Poke Bros. Announces Grand Opening Date On Route 59

SHOREWOOD, IL — Four months after announcing plans to open its first restaurant in Shorewood, Poke Bros. is ready to open for business. Known for its Hawaiian style fish bowls, Poke Bros. will have its grand opening March 3, which is a Thursday.

Poke Bros. will be open every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It will be in the same building used by Noodles & Company as well as Smoothie King.

News of the March 3 grand opening was first announced Tuesday on Joliet resident Brian Bessler's Joliet Area Bar and Restaurant Guide, a Facebook group of about 30,000 people.

Here's a sampling of reaction the Poke Bros. news got from Bessler's followers:

"Can't wait."

"Finally! I can't wait."

"YAY? I love Poke Bros."

"That intersection is going to suck. That parking lot is so damn little I bet it backs up."

"I was thinking the same thing."

According to the restaurant chain's website, it's pronounced "Poh-Kay," and the word means "to cut crosswire into pieces in Hawaiian, and that's how the fish is prepared in a poke bowl.

In Illinois, other Poke Bros. restaurants operate in Villa Park, on Route 59 in Naperville, Schaumburg, Lincolnshire, Lake Bluff, South Elgin, St. Charles, Glenview, Gurnee, Frankfort, Oakbrook Terrace, Lake of the Hills, and North Eola Road in Aurora.