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lockportlegend.com DINING OUT
the Lockport Legend | June 21, 2018 | 21
The Dish
Joey’s set to expand with pizzeria
Max Lapthorne
Editor
As if there wasn’t already
enough variety on the menu
at Joey’s Red Hots in Orland
Park, a new expansion is set
to bring even more fare to
the community.
Just across the parking
lot from Joey’s Red Hots at
17400 Wolf Road in Orland
Park, a new structure bearing
the Joey’s name is getting
set to open some time in
the next several weeks, according
to Nick Iozzo, who
owns the business along
with Anthony Nardo.
“It’s just an extension
of our menu,” Iozzo said.
“With the success of the hot
dogs, hamburgers, Polish
[sausage], all the main staples
here, we decided to do
some pizza, pasta and gelato.
And I thought this would be
a perfect location, since we
already have a nice traffic
flow here anyway.”
Joey’s Red Hots, which
opened just over two years
ago, is famous for its Chicago
style Vienna Beef hot
dogs ($2.65) and expansive
menu that includes Italian
beef sandwiches ($5.50), gyros
sandwiches ($5.50) and
more. Iozzo wants people
to visit Joey’s Red Hots for
more than the quality food,
though. He has aimed to create
a community atmosphere
by lining the outside area
with picnic tables, inviting
guests to eat and mingle, and
making sure the workers are
always friendly.
“We thank you for your
business every single time,”
he said. “I think that’s part of
our success is [being] interactive
with our customers.”
After growing up in
Bridgeport, Iozzo has embarked
on a number of different
culinary adventures,
with the latest being Joey’s
Pizzeria. One of the primary
goals of his latest endeavor
is to recapture a flavor he
hasn’t been able to find since
moving out of the city five
years ago.
“I’m trying pizza place
after pizza place after pizza
place [in the suburbs], and
I just can’t get the taste
that I’m looking for, that I
grew up with,” Iozzo said.
“There’s a certain taste that
everyone loves, and I can’t
find it. I know that taste, so
I’m going to duplicate it and
bring it out this way.”
As of press time, the final
draft of the menu for Joey’s
Pizzeria was not complete,
but the pizza options are to
include 14-inch, 18-inch,
deep dish and by-the-slice.
The 18-inch pizza is to be
about $15, while a slice (one
quarter of an 18-inch) and a
drink will be $5, Iozzo said.
“My recipe is way different
from a Domino’s or
a Papa John’s or something
like that,” he said. “It’s not
[made on] a conveyor belt.
It’s handmade, all fresh
ingredients, top-quality
cheese. It’s the real deal.”
Joey’s Pizzeria also is set
to feature a daily special for
each day of the week, which
is only available on that day.
The specials will include
items such as panzerotti, ribs
and a cowboy steak with all
the fixings, according to Iozzo.
Pasta with five different
sauces, ravioli and arancini
will also appear on a menu
Iozzo hopes will stand out
from other restaurants in the
area.
“We’re going to do some
crazy things,” he said. “ ...
We’re going to do something
different every day. [The
menu will include] kind of
specialty-type items — stuff
you can’t get anywhere
else.”
The plan is for the 24 different
flavors of gelato to attract
customers with a sweet
Joey’s Red Hots/Joey’s
Pizzeria
17400 Wolf Road in
Orland Park
Hours
10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday-Thursday
10:30 a.m.-midnight
Friday and Saturday
Phone: (708) 478-6200
Web: www.joeysredhots.
com
tooth, and further diversify
the offerings.
“I don’t think there’s a gelato
place around here,” Iozzo
said. “I think that’s going
to really do well.”
Joey’s Pizzeria also is to
provide more kitchen space
for the restaurant’s four food
trucks and catering efforts,
which Iozzo plans to focus
on more heavily. Catering
is available for all types of
events and is $10 per person,
with a $500 minimum or 50
people.
The driving force behind
both Joey’s Red Hots and the
new Joey’s Pizzeria is the desire
to bring something to the
community that is otherwise
lacking, and Iozzo is trying to
do it in his own way.
“You can get a hot dog or
a hamburger anywhere, but
I’m trying to give it that taste
and that atmosphere that no
one else can give, because
this is how I grew up,” he
said.
While Iozzo will continue
to find inventive ways
to separate Joey’s Red Hots
and Joey’s Pizzeria from
competitors in the area,
he plans to keep his focus
where it has been all along:
on the customer.
“I’m not trying to reinvent
the wheel,” Iozzo said. “I
just want to appreciate my
customers. I am very appreciative
of everyone that supports
us.”
The Chicago-style hot dog ($2.65) comes with fries and is by far the most popular item on
the menu at Joey’s Red Hots. Max Lapthorne/22nd Century Media
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