Will Niko's Replace Chicken-N-Spice As Downtown Joliet's Draw?

JOLIET, IL — Thousands of people visited the Chicken-N-Spice restaurant on North Chicago Street for decades, but come Sept. 15, the doors will be locked. Chicken-N-Spice closes after 42 years in business, downtown Joliet's overwhelmingly most popular fast-food restaurant.

There are several restaurants scattered throughout the downtown Joliet area, but one restaurant may be in a solid position to land many of the faithful Chicken-N-Spice customers starting next week — Niko's Pizzeria, owned by Nikos Lippas.

Niko's is a giant on social media. Niko's recently surpassed 10,000 Facebook followers. It's now at 10,021.

What makes Niko's special?

"The unique specials and crazy dishes that we do," its owner remarked.

On Tuesday, Joliet Patch visited Niko's Pizzeria to interview its owner about the impact that Chicken-N-Spice had on Joliet's downtown restaurant industry.

Ken Reimer, 81, and his wife Pat Reimer, 78, said they are retiring after opening Chicken-N-Spice in the late 1970s.

Niko's, on the other hand, has been at 20 Ohio St. for 12 years now, about five or six blocks away. It's a fast-food takeout restaurant.

Niko's also does its share of deliveries and large catering orders.

"We want to congratulate Ken and Pat (Reimer) for all those years, and we want to be there one day,"the owner of Niko's told Joliet Patch. "That's sad to lose business like they had for all those years, very successful and consistent business."

For the time being, Niko's is closed on Mondays. He's open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

He wants to reopen for business on Mondays as soon as it's practical to do that.

"If we get fully staffed, hopefully we'll be seven days," its owner said. "Walk in interviews are welcome. We're hiring for cooks, cashiers and delivery."

While some downtown Joliet restaurants stick to a small menu, such as the K Ribs BBQ on North Chicago Street, Niko's has a wide selection of food for lunch and dinner options.

"We're hoping to serve everybody," Lippas said. "We continue to announce our homemade specials."

During Tuesday afternoon's interview with Joliet Patch, Lippas pointed out he had received a catering order from the Cold Storage company in Minooka asking him to deliver a total of 125 pizzas for its employees who work three different shifts.

"We're the only business going 24-hour service for a big order," Lippas said.

In August, Lippas returned to his family's property in Greece.

Now, he's selling half-gallon plastic bottles of "Extra, Extra, Extra, Virgin Olive Oil" for $19.99. This olive oil is from his family's trees in Kalamata, Greece, he beamed with pride.

"It's the best in the market put," Lippas told Joliet Patch.

At the moment, Lippas said there's been a steady demand for his homemade pizzas, his meat lovers fries, his Italian beef with hot peppers and mozzarella cheese as well as the Cajun Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken shrimp.

The menu board inside Niko's features 25 different sandwiches, six different hamburgers and seven dinners.

After 12 years on Ohio Street, Lippas hopes his restaurant can succeed for many years to come, just like Chicken-N-Spice did.

"We are looking forward to continuing to serve the people in Joliet," he said. "Stay hungry my friends."

The phone number for carryout and delivery orders at Niko's is 815-722-8800.