15 Photos: Pizza Ranch Opens Near Joliet: 'The Country's Best Chicken'

SHOREWOOD, IL — Several hundred inquisitive Joliet area food enthusiasts traveled to 19735 NE Frontage Road in Shorewood for Monday's grand opening of the area's very first Pizza Ranch. The Iowa-based restaurant chain has opened its first location in Will County. Most of the Pizza Ranch restaurants are scattered across Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

"It's a madhouse right now. We're getting a good response from the community. People are liking the food, the Fun Zone, the culture," remarked Shorewood Pizza Ranch owner Brijesh Patel.

Shorewood's new Pizza Ranch is now open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Ordering food from the buffet opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m. The Fun Zone arcade features two dozen games including Mario Kart, King Kong Versus Godzilla, Jurassic Park and two Virtual Reality games, according to Patel.

For Monday's grand opening, about 270 customers ate lunch inside the Shorewood Pizza Ranch between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Patel said.

"We're super excited to be part of the community. We look forward to serving Joliet, Shorewood, Plainfield, Minooka ... this is a family-friendly place. This is great for the date night."

Pizza Ranch is all about the buffet. There's specialty pizzas. One-topping pizzas. Desserts such as cactus bread, and, as the menu proclaims, "The Country's Best Chicken."

You can find cheesy ranch stix, breadsticks, chicken fries, mashed potatoes and gravy, ranch potato wedges, corn, coleslaw, green beans, mac and cheese and biscuits. There's a full salad bar, too.

The Shorewood Pizza Ranch can accommodate 270 people. It features five separate party rooms and the Pizza Ranch Fun Zone arcade.

Patel said he has no second thoughts about building the new Pizza Ranch in Shorewood along the frontage road next door to the Econo Lodge and the LaQuinta Inn & Suites.

"We're very pleased with the location. We're next door to the hotels on the frontage road. There's lots of businesses here. It's very convenient to get to with the Interstate (55) highway as well."

Patel said the Shorewood Pizza Ranch has 80 full and part-time employees, including lots of teenagers.

"We've got very young employees," he said. "So the kids are working hard."