Will County saw an abundance of new businesses in 2025 – and said goodbye to a few, too.

Here’s a look at the top 10 business stories we followed this year.

Coffee always brewing

Coffee remains a big business here. These are some of the coffee venues that opened – and a few that closed – in Will County

7 Brew in Joliet opened Sept. 29 at 2421 W. Jefferson St. to long lines that lasted. This coffeehouse is located at the corner of Barner Drive, formerly the site of a Long John Silver’s restaurant.

A second 7 Brew in Joliet is under construction at 2551 Plainfield Road, and a 7 Brew in Lockport also opened in 2025.

Scooters drive-thru coffee business opened in August at 904 E. 9th St., at the intersection of 7th and 9th streets.

Sought Out Grounds coffee shop opened in May at 310 N. Ottawa St. in Joliet and rebranded as Social Butterfly Coffee in September.

Kafé De Kasa, located at 2446 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill, opened a Shorewood location in September.

Starbucks opened at 2211 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet, the site of the former Baker’s Square restaurant, making it the second Starbucks on Jefferson Street.

In March, the BookBar opened in Mokena as a “quirky haven where flavors and stories entwine,” according to its website, and serves wine and cocktails along with coffee.

Biggby Coffee’s quick-service coffee shop in Shorewood announced new ownership in May.

Blissful Brew Coffee Co., which opened inside Biteable in Lockport in October 2023, remained open when Biteable closed in August.

In September, Jitters coffeehouse celebrated its 21st anniversary in downtown Joliet in the same location.

Critical Grind Board Game Cafe in Shorewood, in danger of closing its doors at the end of 2024, elected to remain open in 2025 after receiving help through GoFundMe and another unnamed business.

Winner, winner chicken dinners

Fry the Coop chicken restaurant opened at 2611 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet, joining nine other locations in Illinois.

People lined up by the dozens for the start of Fry the Coop’s chicken sandwich giveaway in Joliet on Aug. 14, and the line got longer as the event went on.

Fry the Coop’s chicken is 100% halal certified, but all chicken and fries are fried in beef fat, which is not halal, according to the website.

Dave’s Hot Chicken opened a new location in Lockport at 16439 W. 159th St., in March.

The Feathered Fork, a chicken and seafood restaurant, opened at 20631 Renwick Road in Crest Hill, serving elevated chicken dishes, seafood favorites and modern comfort classics.

New cigar lounge knocks grand opening out of the park

Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and White Sox great Frank Thomas – known as the “Big Hurt” – attended Goodfellas Cigar Lounge’s grand opening Oct. 16 at 2138 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet.

Goodfellas Cigar Lounge is located in the former Super China Buffet restaurant, next door to Rax Roast Beef restaurant, another longtime Joliet restaurant.

The cigar lounge includes a 500-square-foot humidor and more than 600 different boxes of cigars.

Longtime Joliet stores close their doors

The St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Joliet closed Oct. 3.

Jo-Ann announced plans to close 500 of its 850 craft and fabric stores, including the store at 2741 Plainfield Road, Joliet, as part of Jo-Ann’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

The Michaels Companies Inc. acquired Jo-Ann’s intellectual property and private label brands, Michaels announced June 5.

Romeoville ramping up restaurants, retail

Wetzel’s Pretzels, known for fresh, hand-rolled pretzels, opened its ninth bakery inside the Walmart at 420 N. Weber Road in Romeoville.

Wing Snob, a national wing restaurant chain, opened in Romeoville, also on Weber Road, just south of Walgreens.

QuikTrip convenience and gasoline retailers recently opened a new travel center in Romeoville at 676 N. Weber Road, along Interstate 55 at Exit 263, with room to service 20 cars for gas and six diesel bays for trucks.

Hatch Chicken, 1300 Normantown Road, and Hibbett Sports, 359 S. Weber Road, also came to Romeoville in 2025.

Scooter’s Coffee is expected to open in Romeoville in early 2026.

Rack Room Shoes, a chain that offers athletic, casual and dress brands for men, women and children, is coming to Weber Road in Romeoville in early 2026.

Shorewood issues many new business licenses

The village of Shorewood issued dozens of new business licenses in 2025.

S&T Too Pizza recently opened at 1017 Brook Forest Ave. The south suburban-based company also opened a place at 460 Summit Drive, Lockport in August.

Reform Pilates Studio recently opened at 570 Brook Forest Ave.

Barrio Burrito Bar, a Tex-Mex fastfood carryout restaurant, opened at 960 Brook Forest Ave.

Nirvana Permanent Makeup opened at 805 W. Jefferson St.

B&A Mechanics opened a home office in Shorewood for a mobile truck repair business.

Wylde + Honey Salon opened at 807 W. Jefferson St., Unit N.

Triple G Transportation opened at 208 Amendodge Drive.

Spirit Halloween, a seasonal business, opened a location at 988 Brook Forest Ave.

No Mercy Basketball is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides sports skills and training. It is located at 926 Geneva St. in Shorewood.

Nightshade Performance Training, which offers athletic and performance training, is located at 922 Geneva St. in Shorewood.

Dollar Tree opened at 663 Brook Forest Ave.

Longtime restaurants seek new owners

The former Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage, a 3,339-square foot building at 1866 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet, is still for sale.

Joe’s Hot Dogs, a three-generation hot dog business in Joliet, is for sale, including “the building and the business, including all restaurant equipment, inventory, trademarks, website domain, plans for drive-thru, the iconic Joes’s Hot Dog sign,” and the security system and cameras.

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.”

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

Came and went quietly

Jitterhead Brunch & Coffee Co. in Crest Hill closed less than a month after announcing plans to expand its hours.

Jitterhead offered breakfast and lunch menus, a full-service bar, and a wide variety of coffees and teas, along with a variety of nonalcoholic beverages.

Bolingbrook’s beverage-focused CosMc’s closed – and McDonald’s also discontinued the CosMc’s app.

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Tony’s Bar & Grill recently opened at 926 Gardner St. in Joliet at the former Eden’s Garden space.

In addition to burgers, wings and beer, the venue also shows live sports and offers video gaming and billiards.

The Dock on Front Street at 11116 Front St. in Mokena opened in August.

The Dock at Inwood opened at Inwood in December 2018 and closed in 2023. It replaced Traditions Restaurant and Pub, which was the first to have a liquor license at the Joliet Park District facility.

Cemenos at the Park replaced The Dock at Inwood in July 2024.

Joliet-area pet owners got an option for after-hours urgent pet health care for issues that are not life-threatening when UrgentVet, which is open 365 days a year, opened at 111 N. Larkin Ave., Suite F, in Joliet.

Fast-food chains move in

After Arby’s announced that it was closing in Joliet and Sonic suddenly shut down its Lockport location at the end of 2024, the fast-food market made a comeback in the Joliet area.

Two new Jack in the Box restaurants opened in Will County – with a third that might open in Joliet.

Jack in the Box opened at 2101 S. Route 59 Plainfield and at 672 E. Lincoln Hwy in New Lenox.

Portillo’s – known as a “fast-casual” eatery – opened a new drive-thru-only restaurant at the corner of 135th Street and Route 59 in Plainfield in November.

Lockport is adding a Wendy’s restaurant along 159th Street near the Interstate 355 interchange. That will open in 2026.

We welcome news about business developments in our communities. We appreciate hearing about local business comings and goings, new hours, expansions and milestones in the Joliet area. If you have a tip to share for Eyes on Enterprise, email news@theherald-news.com.