Casablanca Steak House Closes in Tinley Park

Casablanca Steak House, 17344 S. Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park, became the latest restaurant casualty of the economy when it closed on Jan. 1.

The former Bogart's Charhouse was renamed Casablanca after it was reacquired by the Nolan family in February 2009.

A manager at Bogart's Charhouse, 18225 Dixie Highway in Homewood, said the Tinley location "just wasn't doing enough business to keep it open."

Bogart's in Homewood remains open for anyone wanting to try their luck at the Bogie Sirloin AKA "The Big One."

The corner at 173rd and Oak Park Avenue will also soon be losing My Bike of Tinley Park, which shared the building with Casablanca.

Owner Brian Poncin said he's moving four blocks south to 17747 Oak Park Ave. Poncin said it was time to move.

"We're paying three times the rent we should," Poncin said. "The landlord didn't want to work with us, so we decided to leave. I'll be paying half as much in rent and have 1,000 more square feet of space."

Poncin said he's working on renovating the new location, which used to be home to Rosemary's Garden, a flower shop that relocated to 171st Street.

"We're in limbo for the next couple of months," Poncin said. "We'll be going back and forth." He suggests customers call first to make sure someone is around.

Poncin said he's contemplating a name change, as well. "I may change the name to My Bike Tinley Schwinn. We sell a lot of Schwinns and it might make sense to incorporate that into our name."

For more information, call Poncin at 708-444-2453 or visit the Web site at http://www.mybiketinley.com/