Business Spotlight: Pop's Italian Beef & Sausage

This week we caught up with Mike Motto, who together with his brothers Mark and Matt, owns Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage, 277 S. Weber Road, as well as three additional locations in the Chicagoland area. Motto told us more about his business and its specialties.

1. When did you open?

The Romeoville location opened one year ago, on May 28, 2010.

2. How did you get involved in the food industry, and this franchise?

Motto said he's been involved in the food industry for 17 years. A friend of his family was getting out of the food industry, so he and his brothers entered into their first franchise in Bourbonnais, and haven’t looked back since.

3. Tell me about this business. What do you enjoy most?

I love dealing with the people, it really starts to get into you. It’s a good living and you get to meet so many people, so many different faces go through that door each day, and then there are the regulars who I enjoy getting to know as well.

4. What are your specialties?

The Italian beef and peppers are homemade every day. It’s the same recipe each location has been using for 30 years, so I would suggest the Italian beef and peppers, but we have items for everyone, including an extensive list of appetizers, burgers and hot dogs.

5.  The Palos Heights Pop’s location is hosting a hot dog eating contest on July 3. Do you have any plans to do the same?

The Palos location is the original store and this is their second annual hot dog eating contest, so we support them by having two employees from each store volunteer to assist the competitors by making hot dogs and getting them water during the contest. For more information on the contest, visit www.popsbeef.com.