November 14, 2024
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Jack in the Box gets OK from Joliet City Council

Local location part of hamburger chain’s move into Chicago market

By Bob Okon
A fence was put up and signage was taken down and windows were boarded up at Arby’s on Route 59 on Monday July 1, 2024 in Plainfield.

Jack in the Box plans to move into this building, formerly an Arby's restaurant, at 2101 Rt. 59 in Joliet. (Gary Middendorf)

The Jack in the Box fast-food return to Joliet moved a step ahead this week.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved a drive-thru for the future restaurant.

Jack in the Box, which had a restaurant in downtown Joliet more than 40 years ago, plans to take over a closed Arby’s location at 2101 Route 59.

“It already had a drive-thru,” council member Larry Hug said in the only comment made about the Jack in the Box before a unanimous vote in favor of the drive-thru.

Drive-thru operations require a special-use permit from the city, which put the Jack in the Box plan on the council agenda and made public one of the specific locations for the hamburger chain’s move into the Chicago market.

Jack in the Box did business in this building in downtown Joliet from 1968 into at least the late 1970s. Chicken-N-Spice moved into the building in the early 1980s. The building, now torn down, was located on Chicago Street. (Bob Okon)

Jack in the Box in July announced plans to open restaurants in several communities in the Chicago area, although Joliet was not mentioned at the time.

According to a staff memo on the Joliet plan, Jack in the Box will remodel the closed Arby’s building and make other improvements at the site.

Headquartered in San Diego, Jack in the Box is among the nation’s largest hamburger chains. It has 2,200 restaurants in 23 states, according to its website.

It now has nine Illinois locations, all in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

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