Grand Crossing
Eating Right
When I meet Arel Brown, he is in his hairnet and apron, sporting the neon green T-shirt that is the uniform of Eternity Juice Bar & Deli. He is in the middle of preparing food, and shows me the pieces of raw kale stuck to his hand when I reach out to shake it.... »
5 Loaves Eatery
A brown banner behind a window is the only sign Five Loaves needs. Inside, calming yellow and green walls are the perfect backdrop to a collection of splashy African art that hangs about the room. »
High-Octane Sound
Johnny Drummer wants to know if Lady Cadillac is in the building. A woman at the back of the joint in white go-go boots, ostensibly not Lady Cadillac, calls out to the septuagenarian bluesman, letting him know that he is “S.O.L. tonight,” and proceeds to raise her highball. She’s either flagging down a hostess... »
Act II
While the group’s mission has not waivered since it was founded in 1971, eta’s leadership is currently going through a major transition. The foundation’s long-time president and co-founder, Abena Joan Brown, stepped down this past March, on the 40th anniversary of the opening of the theater. She passed the reins to Philip Thomas, a... »
Greater Grand Crossing
In 1853, two trains riding along rival lines collided at what is now the intersection of 75th and South Chicago Avenue. To prevent future crashes, the government mandated all trains to stop at the crossing, bringing in hundreds of visitors daily. Since that time, nearly half the area’s population has slowly bled away. Nonetheless,... »
Food is love
The late lunch crowd at the Quench restaurant on 79th between Martin Luther King Drive and Cottage Grove Avenue silently munched away on turkey burgers and fries last Friday afternoon, their seriousness belying the vibrant burnt orange and yellow interior of the building. Outside, equally somber faces trudged by buildings with “for lease” signs... »
Going Once, Going Twice
With the words “Saturday Night at the Auction” proudly displayed on a massive banner across its otherwise unassuming façade, the building off the corner of 75th and Cottage Grove emanated stale light onto the sidewalk as expectant patrons filed into its doors. Last Saturday night the building was brimming with anxious bidders, each perusing... »
Best of the South Side 2010
Literally the crossing of two major railroad lines—the Illinois Central Railroad and the Lake Shore & Michigan Railroad—this historic community area has seen better days. In the second half of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, the rails ruled the city (and the nation) and Grand Crossing was king of the South... »
