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mokenamessengerdaily.com dining out
the mokena messenger | September 19, 2019 | 19
The Dish
Old Tinley Pub & Eatery a staple of the neighborhood for 21 years
Jacquelyn Schlabach
Contributing Editor
When customers walk
into Old Tinley Pub & Eatery,
they can expect to be
welcomed with open arms.
Whether new to the bar
or a returning customer,
everyone receives a friendly
hello.
This atmosphere is what
has made Old Tinley Pub
& Eatery a popular place
along Oak Park Avenue
in Tinley Park for the last
21 years. Owners Cathie
Ivanelli and Tony Montesano
opened the bar with
every intention of making
it a fun place to be.
“We have 21-year-olds
to 60-year-olds,” Ivanelli
said. “It’s a wide variety
of people, and everybody
seems to get along.”
The owners did not expect
the bar to become
as successful as it has,
but they certainly always
hoped it would be.
“We’ve made some really
great friends, and [there
are] people who have been
coming here for 20 years,”
she said. “Ups and downs,
of course, financially and
so many other ways, but
it’s been an experience.”
When they first opened
in 1998, the bar was just
two units of space before
they expanded two years
later and tore down a wall,
creating a third addition.
Neither Ivanelli nor Montesano
had much of a background
in food service before
they opened, but they
quickly figured out how
they wanted to make their
bar known.
“For me not having any
background, it was a lot of
common sense,” Ivanelli
said. “What makes people
happy? Being friendly
and trying to be consistent
Bartender Breanna Young pours a Miller Lite.
with things. I’m an OCD
person, so I wanted everything
the way it comes out
to come out the same all
the time.”
In order to keep up with
the competition of numerous
bars along Oak Park
Avenue, the owners did
not second-guess serving
food in addition to drinks.
“Our [food] is not like
you’re walking into a bar,
and I think that sets us
apart,” Ivanelli said.
She described the menu
items at Old Tinley Pub
& Eatery as upscale bar
food, which they ramped
up three years ago.
“We always had pretty
good food, but our appetizers
were more bar food
— onion rings, mozzarella
sticks, that kind of stuff
— and we just decided
that we needed to change,
and that really makes us,”
she said. “I think with all
the bars up and down the
street, anyone will say we
have the best food.”
Three years ago, they
took away the traditional
bar food appetizers and
replaced them with the
likes of stuffed mushrooms
($8), which are
baked mushrooms stuffed
Old Tinley Pub & Eatery
17020 Oak Park Ave.
in Tinley Park
Hours
• 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
Monday-Thursday
• 11 a.m.-3 a.m. Friday
and Saturday
• Noon-2 a.m. Sunday
For more information ...
Facebook: Old Tinley
Pub & Eatery
with cream cheese and
corned beef; steak bites
($13), which are handcarved
seasoned filet
topped with onion strings,
served with chipotle and
garlic aioli; and one of
Ivanelli’s favorites, the
pub sticks ($8), which
are corned beef and Swiss
wrapped in dough, fried
and served with Thousand
Island dressing.
The owners not only revamped
the appetizers portion
of the menu but also
added flatbreads, wraps, a
chicken chopped salad and
gourmet burgers. All sandwiches,
wraps and burgers
are served with a choice of
fries, onion strings, coleslaw,
sweet potato fries or
The steak sandwich ($12) comes with grilled butt steak, topped with caramelized
onions and sauteed mushrooms on crispy garlic bread.
Photos by Jacquelyn Schlabach/22nd Century Media
One of the most popular appetizers at Old Tinley Pub & Eatery is called the
pub’s own French onion soup ($5). It is baked and served in a crock, topped with
mozzarella cheese.
house-made chips, along
with a crisp pickle.
“We used to have plainold
chicken wings on there
and chicken tenders,”
Ivanelli said. “It was just
a question of: Do we just
want to have that mediocre
stuff that they can get anywhere
down the street, as
well? And we decided to
pump it up.”