Besides the varieties of meat Fogo de Chao is famous for, the restaurants offer sumptuous salad bars. (Supplied photo)

Besides the varieties of meat Fogo de Chao is famous for, the restaurants offer sumptuous salad bars. (Supplied photo)

Comings & Goings: Fogo de Chao coming to Orland Park

Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian steak house known for servers carrying slabs of meat on long skewers from table to table, announced last week that it had signed a lease to open a new restaurant in Orland Park.

The new location at 15407 S. LaGrange Road would be the chain’s fifth Chicagoland restaurant.

The 6,791-square-foot location is scheduled to open next year in the former TGI Friday in an outlot at Orland Park Place.

“Orland Park’s dynamic community and vibrant midwestern culture make it an ideal location for our next Chicagoland location,” Barry McGowan, chief executive officer of Fogo de Chão, said in a release. “After being a part of the local community for over 22 years, we’re excited to open our fifth and sixth Chicago area locations and look forward to introducing guests to the Culinary Art of Churrasco in both Orland Park and Schaumburg soon.”

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau said he was glad the steakhouse was coming to his village.

“We are happy to welcome Fogo de Chao to Orland Park,” he said. “They are a great addition to the over 150 restaurants already here giving residents and visitors another high-quality choice when the want to dine out.”

The Orland Park restaurant will feature an expansive dining room centered around an open churrasco grill, offering guests a 360-degree view of gaucho chefs butchering, hand carving, and grilling high-quality cuts of meat over an open flame, creating a craveable salty bark. The Market Table will anchor the restaurant and feature seasonal salads, fresh superfoods, cured meats, and antipasti.

Dry-aged meat lockers for in-house aging will display featured cuts such as a 32 oz. Long-Bone Tomahawk Ribeye, aged for a minimum of 42 days.

Founded in Brazil in 1979, Fogo de Chão opened its first U.S. restaurant in Dallas in 1997. Since then, it has expanded to more than 70 restaurants around the world.

This time last year, the restaurant chain said it planned to open 10 new locations in 2024, including three internationally and seven in the United States.

The upcoming Orland Park restaurant will join existing Chicagoland locations in Rosemont, Naperville, Oak Brook, Downtown Chicago and an upcoming location in Schaumburg.

It will be the second Brazilian steakhouse in Orland Park.

Texas de Brazil opened inside Orland Square Mall a few years ago. It offers the same kind of open churrasco experience as Fogo de Chao.

Local News

With a long and colorful life, Mary Ellen St. Aubin had no shortage of good memories. --Supplied photo

She was a ‘Munchkin by marriage’

Mary Ellen St. Aubin dies at age 101 By Joan Hadac Mary Ellen St. Aubin once said that if her life could be summed up in a movie title, it might be It’s a Wonderful Life. That life came to a conclusion late last month. Mrs. St. Aubin was 101 years old. “I’ve enjoyed my…

GSWNHFireAndIce_010722

Fire and ice

December was unseasonably dry and warm, but it was cold enough late in the month to form icicles on a Bedford Park Fire Department truck– even after it returned from a blaze that gutted a warehouse in the 6500 block of South Lavergne, just steps south of Clearing. The weather forecast for this weekend calls…

GSWNH_OverwhelmedFedExBox_010722

‘They made us look like fools’

Parents furious over one-two stumble by CPS By Tim Hadac As Chicago Public Schools were set to re-open earlier this week, parents of CPS students were still fuming over what most seemed to see as a two-part stumble by district administrators. “We did exactly what they asked of us, and they made us look like…

Joan Hadac

Toasting 2022 with champagne and herring

By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hello everyone. So, the holidays are over. How did you celebrate? I love Christmas because I get to see family, some of whom I haven’t laid eyes on since Christmas 2019. New Year’s is a much quieter celebration. I have to admit,…

Sandburg’s Claire Callaghan dribbles during the opening round of the Eagles own holiday tournament on Dec. 27. The Eagles finished second in the tournament. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Girls Basketball: Sandburg falls to LW Central in champ game of Holiday Tournament

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Two years ago, a group of promising freshmen were bumped up to the varsity at Sandburg, joining an already stellar sophomore in Erin O’Connell. The team went through some growing pains in 2019-20 but flirted with 20 wins, finishing 19-12. Then there were some pains of playing an abbreviated schedule during…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

St. Rita takes 5th at Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic

By Steve Millar  Correspondent St. Rita’s youth was evident in some mistakes the Mustangs made down the stretch in the fifth-place game of the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic. But the Mustangs’ talent won out in the end. Sophomore guard Jaedin Reyna went coast-to-coast and scored on a drive to the basket with 2.5 seconds left…

Lyons Township’s Tavari Johnson was an all-tournament player as he helped his team to a second-place finish in the Jack Tosh Tournament. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Lions take 2nd at Tosh Holiday Classic

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Glenbard West won the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic. That made sense. The Hilltoppers are ranked No. 1 in most state and Chicago-area polls. But not much else about this tournament made a lot of sense, especially when it came some of the seven area teams involved or, in two cases (Riverside-Brookfield…

Abbey Murphy, a Mother McAuley grad and University of Minnesota hockey player, was named to the Olympic team. University of Minnesota photo

Murphy joins Schofield on U.S. women’s hockey team

By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Abbey Murphy lists Kendall Coyne Schofield as her sports role model. Now, she will be a teammate of Schofield on the biggest stage for women’s hockey. Team USA Hockey announced its Olympic roster over the weekend and two-time medal winner Schofield, a native of Palos Heights and a Sandburg graduate, will…

Richards High School Principal Dr. Mike Jacobson and several staff members at the high school, 10601 Central Ave., Oak Lawn, walked for 24 hours on a treadmill to raise money for student scholarships starting bright and early on New Year's Day. (Supplied photos)

Richards principal walks 24 hours for a cause

Raises $20,000 for student scholarships By Kelly White Most people spend New Year’s Day relaxing. Richards High School Principal Dr. Mike Jacobson spent it on the treadmill. For the second year in a row, Jacobson inspired generous donations of more than $20,000 on New Year’s Day by walking 24 hours on a treadmill without stopping.…

Neighbors

A youngster flies a kite at Altman Park. (Supplied photo)

Worth Park District has big plans after acquiring Altman Park

Upon the recent acquirement of Altman Park, the Worth Park District has big plans in store for its future. Altman Park is located at West 115th Street in Worth and is just shy of 21 acres of open fields.  There is an outlying building that has restrooms, concessions and a baseball field. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago owned…

13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn

New ordinance requires rooftop safety measures for firefighters

A new ordinance, spearheaded by Ald. Marty Quinn (13th), will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, mandating rooftop safety measures to protect firefighters. In the event of a fire, light shafts, light courts, and skylights present grave danger to firefighters. These openings often lack guards or parapets, preventing firefighters from falling. The new ordinance requires…

When Martin Atilano walked up to the library on Oct. 18 he did not know he could access FEMA help to repair his home, he told the Southwest News Herald. (Photos by Robin Sluzas)

July Chicago Lawn tornado victims can get repair help from FEMA

By 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 18, a Saturday morning, the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the southwest side, home to many Latino residents, was already bustling with energy along Kedzie Avenue near the intersection of 61st Street. It would be hard to believe that just three months earlier, on July 15, an EF1 tornado swept through…

Young runners take over the front of the Howlin' Through the Hills starting line. (Photos by Xavier Sanchez)

Young runners shine at 9th annual Howl Through the Hills 5K

Runners of all ages took to the streets of Hickory Hills for the 9th Annual Howl Through the Hills 5K Run/Walk last weekend. The event, which began at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, started at Hickory Hills City Hall and unfolded on a beautiful, brisk fall day. Hickory Hills partnered with North Palos School…

Ryan Kelly, president and CEO of Kelly Nissan, is ready to cut the ribbon to celebrate the grand re-opening of the Oak Lawn auto dealership on Oct. 18. He is joined behind the ribbon by (from left) Natasha Miller Williams, president of the Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce; Trevor Kelly, sales manager; Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer, and Tyler Kelly, the general manager. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Oak Lawn’s Kelly Nissan dealership celebrates renovation, grand opening

Ryan Kelly, president and CEO of Kelly Nissan in Oak Lawn, said the dealership is entering a new phase for the 21st century. Kelly Nissan, located at 4300 W. 95th St., underwent a complete renovation over the past year. While Kelly acknowledged that the process brought “some headaches,” he believes the overall outcome is positive…

Robert Peplowski, owner of Peppo's Great Sub Sandwiches, cuts the ribbon to mark the grand opening in Orland Park on Oct. 23. He was joined by family, work associates, and members of the Orland Park Area Chamber of Commerce. Located just behind Robert Peplowski is his father, Jim Peplowski, the founder of Peppo's. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Peppo’s subs stays true to family roots with new Orland Park shop

Robert Peplowski believes that a great sub sandwich can be enjoyed everywhere in the southwest suburbs. And why not in Orland Park? Peplowski felt it was time to do just that, opening the newest Peppo’s Great Sub Sandwiches at 9836 W. 159th St., at the corner of 94th Avenue, near the Orland Park Mall. The…

Co-Chairs of McCord's 2024 Gala, Arlene Adams, Gala Co-Chair and Vice President Board of Directors of McCord Gallery & Cultural Center and Carol Trzcinski, Executive Director of McCord Gallery & Cultural Center. (Supplied photos)

McCord Gallery throws a 20th anniversary party

McCord Gallery & Cultural Center knows how to throw a party. The gallery, 9602 W. Creek Road, Palos Park, hosted its 20th annual fundraising Gala themed, For the Love of Arts – Tapestry…McCord Woven in Time, on Saturday, Oct.5 at Midlothian Country Club, 5000 W. 147th St #1, Midlothian. “Seeing all the enthusiastic guests and…

CRR_NH

Clear-Ridge Reporter and NewsHound October 30, 2024

Barbara Harrison

Chicago Ridge trustees reinstates clerk as a full-time job

The Chicago Ridge Village Board voted on Oct. 22 to reinstate the village clerk as a full-time position and confirmed the mayor’s role will also remain full-time, reflecting recent practices. Under the new measures, the annual salary for the mayor will stay at $85,000, with an additional $12,000 for serving as liquor commissioner. According to…

Palos Park Commissioner G. Darryl Reed said the village will lose more than $200,000 per year when the state's grocery tax is vanquished. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Palos Park debates local grocery tax to counter Illinois repeal

Illinois lawmakers have voted to eliminate the state’s 1% grocery tax in 2026, prompting officials in Palos Park to consider a local version of the tax to offset potential revenue losses. In May, Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the grocery tax as “regressive” and expressed his support for its removal. “If it reduces inflation for families…