Babe’s Home Cookin’ in Joliet is for sale – the business, the building and the land.

The restaurant, also known by its former name – Babe’s Hot Dogs – serves a wide variety of sandwiches, soups, salads, wraps and its legendary Daisy Brand hot dogs, which Babe’s owner Tim Reilly said he’s used “from day one.”

Sue Gulas of Joliet loves the hot dogs and said she used to buy them from Babe’s in bulk. But Gulas really loves Babe’s “amazing” pot roast, she said, which is featured on Babe’s catering menu.

“I’ve ordered it for several events I’ve had catered in the last 10 years,” Gulas said. “Honestly, his pot roast is one of his ‘signature’ items. It’s just really tender and full of flavor.”

Reilly, 62, wasn’t actively considering retiring until a “health scare” and a week-long hospitalization in February – coupled with the deaths of six people with whom he had close relationships – spurred the decision, he said.

“You start to think, ‘Man, there’s more to life than just working,’ ” Reilly said. “I’ve worked hard my whole life and I just wanted to start enjoying life without all the stress. I love the business; I love my customers; and I have great employees. I have no reason to leave other than I’m getting older.”

A history of Joliet hot dogs

Reilly was just 25 years old and working construction when he opened Babe’s Hot Dogs in the strip mall at the intersection of Springfield Avenue and Jefferson Street. Most of Reilly’s employees were older than he was, he said.

“I’d told my boss (at that time) that if he laid me off this year, I was going to open a hot dog stand,” Reilly recalled. “Sure enough, in January or February, we didn’t have enough work and they laid me off. And I was open on April 1.”

Ironically, Reilly’s mother owned a small hot dog stand named Babe’s Hot Dog’s on Center Street when Reilly was young – and his father owned a gas station, he said.

The hot dog stand was named for Reilly’s father, a 6-foot, 6-inch, non-baseball playing man, whose nickname was “Babe,” Reilly said.

“The funny part is that I never even worked for her; I worked at the gas station, never the restaurant,” Reilly said.

So why didn’t he open a gas station instead?

“That’s a good question,” Reilly said with a laugh. “Probably because I could open the restaurant with less money. It takes funds to do things.”

Tom Arambasich of Wilmington said he grew up near the former Center Street Babe’s Hot Dogs, knew Reilly’s father Babe and praised the quality of Reilly’s food.

“I’m not sure anyone can match what Tim has done since opening Babe’s himself; it’s absolutely the best,” Arambasich said. “I would put his food up there with the old Earl’s Cafe owned by Earl D’Amico back in the day.”

More than a hot dog stand

Reilly moved Babe’s Hot Dogs to its current location at 2600 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet in January 2002. He wrote the date on his office wall, so he could always remember when someone asked, he said.

This was the time Reilly also expanded the menu to homemade soups, salads and wraps, he said.

“I got tired of people saying to me, ‘We wanted to eat at your place today. But we didn’t feel like a hot dog,’” Reilly said.

So he said he’d point out all the home-cooking menu items, which helped picked up business, as did the name evolution: Babe’s Hot Dogs to Babe’s Jumbo Hot Dogs to Babe’s Home Cookin.’

“People stopped thinking of it as a hot dog stand,” Reilly said.

In fact, people often asked him, “How do you like the new owner?” Reilly said. And Reilly said he’d tell them, “I am the new owner.”

Reilly said he typically sells 2,000 of corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day. And Reilly added a butcher about 10 years ago and “now we grind our own meet,” he said.

“So the burgers are ground fresh; the poor boys are ground fresh; the chicken is hand-cut,” Reilly said. “And everything is cooked in-house.”

But serving the public by donating food and volunteering his time is also key to operating a successful business, Reilly said.

“If you don’t give back to the community, they won’t come to you,” Reilly said.

These days, Reilly isn’t spending 12-hour days, seven days a week at Babe’s. He works shorter hours, but he’s still at Babe’s seven days a week, he said.

“I’ve always been a hardworking guy. I think that’s why it was so successful,” Reilly said. “It’s a hard life. But it’s been a good life.”

And even though the business is for sale – Loopnet lists the cost at $1,750,000 – Reilly is still making improvements here and there, he said. And Reilly knows he’ll need to find a new project.

“I might have to get a job,” Reilly said with a laugh.

He said he already had several serious prospects for purchasing the business.

“I have a feeling it won’t take long,” he said. “It’s been a staple in the community.”

That’s why Reilly is hoping the community will pop into Babe’s to see him before the place sells. Entire families – including his own mother – have worked for him through the years.

“The people of Joliet have taken care of me as much as I’ve taken care of them. I have made a lot of friendships,” Reilly said. “That’s one thing I’m going to miss.”