JOLIET, IL — During the last week of November 2018, I wrote about the grand opening of Joliet's first Beef Shack sandwich shop at 1606 West Jefferson St., and then like a ghost, I disappeared. Oh, I drove past the new Beef Shack literally hundreds of times these past two years, I just never stopped.

When Beef Shack opened as a new Joliet restaurant, I was not sure whether it would sink or swim. So many restaurants often fail for a myriad of reasons.

But over the past several months, I noticed a number of people commenting on social media about their experience at Beef Shack. They had lots of positive things to say. I started paying more attention to the Beef Shack as I drove east on Jefferson Street. I started to notice more and more vehicles in the drive-thru lane, a positive sign of business.

Find out what's happening in Jolietwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

So Thursday afternoon I went through the drive-thru myself. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Beef Shack is an ideal fast-food restaurant poised to succeed. Not only does it have a drive-thru window, it has an efficient drive-thru window.

After I ordered at 12:41 p.m., I pulled a few feet ahead and saw a maroon van and a black pickup truck both ahead of me. Both got their orders and were gone in no time. From the time I placed my order to the time I picked up my meal, it was no more than a couple of minutes.

Find out what's happening in Jolietwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I ordered Beef Shack's full cheesy beef on garlic. You can get it with or without peppers. As you can see from my photo at the top of this article, the size of the sandwich is reasonably priced at $7.75 without tax. With tax, my order cost me $8.43.

So, how well does the cheesy beef sandwich on garlic travel in the car? I put it to the test.

I headed east on West Jefferson Street and took Hickory Street to get to downtown Joliet.

Once I parked near the Joliet museum, I walked with my Beef Shack bag to North Chicago Street. I found a place to sit outside since it was nearly 60 degrees.

My beef sandwich was quite juicy, and the sandwich bread was nice and fresh. My food still tasted great even after my 15-minute drive and walk.

Beef Shack doesn't mess around with having 500 different things on its menu. This place does one thing exceptionally well: beef.

I do have one very minor complaint. There were no napkins placed inside my bag, so I had to use my sandwich wrappers as the alternative. If anybody at the Joliet Beef Shack is reading this, I would highly encourage you to put a couple of napkins in everyone's bag. Hopefully, you're already doing this and my napkins were an oversight.

That being said, I still highly recommend the Beef Shack if you haven't gone here before.

The drive-thru window seems highly efficient, and the cheesy beef sandwiches aren't overpriced.

People often complain, and I'm one of them, that Joliet's West Jefferson Street could use a facelift in many areas.

Well, the Beef Shack is one of those recent success stories. It replaced an empty and ugly Shrimp House building. It's now an asset for West Jefferson Street, and that should be celebrated.

The West Jefferson Street Beef Shack shows 390 Google Reviews, averaging a 4.1 ranking out of 5 stars.

To check out the full menu, visit the Beef Shack website here.

The Beef Shack drive-thru is well poised for success during the pandemic. Image via John Ferak/Patch
The Beef Shack drive-thru is well poised for success during the pandemic. Image via John Ferak/Patch
Before Beef Shack opened on Jefferson Street, this is how the property looked three years ago. Image via John Ferak/Joliet Patch
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

The rules of replying:

  • Be respectful. This is a space for friendly local discussions. No racist, discriminatory, vulgar or threatening language will be tolerated.
  • Be transparent. Use your real name, and back up your claims.
  • Keep it local and relevant. Make sure your replies stay on topic.
  • Review the Patch Community Guidelines.