Andy & Sophie's: Unbelievable Comeback Of Joliet's Neighborhood Bar

JOLIET — Andy & Sophie's, Joliet's beloved and enduring neighborhood watering hole, has been a fixture in the Cunningham Neighborhood at the corner of Moran and Hickory since the late 1800s, but for most of the past five years, no beer flowed from the taps at 931 Hickory St.

Andy & Sophie's sat empty. Year after year.

Attorney Patrick Walsh, who was born in Joliet and said he is not related to the prominent political family out of Elwood, purchased Andy & Sophie's when Andy and Sophie Wrobel announced they were retiring and selling their neighborhood corner bar in 2019. Shortly after Walsh purchased the bar, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, resulting in the shutdown of all Illinois bars and restaurants.

As time went on, Walsh continued to keep Andy & Sophie's closed. He undertook an extensive and impressive interior remodeling project and cleanup of the building, which dates back to the late 1800s. The original wooden bar was returned to its former glory, the vaulted tin ceilings were re-discovered and fine-tuned during the restoration efforts.

"We took down the paneling, and we discovered the natural brick," Walsh explained to Joliet Patch during Thursday's interview. "There was a drop ceiling they had for energy efficiency."

'I Don't Know If It's Worth It Being Open Past 10 P.M."

Walsh upgraded the bathrooms inside the bar and renovated the kitchen.

"We upgraded the kitchen where Sophie did a lot of magic. She was a culinary magician with very little tools," Walsh remarked. "It was so old; we made sure it was code compliant."

As for the front, Walsh installed a "roll up garage door" that "I'd like to open it up for nice weather. I'd like to have the garage door open for summer."

In addition to installing new seating for bar patrons, Walsh decided to remove the pool table because it often attracted troublemakers into the bar late at night, he said.

Finally, last September, Walsh turned on the OPEN sign for the first time since COVID-19, and people were welcomed back inside 931 Hickory, the beloved bar with the Old-Style sign hanging over the front entrance with the Polish phrase ZIMNE PIWO, which means "Ice Cold Beer."

Since Walsh reopened Andy & Sophie's last fall, he wants his neighborhood bar to be known around Joliet as a destination for quality food.

Andy & Sophie's opens at 11 a.m. daily and typically closes at 7 or 8 p.m.

Walsh said he may stay open later moving forward, but he has no plans of being open until 2 or 3 a.m., even though he's paying for that ability through his liquor license.

"Right now, I want to have a respectful presence for our neighbors, our neighbors are nice. I have a liquor license for late hours, but I have chosen not to be open late. I don't want to stay open past 10 p.m. I don't know if it's worth it being open past 10."

'I Love What Sophie Did With The Food'

Although Andy Wrobel died in his mid-70s in January 2023, Sophie Wrobel is still a regular presence in her former Joliet bar. The Wrobel family still owns a rental property near the bar. She and her husband moved to Orland Park after selling the bar.

Andy & Sophie's was known for dishing up quality home-cooked food. It was a place to stop for lunch. Corned beef and cabbage rolls. Polish sausage and sauerkraut. Meatloaf.

"I love what Sophie did with the food," Walsh remarked. "The food she made was amazing for the amount of space she had. I'll say this, nobody can replicate Sophie, but we want to have good food and really good sandwiches.

"I'll never try to compete with Sophie's skills as a cook, we all love Sophie," Walsh said. "But we have a really outstanding smash burger and chicken sandwich and if someone wants to do a man versus food challenge, we can build it. We can customize any sandwich."

Andy & Sophie's menu features Joe's Chicken Parm, chicken sandwich, smashburger, hamburger, Italian beef, grilled cheese and BLT. There's a 12-inch pizza with a homemade sauce "on a perfectly baked crust." Appetizers include: bone-in wings, chicken tenders served with crinkle cut fries, mozzarella sticks, cheese curds, breaded green beans, curly fries, tots and crinkle cut fries.

"Joe's Chicken Parm," is named after Joe Clement, the retired Joliet Police detective and current Joliet City Councilman who works for Walsh as the bar manager.

"I'm really excited about Joe's special sandwich," Walsh bragged. "And I think we could compete against anybody else's smashburger in Joliet. We have really good quality hamburger we use. The beef is excellent. I would like to add a really excellent corned beef sandwich, and we're expanding into soups and chilis."

'I Think Joliet Has A Lot Of Really Nice Restaurants'

Walsh was born in 1963 in Joliet and lived here until his parents divorced when he was 3. He grew up in Chicago's Riverdale community, around 63rd and Kedzie.

Walsh, a veteran Chicago-area lawyer based in Hinsdale, said he mostly practices in Cook County, and his legal practice often brings him to Joliet's Will County Courthouse. Walsh also serves as the city attorney for Harvey and Calumet City.

"I'm excited to be in Joliet," Walsh remarked. "I think Joliet has a lot of really nice restaurants. I'm happy to be part of the good things that are happening with Joliet's restaurants."

Walsh wants to bring back the community nostalgia of having a thriving neighborhood bar in Joliet, the third-largest city in Illinois, a former blue-collar town once anchored by long-gone institutions such as the Joliet Prison on Collins Street, the U.S. Steel mill and the Caterpillar factory.

"As far as neighborhood bars, it seems to be a dying thing," Walsh explained. "You don't see as much."

That's why he wants people throughout the Joliet area — regardless of whether they were past patrons of Andy & Sophie's — to visit 931 Hickory St., for dinner and a drink.

"It's nice to have a place close to home for people," he said. "We're not a chain. The smash burger, I'm ready to put it up against the best in all of Joliet ... I think we'll be expanding soon to DoorDash."

While the old Andy & Sophie's pool table is gone for good, Walsh has added six video gaming machines that he says are quite hot.

"We've had some pretty big winners. I've seen some guys winning over two grand. Some guys have done pretty well," he said.

At the new and improved Andy & Sophie's, Guinness is one of the featured draft beers on tap.

He said that some people gave him a hard time at first, reminding him how Andy & Sophie's was established as a Polish bar and the Old-Style sign hanging from the front of the bar remains a neighborhood relic.

"I'm Irish, and we're going to have Guinness in a Polish bar," he laughed.

Walsh said he's pleased with the current menu and his Andy & Sophie's kitchen set-up.

"This business is hard. Nothing is easy. The other local bars and restaurants have been really, really nice .... we get smarter every day," he said. "I want it to be a very nice neighborhood place where existing customers and new friends are welcomed, and I want this to be a nice, safe environment where people are welcomed and feel comfortable."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

• Andy & Sophie, Now Retired, Hope Andy & Sophie's Makes Comeback
• Andy & Sophie to Retire after 45 Years in Joliet
• Andy & Sophie's Liquor License Transfer Goes To City Council