Cup Of Joe By Cemenos Is Finally Opening: Free Samples Of Homemade Bagels, Cream Cheese

JOLIET, IL — This was a sad week for Joliet's restaurant community as Meg Gillespie's restaurant Magpie's Joy of Eating at her adjoining bar, Thirty Buck, closed permanently along Ruby Street. But now for some happy news heading into the weekend. Saturday morning marks the first soft opening for Cup of Joe By Cemeno's.

Doors open at 6 a.m. Saturday and "we'll have our full menu available plus samples of our homemade bagels and cream cheese. Big things brewing Saturday!" the Facebook post read.

On Friday, Cemeno's posted they will have coffee and specialty drinks available and "if you can't make it tomorrow, we have two more dates before the grand opening."

Soft opening #2 is Saturday, Dec. 20 and soft opening #3 is Jan. 3 and the grand opening is Tuesday, Jan. 6. To learn more, visit the website for Cup of Joe.

This marks the second restaurant venture for Cemeno's Pizza at the Joliet Park District Inwood property. Cemeno's Pizza By the Park opened in 2024, taking over the bar and restaurant location previously leased to The Dock at Inwood, which left at the end of 2023 and relocated back to owner Rick Trafton's hometown of Mokena.

Joliet Park District Executive Director Brad Staab told Joliet Patch that it's his understanding that Cup of Joe by Cemeno's will be open just on the dates of the soft opening and once the grand opening happens in early January, then it will be open for customers on a daily basis.

He said that Cemeno's has been an outstanding partner with the Joliet Park District, and he believes that Cup of Joe will fill a void, it's something the Joliet Park District has not had before at Inwood.

"We're excited, they're a great partner with Joliet Park District and it's going be a great addition to the facility," he said. "They're going to have bagels, coffee, it will be a place for members of our community to just come and hang out."

Staab mentioned that people don't need to have a membership to the Inwood Athletic Club in order to patronize Cup of Joe's or the Cemeno's Pizza at the Park restaurant.