Old Plank Pizza now open in downtown Frankfort
Brad Egner was devastated when his collection of comic books that went back 40 years went up in smoke last April when a newly purchased Suburban caught fire in his Frankfort garage, spread to nearby gasoline cans and left him with a pile of ashes instead of well-read issues of Superman, Batman and X-Men.
Egner and his wife, Christina, decided to make something right out of the disaster.
Even though they had never owned their own business, they used the insurance money to open Old Plank Pizza at 14 Elwood Street in downtown Frankfort, in the old Durbin’s location.
“I love making pizzas and my wife loves cleaning and organizing, so it was a perfect choice,” says Egner, who opened Old Plank Pizza at the beginning of February. A grand opening is set for 2 p.m. April 14.
Egner has been making pizzas for a long time. He got his start at Buddy’s Pizza at 79th and State in Burbank.
He uses recipes from his Italian great-grandmother for the dough and pizza sauce.
“We serve classic, tavern-style pizzas ranging from 10 inches to 16 inches,” he said. “Specialty pizzas all have names like the Spicolli or Blutarsky.”
Other menu items include appetizers like the Marty McFries, and sandwiches with names such as Burbank Bomber and Save Ferris.
As a fan of old school rap music, Egner reached into the way back machine to find a slogan based on a 1990s song by Naughty by Nature. Hence, “Are You Down … with OPP.”
“It’s funny how it’s caught on,” he said.
Egner said Old Plank Pizza is a family affair. Along with his wife, their son, Tom, an honor student at Lincoln-Way East helps out. Waiting in the wings are daughters, Alisha and Maisie, and another son, Peter.
His son also helped by recruiting other honor students to work at the restaurant.
“Lincoln-Way East honor students are great employees,” he said. “They show up on time, don’t have to be told twice what to do, and work hard.”
Old Plank Pizza has indoor seating for 40 and Egner hopes to add outdoor seating when the weather improves.
“We found an old service window that we hope to be able to use to serve walkers in warmer weather.”
Old Plank Pizza is open for dinner and will soon be opening for lunch. At present, hours are 4-9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 4-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 3-8 p.m. on Sundays. The pizzeria is closed on Tuesdays.
Delivery is available through Uber Eats and Door Dash.
Beer and cider are available as well as video games.
More Top Picks Best Garden Tractors For Small Farms
World Wiffle Ball championship to return
The 44th World Wiffle Ball Championship will return to Memorial Park in Midlothian on July 15-16.
“We’re excited to gear up for this year’s Championship at Memorial Park in Midlothian. We can’t wait to see old and new Wifflers alike this summer come together to beat some plastic,” said Mike Baniak, a commissioner of the World Wiffle Ball Championship.
Registration is now open for the 2023 event at https://worldwiffleball.org/entry/. Players of all ages are eligible to comprise teams of four or five players. The registration fee is $149 and includes a WWBC T-shirt for each rostered player.
Each team will play four round-robin games on Saturday, July 15. Qualifying teams will then play in a single-elimination tournament on Sunday, July 16.
More than 40 teams competed in the 2022 World Wiffle Ball Championship, with players from nine different states participating. Proceeds from the 2023 championship will benefit South Suburban Humane Society. Since 2018, over $10,000 has been raised by the event to help animals in need.
“This is such a fun event, not only for players, but for fans as well and we’re thrilled to have them back,” said Jim Garrett, president/CEO of the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau.
PGA Tour Superstore to open in Orland Park
A new PGA Tour Superstore is set to open at 9 a.m. Saturday in Orland Park in the former Dania store at 14812 LaGrange Road after undergoing a $1.4 million remodeling.
The 50,000-square-foot store will cater to golfers with a wide range of offerings from apparel to technology to repairs and even lessons. It will also target tennis players and even pickleball fans.
The store will be the fifth for the chain in the Chicago area and the first in the south suburbs. Other locations are in Downers Grove, Schaumburg, Vernon Hills and Chicago’s Loop.
The store is the off-course and off-airport retail partner of the PGA Tour. Orland Park will be the retailer’s 54th store. Another store is set to open later this year in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.
There are plans to have as many as 58 stores open by the end of this year and more than 100 stores open across the country by 2026.
Hours at the new store will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Bob Bong is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].