemeno's Pizza was started in 1976 by the late Joe Cemeno. The restaurant "mothership," as Nick Cemeno calls it, has been on Essington Road for many years.

In 2024, Cemeno's Pizza opened its second location, inside Inwood, called Cemeno's At The Park. And as of this month, Cemeno's now has a second restaurant location inside the Inwood recreation facility and people are lining up to order these bagels — and smoothies and breakfast pizzas.

"This is going to be my primary focus. We're in a growth phase. We've opened up two businesses in 18 months. This is an extension of that," Nick Cemeno explained of Cemeno's Pizza. "We have amazing coffee, amazing sandwiches, we've purchased Tim Hortons Coffee. I think bagels is what brought people in, but they've been trying everything."

Cup Of Joe By Cemeno's Sold Out Of Everything During December's Soft Openings

During December, Cup of Joe By Cemeno's held its soft openings on the weekends and "we sold out every single Saturday we were open in December," Nick Cemeno remarked. "It's great for the Joliet Park District because it's bringing in people who have never been to the park district and have not used the fitness center before."

Homemade bagels and the Tim Hortons coffee have been the most popular items since Cup of Joe At Cemeno's opened for real. The Cemeno family orders its bread from another Joliet community pillar, the Milano Bakery, on South Chicago Street.

Despite all the recent social media buzz on Brian Bessler's Joliet Area Bar And Restaurant Guide Facebook page, Nick Cemeno said he is not ready to proclaim that Cup Of Joe By Cemeno's is Joliet's premiere bagel destination.

"I think it's something we have to earn," he answered humbly. "If people want to consider us as a bagel destination for Joliet and the surrounding towns, that would be a tremendous accomplishment, if we can earn it.

"For us, it's about making connections in the community," he explained. "It's been nothing but positive feedback and people sharing pictures (of their food) on social media. I'm very humbled by it. And we're going to keep working hard every day. It's been all over town that bagels are back in Joliet."

Nick Cemeno said the cream cheeses are delicious and they are homemade by his aunts Sue and Natalie.

"The menu is going to continue to grow and evolve," he mentioned.

10 Varieties Of Cream Cheese

Cup Of Joe By Cemeno's features 10 varieties of cream cheeses for its bagels. Three of the specialties — all made by Sue Schultz — are the carrot jalapeno, hot honey walnut and vegetable cream cheese.

Nick Cemeno wanted everyone to know Cup Of Joe By Cemeno's has a large selection of Gluten-free bagels and offerings.

His new restaurant is also offering online ordering and "we're working on doing curbside pickup.

Another instant hit for Cup of Joe By Cemeno's are the breakfast pizzas. Customers can order the breakfast pizzas by the slice.

"The breakfast pizzas, now that's probably the best kept secret in town," Nick Cemeno revealed. "I mean, it's true. I'm getting pre-orders for full size breakfast pizzas here."

The two go-to breakfast pizzas are the three-cheese blend and also the meat lover's, which consists of thin crust dough, scrambled eggs, ham and bacon.

"I hand crack all of our fresh eggs," Cemeno said. "I don't buy cartons of eggs."

Lastly, Cemeno wanted everyone to know he and his staff are extremely receptive to customer suggestions for menu additions and ideas. He said they already adopted one customer's suggestion of offering a breakfast "combo meal" of bagels and coffee.

There is a possibility, if business continues to soar, that Cup of Joe By Cemeno's will consider staying open on Sundays as well.

"Our call for action to the community? Come be a regular Joe. That's kind of our slogan, that's who our pop Joe was. He always said, 'it's not what you know, it's who you know.' And that's Joliet. It's a handshake and cup of coffee kind of town," Nick Cemeno reflected.

To learn more, visit the website for cupofjoejoliet.com You can also follow the new Facebook page for Cup of Joe By Cemeno's to keep up with any new menu offerings, specials and events.