JOLIET — When it came time for one of Joliet’s most highly anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremonies of the year, Joliet Chamber of Commerce officials, City Manager Beth Beatty, City Councilwoman Jan Quillman and Mayor Terry D’Arcy gathered in a circle around Michael Cemeno, one of the co-owners of Cemeno’s Pizza.
Joliet Patch’s editor produced an exclusive Facebook Live video of Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. By 11 p.m., nearly 30,000 people had already watched the video, which is almost 12 minutes long. You can see it at the bottom of this story.
“I sat down with my sisters months ago when the Park District came to us and said, ‘What do you think about a place at the park? It’s open,'” Michael Cemeno told everyone. “My sisters looked at me and I looked at them and said, I don’t know, we’re getting up in years, right? We’re not in our thirties any longer or our twenties, right? But our family members are.
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“This is for our kids and for our grandkids. So, we’re super excited about it. Mark had a little talk with one of the nephews just the other day, and he said, ‘Do you think we’re opening this place for money?’ Mark said, ‘We’re opening this to make an impact in our community, to impact young people.’
“Thank you, Lord,” Michael Cemeno continued. “We employ, it’s over one hundred people, because you guys come and visit and pick up pizzas and dine-in at our place. Thank you for that support. You’re helping us impact young people.
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“I don’t want to attend any more funerals for people in their twenties or thirties any longer, and all of us know that … just happened the other day. So with that being said, we’re doing this for that reason, that purpose, to impact young people, to bring them to faith in God, faith in Jesus and make a difference in our world.”
Eventually, Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy came forward and offered a few remarks of his own at Wednesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Cemeno’s Pizza At The Park.
This marks Cemeno’s first week of business at the Joliet Park District’s Inwood Recreation Center, 3000 West Jefferson St., replacing The Dock at Inwood, which left at the end of the year and relocated back to owner Rick Trafton’s hometown of Mokena.
“So I’m just old enough to have been in every one of the Cemeno’s restaurants,” D’Arcy opened his remarks to a round of hearty laughs. “But the funny thing is, all the Cemenos start in the car business, and then they go back to the pizza business. What’s wrong with the car business?
“You know, I always say that Joliet’s the smallest big town in America,” D’Arcy continued. “But you feel the love here. This is what the city’s all about. We come together at times like this, good times and bad times, and we love each other and this is a perfect example of how this city runs, and I’m so proud of the Cemenos for 48 years of partnership with this community and all the wonderful things they do for the community, that’s what makes Joliet, Joliet, so thank you very much, and we appreciate everybody coming out today.”
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