Goodbye Covered Wagon, Goodbye Skooters: Corrigan's Pub Opening Nears

SHOREWOOD, IL — Let's say you absolutely hated Skooter's Roadhouse on Jefferson Street in Shorewood. Maybe you hated the music, the constant country music. Maybe you disliked that covered wagon in the back parking lot along Route 52. Maybe you hated the inside decor or the drinks. Well, guess what? Everything you hated about Skooter's is gone. It's over. No more.

The owners of Jameson's Pub in Joliet on Black Road will be opening Corrigan's Pub in a matter of weeks. In the best case scenario, they told Joliet Patch's editor Thursday afternoon, they hope to open in a couple more weeks, around the middle of November.

They just put up their brand-new business signs along Route 52 and Jefferson Street in Shorewood, and they are also letting everyone know they are hiring. Lots of jobs are open.

They need bartenders, bus boys, kitchen staff, managers, assistant managers, food runners and more. People interested in working for Corrigan's Pub are urged to visit the building during normal business hours Monday through Friday for a walk-in application, or they can go online and download an application from the Jameson's website.

On Thursday, several contractors were inside the building putting the finishing touches on Corrigan's Pub, getting it ready for its grand opening, possibly later this month.

In addition to Jameson's Pub on Black Road, the Jameson's ownership group has bar-restaurants in Frankfort, Mokena and Chicago.

In Shorewood, Corrigan's Pub plans to employ about 100 people, one of their company representatives told Joliet Patch's editor on Thursday.

Family members affiliated with Jameson's want everyone to know that one of the former owners of Skooter's is gone, and has been replaced with a new owner.

Country music is out, and Corrigan's Pub will be focused on Irish food, and it will be a family-friendly atmosphere, the Jameson's family rep stressed.

He said the food menu for Corrigan's Pub will be impressive. One of the signature meals will be their Reuben sandwich, and the corned beef pasta will become of the staples of Corrigan's Pub, he predicted.

"Each pasta dish will come with a Bosco stick," he wanted everyone to know.

Corrigan's Pub is going to be "a scratch kitchen," he said, and he expects the food, including their burgers, will be a major draw for their customer base. Corrigan's will also feature bread from one of Joliet's most beloved businesses, Milano's Bakery on South Chicago Street.

And get this: there will be several dozen TVs throughout the restaurant-bar that are between 65-inches and 85-inch-wide screens.

Corrigan's Pub will also specialize in banquet events for customers looking for rental space for parties between 50 and 600 people.

When asked if Corrigan's Pub will be more of a bar or more of a restaurant, the Jameson's rep conveyed it will be "50-50."

He wanted everyone to know the music played inside Corrigan's Pub will focus on the 1980s and 1990s and will be "all genres music."

Joliet Patch Quote of the Year? "One owner is out, and one owner is new. So, everything Skooter's was, we're doing the opposite of," the Jameson's family representative remarked Thursday.