Loco's To Open Sister Restaurant Angie's Pancake House

JOLIET, IL — In a matter of days, a new storefront sign will be erected next to the Loco's Mexican Restaurant at 1121 Essington Road. The new restaurant will be open for breakfast and lunch and focus on American, not Mexican food.

The owner of the new restaurant is none other than Mario De La Torre, who runs Loco's.

Talk about a unique concept for Joliet. De La Torre will operate Angie's Pancake House from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. And then after 3 p.m., his restaurant building will become Loco's.

"Loco's owner now opens Angie's Pancake House in the same building," De La Torre told Joliet Patch.

The grand opening for Angie's Pancake House is set for May 10.

De La Torre said Angie's Pancake House will be offering 12 different handmade charbroiled hamburgers on its menu.

The breakfast menu will have more than 15 different omelettes.

Out of 458 Google Reviews, Loco's Mexican Restaurant has a rating on 4.2 stars out of 5 stars. However, whatever image you have of Loco's needs to be thrown out the window.

That's because Angie's Pancake House will have nothing in common with Loco's except for the fact that the new Joliet restaurant will be using the same dining room, bar and outdoor patio.

Loco's has 4,400 square feet of space, so it will be pretty easy to transition the restaurant from Angie's Pancake House for breakfast and lunch into Loco's Mexican Restaurant after 3 p.m. every day, the Loco's owner said.

Loco's will stay open until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 p.m. on Sunday.

The owner said he even plans to change the paintings inside Loco's to give Angie's an American feel to it for the breakfast and lunch customers.

Again, he stressed, the food served at Angie's Pancake House will not be Mexican. If you're coming to Angie's for a Mexican style breakfast, you're coming to the wrong place.

De La Torre said he has 45 years in the restaurant industry, and at least half of that time he spent as a chef at various American restaurants, so he knows a thing or two about American cuisine.

He said the ground beef he will use for his charbroiled burgers will be "top of the line."

Burgers will come with French fries and a cup of homemade soup included in the price, he said.

De La Torre said he believes his prices and quality of food will make his new restaurant Angie's Pancake House a popular destination in the Joliet, Plainfield and Shorewood area.

"This is not going to be another breakfast place," the owner of Loco's told Joliet Patch during last week's interview. "This will be the best breakfast place in Joliet."

The owner of Loco's doesn't mince words. The front of his menu for Loco's Mexican Restaurant and Catina proclaims: "Authentic Mexican Food No Bull ..!!