Louie's Waffle House To Open At Former Bob Evans Restaurant

JOLIET, IL — When the coronavirus pandemic shut down indoor dining for all Illinois restaurants, the Louis' Family Restaurant didn't close for a single day. That's because brothers Michael and Nick Polimenakos turned their dad's restaurant at 1001 West Jefferson St. into Joliet's fastest drive thru. Now, the brothers are branching off to open their own Joliet restaurant.

They are taking over the empty Bob Evans Family Restaurant near the Interstate 80 exit for Larkin Avenue. The Bob Evans in Joliet closed during the start of the worldwide pandemic and never re-opened.

During Friday's exclusive interview with Joliet Patch, the Polimenakos brothers said that their new restaurant at the corner of Larkin Avenue and McDonough Street will be called Louie's Waffle House.

"It's a separate business than our parents," Michael Polimenakos stressed.

The brothers said they expect to have their new signs for the Louie's Waffle House displayed at the old Bob Evans property within the next week or so.

Looking ahead, Nick Polimenakos is hoping to be open at 1776 McDonough St. in roughly six weeks. As for their father, he will remain at 1001 West Jefferson Street. He opened the Louis' Family Restaurant on Dec. 12, 1992.

"We learned how to run a restaurant last year," 25-year-old Michael Polimenakos remarked. "Growing up, coming here to eat the food, knowing what tastes good, we grew up and have been going out to eat a lot. A lot of our dinners were out."

Michael Polimenakos said he's become good at cooking eggs and omelettes, while his 23-year-old brother Nick "can do other stuff in the kitchen. Nick knows how to make the soups, and he makes the cream of chicken rice. We can run our own show, if we don't have workers. We can cook. We can take orders. We ran a successful carryout ... we learned enough to be off on our own, and that's what we're doing.

"We helped our dad survive this past year, and now it's time for our own address."

As Joliet Patch interviewed the brothers Friday afternoon inside the Louis' Family Restaurant dining room, their father, who was born in Greece, walked into the room.

"Very proud," he told Joliet Patch, when asked for his reaction to his sons' upcoming restaurant venture.

He said his sons' idea to turn his Jefferson Street restaurant into a drive-thru only business amid the coronavirus pandemic saved his restaurant. The Louis' Family Restaurant is open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch.

The Joliet restaurant returned to indoor dining this past June.

"If I don't do the drive-thru," Louie told Patch, "I was done. They had snow outside, rain outside, and they deliver food to the customers, and they ran outside. They don't walk."

Michael Polimenakos told Joliet Patch he and his brother have a different philosophy when it comes to growing their customer base. He said their father focused on having an intensely local customer base on Joliet's west side.

The brothers, on the other hand, want people from Shorewood and Morris, for example, to drive to their Louie's Waffle House at the Larkin Avenue exit on a regular basis for their meals.

"We want to draw from the surrounding areas," Michael Polimenakos said. "Our dad thinks local. We think like a destination restaurant. Why not have someone from Morris make the 30-minute drive to our restaurant?"

Why did the brothers select the Bob Evans property for their new Joliet restaurant?

"It's a great location," Nick Polimenakos said. "We'll have a ton of parking, and the inside is very nice. It's been kept up to date."

The Louie's Waffle House will aim to have a strong takeout business. The brothers said they will have a prominent carryout sign and 10 parking spots reserved for people coming to get their to-go orders.

Patch asked if the brothers know what the menu for Louie's Waffle House will look like.

They said they plan to build upon the concepts of the most successful menu options at their father's restaurant, including The Big Breakfast and many of the popular skillets.

"We will definitely have a few new menu items coming out," Nick pointed out. "The hours will be similar, and we do have the thought of eventually opening for dinner time there."

Now that the brothers are opening Louie's Waffle House, they need to start hiring a staff.

"We're looking for servers, busboys and cooks as well," Michael said.

Prospective job applicants are asked to email Nick Polimenakos at Brick34@rocketmail.com.

As for the Louis' Family Restaurant, "it's his restaurant completely now," Michael said, referring to his father. "My brother and I are going off on our own venture together."

Previous Joliet Patch coverage:

Zeus, Rigo Become Social Media Stars At Louis' Restaurant

New At Louis' Restaurant: Online Ordering, 'Nick's Skillet'