Opening Date Set For ReUnion Bar & Grill, Formerly Don Jose's Cantina & Taqueria

NEW LENOX, IL — Opening date is set for ReUnion Bar and Grill, a sports bar that has rebooted the space formerly known as Don Jose's Cantina and Taqueria in New Lenox.

Owner Anthony Cortese is opening the business, 1080 E. Lincoln Highway, as a sister location to his Union Bar and Grill, based in Tinley Park. Doors will open Tuesday, March 17 at 11 a.m., Cortese confirmed to Patch Monday.

Cortese will carry over much of the menu from Union—burgers, sandwiches, wings, rice bowls, salads and soups—with some modifications.

"Going to take hotdogs off the menu," Cortese previously told Patch, "since we’re right in the middle of Joey’s Red Hots and Portillo’s."

He's also added flatbreads and wraps, he said.

"We’re going to bring a quality bar atmosphere," Cortese said, "but higher quality food."

The closing of Don Jose's and rebrand into ReUnion was announced in January, with Cortese saying at that time he hoped to reopen in time for St. Patrick's Day and NCAA March Madness—a deadline he met.

"Hopefully it being St. Paddy’s Day is a sign of great luck for our future," Cortese said Monday.

Get a sneak peek of the interior on the ReUnion Bar and Grill Facebook page.

He had been looking for a spot in New Lenox for several years, initially trying for the space that was previously Little Joe's and now occupied by Hog Wild, 1300 N. Cedar Rd.

Cortese said in January that he's eager to open in the space on Lincoln Highway.

"I’ve been looking for 3-4 years to put another location, in New Lenox," Cortese told Patch. "We negotiated, and came up with an agreement."

Cortese added TVs throughout the bar, focusing on giving customers a place to catch a game. The area behind the bar features three, 90-inch TVs, along with 23, 75-inch TVs on the perimeter walls.

"There’s not a lot of places in New Lenox with great food, that are a great spot to watch sports," Cortese said.

Cortese also plans to bring customer favorites from the Tinley Park spot, including Tringo, a popular game night mashup combining trivia and Bingo. Rounds alternate between the two, with prizes between each round, and a grand prize of $1,000 in the final round of Bingo.

He also hopes to host a Queen of Hearts, a popular progressive raffle where players buy tickets for a chance to find the Queen of Hearts hidden among 54 face-down cards on a board, with the jackpot growing weekly until she's found. He also might feature a karaoke night.

"A great atmosphere," Cortese said, of what people can expect. "A great place to hang out."

ReUnion Bar and Grill, 1080 E. Lincoln Highway, will be open Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.

The kitchen will close an hour earlier each day.