Sonny’s Southern Style Barbeque in Bradley has closed. The restaurant opened in March at 178 E. North St. Best wishes to owner Dallas “Sonny” Williams.

(Thanks to a reader named Carol for that tip.)

Kankakee River North Dining & Banquets is now offering a Sunday brunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It features breakfast and lunch items, an omelet bar, juice, coffee, mimosas and an espresso bar. The cost is $15.99 for adults, $6.99 for kids younger than 12, and ages 4 and younger are free.

The restaurant recently brought in a new chef, Danny Ayers, and I’ve heard several good reviews. A friend told me that she and her husband went there for dinner and the meal of prime ribs, crab legs and margaritas was “amazing”. A colleague said the blue cheese burger was very good.

Kankakee River North is in the old Sully’s building at 555 S. West Ave. in Kankakee. The kitchen staff is the same for The Freight House Pub, which is upstairs.

Tuscany Steak and Pasta House is back under its original management. Owners Sonny Asani and Alex Elezi returned to day-to-day operation of the restaurant last month, and they’ve added a lunch buffet and are now open on Mondays. The buffet is offered each weekday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and costs $6.95, including a drink and dessert. There are also dinner specials daily that include a complimentary glass of wine. It’s such a generous serving that I jokingly refer to it as a fish bowl o’ wine.

Tuscany is at 315 N. Locust in Manteno.

Legacy Bar & Grill has reopened after closing for a few days due to renovations, including the installation of a new floor.

The menu has also been updated with some new items, including baby back ribs. Other entree options include stuffed chicken breast and shrimp carbonara. The menu also features appetizers, burgers, pizza, sandwiches, salads, soup and kids’ meals. The pulled pork fries remain a popular appetizer, and I recommend getting the tater tots instead of fries.

Legacy features several daily specials, including 25¢ wings every Tuesday, 99¢ cheeseburgers every Saturday, and $5 for a 16″ one-topping pizza every Sunday. The kitchen is open until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on the weekends, so it’s a good option for late-night dining.

Legacy is at 135 N. Kinzie Ave. in Bradley. For more information, including coupons, go to i57life.com/LetsEatOut.

A number of area restaurants have recently updated their menu, changed their hours or hired new staff. Here’s a rundown:

• Marcotte’s in Momence has added some menu items, including a challenge pizza. If you and a friend can eat a 28″ by 36″ pie in under an hour you win a $100 bill and get the pizza for free. If you fail, you’ll have to fork over $52. Marcotte’s is open for lunch and dinner daily.
• Johnny Angel’s in Momence has resumed offering a brunch buffet every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Offerings include both breakfast and dinner items, made-to-order omelets and a cheesecake-filled French Toast that a colleague told me is “to die for.”
• French Toast in Bourbonnais has added several sandwiches to the menu. Ahi tuna baguette, smoked salmon flatbread, and wasabi crabcake baguette are among the new lunch offerings. New breakfast items include an apple crumble French Toast and a pita scrambler, which is your choice of three ingredients combined with scrambled eggs and stuffed into a pita. Also, Justin Daniel has returned as head chef. French Toast is open for breakfast and lunch daily.
• At The Big Kahuna Steakhouse in St. Anne, Grant Glessner, a trained sommelier, or wine expert, is now serving as general manager. Also, the menu has been updated with new items, and I’m told that most dishes are now under $10. New appetizer options include hot pretzels; new dinner options include beef strogonoff, beef briskett sliders, and tilapia in a lemon butter and white wine sauce. The Big Kahuna is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.
• Poppy’s Club Irwin in Irwin has a new lunch and dinner menu. They’re also now open for breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. Hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

A new restaurant, 1517 Place, will be opening soon next to Busse & Rieck in Kankakee.

The family-owned restaurant will be open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu will feature American soul food, such as meatloaf, smothered pork chops, oxtails, and catfish. In addition to inside seating, customers will be able to order from the drive-thru window. The owners plan to be open by Nov. 1.

The address is 2005 W. Court St. I’ll have more details in a few weeks.

A Quiznos is now open at 9051 N. Route 45/52 in Manteno. It’s inside the gas station that used to be a Gas City and now is a BP.

The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The store’s email is mantenoquiznos@yahoo.com.

(Thanks to a reader named Mike for that tip.)

The Freight House Pub opened last month at 555 S. West Ave. in Kankakee. Located in the restored Sully’s building, it is the more casual sibling of Kankakee River North, which opened in June. Kankakee River North is located on the main floor of the building and the sports pub is upstairs. Both share the same kitchen and chef.

The Freight House is open daily for lunch and dinner. The menu features appetizers, sandwiches, burgers and desserts. I recommend The Freight House Train Wreck, which is a half-pound burger topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and American cheese and sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches. It sounds like something out of the TV show Man V. Food, and I admit that I ordered it primarily out of curiosity, but it was very good. I’m a fan of both burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches, so it’s not a huge surprise that I liked it, but I was expecting something so mammoth that it would be difficult to eat or even enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived nicely quartered and I could easily get burger, toppings and grilled cheese in each bite. The portion was huge, of course, but it would be an easy meal to share.

The restaurant also has a kids menu. For the adults, there are 34 varieties of bottled beer to choose from.

As you would expect from a sports pub, there are several TVs, all tuned to sports programming. Patrons can also play pool or bags, and there is often live music on the weekends. Daily specials include 35¢ wings every Sunday.

The Freight House is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Food is served from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The phone is 815-939-1210.

For more information, follow The Freight House Pub on Facebook.

Poor Boy Too will open Monday at 1515 W. Court St. in Kankakee.

The menu will feature many of the same items as the original location on East Court Street, plus wraps and deli sandwiches, such as ham, turkey and corned beef. There will also be a kids menu, with the option of apple slices instead of French fries. For dessert, there will be cookies and rice pudding, in addition to apple pie bosco sticks.

Poor Boy Too will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. There is a drive-through window, and delivery is also available. If you would like to call in your order for pickup, call 815-939-1850.

Poor Boy is a family-owned business. The East Court Street location opened in 1985.

Elijah’s Fountain in Kankakee is now open at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday. They close at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Elijah’s is at 249 S. Schuyler Ave., inside Love Christian Center. In addition to a variety of coffee drinks, they also serve fruit smoothies and have a rotating selection of pastries and sweets from Nana’s Cakery.