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tinleyjunction.com Dining Out
the tinley junction | January 25, 2018 | 31
The Dish
Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage credits
community involvement for success
Jacquelyn Schlabach
Assistant Editor
“ABSOLUTELY
—Kenn Wells, former lead dancer of the English National Ballet
IN THE WORLD.”
Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage
credits its success to
being involved in the communities
it serves.
For almost 38 years, Pop’s
has continued to grow not
only in locations and menu
items but also in building connections
with its customers.
“I just feel if you’re involved
in your community,
and you support your community,
they support you
back,” said Kacie Dancy,
vice president of operations
at Pop’s and daughter of
owner Frank Radochonski.
“So, I think that’s a huge,
huge reason for our success,
as well as [being] a great restaurant
to come to.”
Dancy works at the original
Pop’s location in Palos
Heights and said the restaurant
supports the local
baseball and softball teams,
sponsors reading programs
at the local schools and library,
and gives out coupons
for free hot dogs on Halloween
to children.
“I truly believe that that’s
why Pop’s has been around
for as long as they have,
and why we’ve been as successful
as we have, because
we’ve been so involved in
the community, which is
cool,” Dancy said.
Other Pop’s locations,
including the one in Tinley
Park, has fundraiser
nights for local sports teams,
churches and schools, and
even gives schools coupons
for free hot dogs to their
teachers for Teacher Appreciation
Week, according to
franchisee Burke Matyas.
“I’ve always believed in
supporting the small guy,”
Matyas said. “We’re a small
mom and pop shop, so [it’s
important] to give back to
Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage features its homemade
giardiniera atop one of the beef sandwiches that helped
make it famous. Jacquelyn Schlabach/22nd Century Media
Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage
• 7153 W. 127th St. in Palos Heights
• 14279 S. Wolf Road in Orland Park
• 9400 W. 159th St. in Orland Park
• 7301 W. 183rd St. in Tinley Park
• 16600 W. 159th St. in Lockport
• 11336 Lincoln Highway in Mokena
For more information ...
Web: www.popsbeef.com
the community, knowing
they support me.”
Not only do customers
keep coming back because
of the support they receive
from Pop’s but also, of
course, for the staples of the
restaurant. The famous Italian
beef ($5.29) is sliced,
cooked and served fresh
daily. The beef is served on
6-inch French bread, and
customers can add Pop’s
homemade giardiniera or
sweet peppers.
“Everything that goes on
[the Italian beef] I think my
dad has tried really hard to
pair our giardiniera and our
sweet peppers to match the
flavors,” Dancy said.
Dancy also said the hot
dog ($2.99) is another crowd
favorite. The hot dog is Pop’s
brand, and customers cannot
get it the same anywhere
else. The Chicago-style dog
comes with tomato, relish,
mustard, pickle, sport peppers
and celery salt, and it
is served on a seedless bun.
It is the only menu item that
comes wrapped in Pop’s famous
french fries.
“Our fries are kind of what
we’re known for; fries are
huge for us,” Dancy said.
When Pop’s was first
founded by her father and
grandmother almost 38 years
ago, the only items on the
menu were hamburgers, hot
dogs and beef sandwiches.
Over the years, chicken has
been incorporated into the
menu, like the grilled chicken
breast on a pita ($4.79),
which is one of Dancy’s
favorites. “It’s expanded
into the times of what people
want,” Dancy said. “It
started off what [my father
and grandmother] liked, and
what they knew best, and
then grew into what the customers
wanted.”
“A gift
forthisplanet.”
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