NWI Business Ins and Outs: Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage, Til Valhalla, Sante Fe Mexican Restaurant and Fuerte Mexican Restaurant opening; Petey’s Bungalow closing after 60 years

The chain — similar to Portillo’s or Buona Beef — is known for its Italian beef, Italian sausage, Chicago-style hot dogs, tamales, Maxwell Street Polishes, pizza puffs, gyros and other Chicago street food. 

Franchise owner Phil Cryns, who owns the Pop’s in Cedar Lake, and his sister Theresa Easterday are opening the new Pop’s Beef at 6475 U.S. 6 in Portage. It will be drive-through-only.

It’s a family tradition. Their father also owns multiple Pop’s restaurants.

The drive-thru restaurant is located on the busy U.S. 6 corridor, Portage’s main retail drag. It’s targeting a Nov. 18 opening date.

Pop’s Beef has 17 locations, including in Dyer, Crown Point and Cedar Lake. It has restaurants in Homewood, Orland, Palos Heights, Sauk Village, Joliet, Lockport and Romeoville in the south suburbs.

The expansive menu also includes burgers, chicken sandwiches, corned beef, Reubens, meatball sandwiches, Philly cheese steaks, tuna melts and cheese curds.

For more information, visit popsbeef.com.

Returning soon

Til Valhalla is planning a return to LaPorte.

Marine Corps veteran Karl Creech ran the restaurant in the American Legion in LaPorte but is now looking to reopen in a standalone brick-and-mortar location.

The restaurant, named after the Marine motto “until we meet again” that derives from an old Viking war cry, is looking to open in a former gas station at 310 State St. The 1,000-square-foot building also was a tattoo shop and office.

“Til Valhalla is what Marines say when they pass,” he said. “Valhalla is a warrior-oriented heaven for those who fight and die in battle. It’s a nod to service members.”

Til Valhalla specializes in Chicagoland fare, including burgers and Italian beef.

“It started off with me getting tired of working in restaurants,” he said. “The American Legion had an opening in their kitchen and I wanted to honor my veteran heritage and honor vets. It dawned on me that if veterans owned a McDonald’s in their city they would have so much more funds to do good things. You could start locations all over the country and get a huge profit to put into goodwill charities.“

Creech served for a year in the Marines at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri before being discharged for medical reasons. He specialized in motor transport.

He began cooking at restaurants like Red Door Fire Kitchen + Lounge, Lucrezia and Growlers in Memphis.

He plans to serve smashburgers, Italian beef, chili, fries, chili cheese fries, grilled cheese, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks, pretzel bites and other fast food items.

“My smashburgers are faster and they provide more flavor,” he said. “They’re crispy dark brown with caramelization on the edges. They turn protein, fat and sugar into hamburger candy. They’re smaller patties so we just flip them over when they’re done and smash them.”

Beverage options will include scratch-made pop, fruit juice and carbonated water.

“My burger would challenge any of the main chains,” he said. “I would challenge all the fast food burgers like the Whopper at Burger King. We’re focused on the burger because it’s the most profitable food in America and I make one that’s very, very tasty. We’ll start with a small menu and work up to a full-blown menu.”

He hopes the restaurant will be successful enough to help out homeless, jobless and struggling veterans.

“We want to honor those who served,” he said. “The food in our kitchen is made by people with skills, who take the efforts very seriously and perform everything to a Marine Corps standard. They work together and cooperate very well. The food comes out very good. It’s never bland.”

Sante Fe Mexican Restaurant and Bar, an eatery specializing in traditional Mexican cuisine, opened a second restaurant in Crown Point.

The sit-down Mexican restaurant has a Dyer location at 14825 101st Ave. It’s known for fajitas, margaritas, taquitos, enchiladas, burritos, sopapillas with ice cream and other Mexican fare.

It recently opened at 1500 E. Summit St. in Crown Point. The menu includes carne asada tacos, steak tacos, chile relleno, a fajita taco salad and the Steak Sante Fe Bowl.

Santa Fe Restaurant & Bar opened its first Northwest Indiana location in 2021 in a new strip mall on busy 101st Avenue in a fast-growing residential area. It aimed to offer an upscale dining experience in a family-friendly setting.

The new Crown Point location is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call 219-213-2358.

Coming soon

Fuerte Restaurant will soon open its third location in Hammond.

The city will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the new Fuerte Restaurant & Ice Cream at 5851 Calumet Ave.

It’s the third location in Hammond for the Fuerte family. They also own Fuerte Meat Market at 3811 Hohman Ave., a Mexican grocery store with a small restaurant just north of downtown, and Restaurant Fuerte at 6949 Indianapolis Boulevard in the Woodmar neighborhood. Both are well-known for their $1 tacos.

Fuerte’s newest location is in the former home of Ligia’s Restaurant Cafe and Castillos Philly Steaks at 5851 Calumet Ave. It’s just north of Hammond City Hall and across the street from Hammond Central High School, both of which are expected to provide regular business.

It will be Fuerte’s first location with a drive-thru and first with an ice cream parlor.

All three locations offer the same menu of tacos, tortas and burritos and other Mexican fare. Proteins include steak, pork and chicken, as well as carnitas on the weekends. It also will have a pot of menudo simmering on the weekends.

The south suburban supper club Petey’s Bungalow in Oak Lawn shuttered after more than six decades in “the end of an era.”

The vintage Southland steakhouse at 4401 95th St. in Oak Lawn offered a nostalgic supper club dining experience and was known for its steaks, seafood, highballs, martinis and massive neon sign.

Owners Petey and Mary Kattos founded the longtime institution in 1961. Petey Kattos, now 91, decided to retire after his wife died.

“From humble beginnings to becoming a cherished local, family run business, we have been privileged to serve generations of families and our community. We witnessed the growth of our community and surrounding areas and successfully navigated through changing times, challenges, a pandemic, all while staying true to our core values and supper club dining concept,” the owners posted on social media. “We reached many milestones and survived countless adversities along the way. For our restaurant to thrive and survive for 63 years is one of our family’s proudest accomplishments. We have proven a local, family-owned independent restaurant and small business can flourish and stand the test of time. We have achieved a place in Oak Lawn’s history.”

Petey Kattos, a Greek immigrant, said he and his wife were able to live the American Dream. He thanked all the customers and employees from other the years.

“The spirit of the Bungalow will continue to live on in the stories we share when reminiscing about the good ole days. We will cherish the memories. The Bungalow has been more than just another restaurant. Since 1961, it has been a cornerstone of this community, a testament to hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment to excellence. This decision was not made lightly and comes at a time when we celebrate the achievements and milestones which shaped Bungalow’s legacy built not only on the quality of our brand and offerings, but also on the relationships nurtured through the years and contribution we made in our community,” the owners posted on social media. “The Bungalow has been more than just a place to eat; it’s been a gathering spot, a home away from home for some, and a place where countless memories were made. Thank you to everyone who walked through our doors and shared a meal with us.”