Amigeaux's Replacing Arby's On Joliet's Jefferson Street

JOLIET, IL —The owners of the Arby's that closed in January 2020 are almost ready to reopen the empty West Jefferson Street restaurant as their first Amigeaux's restaurant.

Amigeaux's (pronounced like amigos) will have a dozen varieties of tacos and eight different sandwiches on the menu. There will be the drive-thru window, indoor dining and carryout, according to John Thompson, one of the three operators with the Louisiana-based Miracle Restaurant Group.

"We're definitely going to be unique," Thompson told Joliet Patch's editor. "Southern California meets Tex-Mex meets Cajun eclectic blend."

Instead of a traditional Philly cheese steak, Amigeaux's will have a Tijuana cheese steak.

Menu selections include a coconut shrimp taco, a blackened mahi-mahi taco and a traditional pork Carnitas taco. There will be a bolillo sandwich and a Louisiana taco that will include Jambalaya, andouille sausage, crispy pork and a green chili aioli.

Of great importance, the new Joliet restaurant will feature homemade flour and corn tortillas, Thompson said.

"Everything is made in-house. All of our stuff is homemade," he added.

For indoor dining guests, alcoholic beverages will be available for adults. Drinks will include draft beers, daiquiris and frozen margaritas, Thompson said.

To keep the menu fresh, Amigeaux's plans to do a featured food item of the month. And for traditionalists, "we will have a burger on the menu," Thompson promised.

City of Joliet economic development director Derek Conley said the new Amigeaux's restaurant at the corner of Republic Avenue and West Jefferson Street will need to obtain a special-use permit from the Joliet City Council for a drive-thru.

Conley sees the new restaurant as being another great boost for Jefferson Street.

"It's good to see another vacant building on Jefferson Street filled. Right now, there's a lot of interest in Jefferson Street," Conley told Patch during Tuesday's interview at City Hall. "We do have some good available buildings."

Over the past few weeks, Joliet Patch has written numerous articles on new Joliet area restaurants opening. West Jefferson Street has been the hottest spot for new restaurants.

On Monday, Patch broke the news that a Jerk Flavors Authentic Jamaican Cuisine will be expanding from its location in Markham and opening a Joliet restaurant in the empty Video Quest right next door to Louis' Family Restaurantat 1001 West Jefferson St.

In late January, Patch reported that a Pop's Italian Beef would be replacing the Boston Market that closed a year ago. A Wheel & Brew Pizza restaurant will open by early summer in the strip mall across from the Inwood Athletic Club after its liquor license got approved by the Joliet City Council less than two weeks ago.

In December, a rapidly expanding East Coast seafood chain, Red Crab Juicy Seafood, opened its first Illinois restaurant on West Jefferson Street at the former Wildhorse Bar and Grill.

In January 2020, Panera Bread opened a new West Jefferson Street restaurant with a drive-thru window at the former Applebee's near the Walmart Supercenter.

On Tuesday, Conley said the empty Baker's Square restaurant on West Jefferson Street that closed two years ago was recently sold at an online auction. Conley said he does not know the buyer's identity or the new owner's plans, but "I think it's more than likely that this will remain a restaurant."

Meanwhile, Thompson said his Miracle Restaurant Group operates about 30 Arby's restaurants across several states plus the soon-to-be opening of the Amigeaux's in Joliet.

Thompson's business partners are Jeremy Moore, the vice president of the company, and Colton Trimmer, who is one of their corporate chefs.

Thompson told Joliet Patch he wanted to be open by the middle of May. He anticipates the new Amigeaux's restaurant sign will go up along Jefferson Street in the next month or so.

"We're within hopefully a couple months of being ready to open the doors," Thompson said."Bringing Louisiana and southern California flavors and mixing them is one of our goals."

When his business group shut down the Joliet Arby's 14 months ago, Thompson said they intended to reopen the building as a different restaurant, but when the coronavirus came along, it wasn't a good time for anyone to open a restaurant.

Now, they're ready.

So why are the Arby's owners choosing Joliet's West Jefferson Street for their first Amigeaux's?

"I see it booming," Thompson said. "It's going to be a great area."