Tacos El Tio, a 10-restaurant chain serving Mexican food, recently bought the former Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage location at 1866 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet.

The chain, which has a location at 1606 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet, bought the space for $1.7 million, according to the Chicago Business Journal.

The former Pop’s 3,339-square-foot space featured new “state-of-the-art” equipment along with an indoor dining room, outdoor patio space, a drive-thru, and a “high-end” grease drainage system and soda system, Durock walls, “ample” onsite parking, and six entertainment gambling systems, according to svnchicago.com.

The former Pop’s space also has more than 40 parking spaces, according to the reports.

Pops opened a restaurant in that location in January 2022 and closed in 2025.

The building was previously a Boston Market, which opened in the mid-1990s and closed in 2020.

For more information about Tacos El Tio, visit tacoseltio.net.

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.