Olive Garden sets opening for ‘Joliet-Plainfield’ location

The long-awaited Olive Garden Restaurant in Joliet plans to open April 10.

The restaurant has set 11 a.m. on that date as its opening on its voicemail and on a sign outside the entrance to the building still undergoing interior work.

The company in its voicemail refers to the location as its “Joliet-Plainfield” restaurant.

The location is on the edge of Joliet and on the border of Plainfield.

it is in The Boulevard, a new, 171-acre development that is partly in Joliet but mostly in Plainfield.

The only other business in The Boulevard so far is a Costco store, which opened in late 2020. Costco is in the Plainfield section of the development.

The Boulevard is located along Route 30 west of Interstate 55.

The Joliet portion includes land closest to Route 30.

Joliet officials have welcomed the arrival of Olive Garden, which was regularly listed in past surveys as a business that residents wanted to see come to the city. The location is on the outskirts of the city’s main retail and restaurant district, which includes the Louis Joliet Mall and is on the east side of I-55 along Route 30.

Joliet and Plainfield worked out an intergovernmental agreement to provide for development of The Boulevard.

Plans include more stores and restaurants as well as apartments and a possible hotel. The plan includes more than 50 acres of open space along the Lily Cache and Mink creeks that run through the site..