Louis' Restaurant: Dining Room Reopening, Waitresses Needed

JOLIET, IL — No Joliet restaurant has been more innovative since the coronavirus pandemic struck Illinois in March 2020 than Louis' Family Restaurant. Rather than temporarily close its doors as dozens of places did, Louis' became a drive-thru only restaurant and created marketing banners proclaiming "Joliet's Fastest Drive Thru."

It's been that way for 16 months now, but that's about to change.

On Monday, June 21, the day after Father's Day, the small family-owned Joliet restaurant at 1001 West Jefferson St. will reopen its dining room and do away with its drive-thru operation.

Louis' Family Restaurant has been in existence since Dec. 18, 1992.

During Friday's interview, Joliet Patch asked the owner's sons, Nick and Michael Polimenakos, how converting their indoor restaurant into a drive-thru only set-up has gone.

"It was a crazy idea that was insanely successful," Nick Polimenakos responded.

The brothers chose to keep their dining room closed for the safety of their father as well as their customers. They wanted to make sure their Joliet restaurant was not responsible for spreading the dangerous coronavirus.

On Sunday, Louis' Family Restaurant posted the news on its Facebook page and wanted to get the word out that it is now hiring waitresses.

"Until we open, we are paying $20 per hour, but after that everyone generally makes much more," the announcement read.

Louis' Family Restaurant is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.