Thud! Rumble rumble boom, clatter. Woot!
The doors of the New Park Manor Lanes open, and it all comes flooding back–bowling balls rolling, pins clattering, bowlers whooping–memories of many a childhood afternoon that little Kevin spent watching Mom.
We’re on East 75th Street, a 31/2-mile strip (from State Street to South Shore Boulevard) that is all about movement. From the constant flow of traffic to a dizzying amalgam of businesses–foot therapy, soul vegetarian food, bars, fishing bait–and almost seismic demographic shifts, 75th is hopping. You get famous eateries, child-care centers, funeral homes and storefront churches inthis self-contained zone that would never require one to leave.
Yet this hurly-burly 75th Street is also a wayback machine for this reporter, the scene of many a rite of passage–first crush, first drink, first serious girlfriend. 75th Street is also remarkably unchanged after two decades, with signs advertising the same businesses, like John’s Hardware and Bicycle shop. Dorchester Animal Hospital, the place we used to take Brutus, the Williams family dog–quite the biter–is still there, as is the Washing Well Laundromat. And yet there are differences, almost like an old friend who got a nose job–it’s him, but just a little different.
Getting there is easy: Take the Dan Ryan Expressway, exit at 75th Street, head east at the top of the ramp, and there you are.
We found it pretty funny that the Femonique Beauty Salon (65 and 67 E. 75th St.) was right across from Kim’s General Fashion, allowing the intrepid lass to cross the street to buy some hair (yes, hair) at Kim’s General Fashion, then show it off at the 50 Yard Line Sports Bar & Grill, 69 E. 75th St.
And speaking of the 50 Yard Line, uh, wow. You can step, you can drink, you can hang but most importantly, people take the post-9 p.m. “dress attire required” quite seriously. The men especially hurtle right past dressing to the nines. They’re in their 20s somewhere. This place is very cool, often very crowded as befits its storied South Side status. Did we mention that you also get to watch those fine clothes get sweaty, as the deejays can inspire the dead to shimmy?
Walk a bit further, and the appearance of the New Park Manor Lanes (100 E. 75th St.) is surprising, this bowling alley that was almost a second Williams family home. My parents were in a league there–when it was simply Park Manor Bowl–for some two decades, an affiliation that survived neighborhood shifts, a divorce and kids growing up. This familiar, low-ceilinged room transformed Kevin M. Williams to Lil’ Chico (my father’s nickname), nibbling popcorn while Mom’s team finished its match. Completing this eerie flashback is a woman who from behind even looks like my mother.
Park Manor, a noisy 60-year-old, has undergone some rehabbing. The red patterned carpeting held in place by duct tape has been replaced by purplish stuff. The big score sheets and orange No. 2 pencils are now computerized scoring machines. Open bowling is most available Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for $1.50-$2.25 per game, a bargain when you consider the fun factor.
Park Manor has been “new” for about a decade, but it’s still the same old joint. “I hate these pins,” a woman exclaimed. Some things never change.
A relative newcomer is the Soul Vegetarian Restaurant East (203 E. 75th St.), a place founded in August 1982 by Prince Asiel Ben Israel (though royalty, no relation to the B&B Pizza King, just up the road at 122 E. 75th St.). And on a Tuesday night, the place is packed. Every table is filled, and a line of patient but hungry folks snakes from the counter to the door.
This tidy little hamlet is ceiling fans and tile floors, friendly staff and hyperactive bustle. This self-billed “miracle on 75th Street” offers health-conscious, vegetarian eats that might be but aren’t necessarily “soul” food. Speaking as one who ate himself immobile, this place is also excellent, with offerings like the Prince Elkannonn (Garvey) veggie burger, stir fries of various kinds, greens and cornbread, tofu specialties (including BBQ) and the like.
Detoxification juices and smoothies in various flavors vie for your attention, but be warned–portions are large. Order too much and you, like me, will be left waddling along.
75th Street boasts many spots with “new” in the title, a hopeful modifier that, like that first dollar earned that so many businesses frame, points to better things. New Park Manor, New Hong Kong, New Apartment Lounge, New China Chef, New Laundry World–things that are indeed new to someone technically, but are in fact neighborhood stalwarts. But it’s about the optimism. Call it new. Why not?
The most famous “newbie” on 75th Street is the New Apartment Lounge, a genteel hole in the wall that on Tuesday nights, from about 10 p.m. into the wee hours, becomes home of Chicago’s tenor colossus, Von Freeman. This neighborhood hangout at 504 E. 75th St., where you can have your drinks at an actual Ms. Pac Man game, became the place to be when 23 years ago, Vonski agreed to be an entertainment stand-in one Tuesday night.
“Just goes to show,” chuckles Freeman, “you never know what’s going to happen.”
Affability is the watchword for this veritable United Nations with mirrors on the walls and sagging ceiling tiles–on this night, you could hear English, Spanish, Italian and what sounded like Creole–where the folks gather for jazz. There’s no cover charge, and the bartender pops microwave popcorn to pass around.
There’s no cover, and the vibe is loose. Arrive early for a good spot and while waiting, you can watch people stumble (five victims in 10 minutes) over that hump in the New Apartment’s carpet runner, or marvel at the unifying qualities of jazz. The Cubs are on one TV, “Cosby Show” on the other. Black talks to white, giggles to Hispanic–everybody can get along just fine, if they come to the New Apartment Lounge.
Storefront churches, sometimes next door to each other, abound on East 75th–we stop counting at 15–and the names rock. There’s the Macedonian Tabernacle, Cathedral of Love, New Sanctuary and this reporter’s favorite, Holy Strangers Home. T-Shirt Heaven at 425 E. 75th isn’t a church, but proof that heaven is offered here on Earth.
Storefront churches are as much a staple of inner-city black neighborhoods as are the food and liquor stores that dot the strip, in states from tidy to dusty. In the “house of miscellany” category there’s the Thrifty Thrifty Store at 314 E. 75th St., and a quartet of learning centers for bairns from 6 weeks to 6 years, with names such as All About Kids, or Thomas’ Tiny Tots.
There’s the Major Charles L. Hunt V.F.W. Post 2024, soul food from the likes of D&V’s at 808 E. 75th St., or the Black Wok, which claims “the ultimate food experience.” We just like the name.
At 75th Street and King Drive is a bar/lounge that used to be The Other Place, but can’t seem to make up its mind now. One sign says that it’s The Her Place, while on the other side it’s simply The Place. Bars on 75th Street such as the Presidents Lounge (653 E. 75th St.) are truly local joints, where “everybody knows your name” like the fictional Cheers, as long as your name is “man,” or “baby.” “Hey, baby, what can I get you,” ask the frequently older, female bartenders of these establishments.
South Chicago Avenue (1200 East) is the dividing line of 75th Street, where kempt tidiness yields to a more weathered, sometimes just plain run-down look. But bits of rehabbing going on, particularly around Jeffery Blvd. (2000 East), coupled with successful businesses that have never had occasion to move create bits of sparkle within the grime and grit.
There are dueling funeral homes, Carter and the unfortunately named Slaughter. East End is a favorite street name because although it is east, it isn’t the end of anything at all.
Lurking at 2322 1/2 E. 75th St. (not quite big enough for a whole) is Jim’s Live Bait, where as a teenager, we’d get fishing stuff and try our hands at snaring elusive Bluegills in the Jackson Park Lagoon. It still opens at 5 a.m., though inside, it’s quite a bit cleaner these days.
Cruising 75th Street and considering a parking spot, we notice some teenaged lads milling about.
Having grown up in that neighborhood but now residing in the sylvan groves of Highland Park, we’ll admit to a bit of apprehension–until realizing that teenaged Kevin used to be one of those lads, hanging out, chatting and laughing.
And there’s the thing about 75th Street. It isn’t what you expect but at the same time, it’s exactly what you see–cool, odd, welcoming, eclectic, well-tended, at times skanky. Kind of like life itself.
Make your own tour of 75th Street
50 Yard Line Sports Bar & Grill, 69 E. 75th St., 773-846-0005–This place is very cool, very crowded. And its patrons take the “dress attire required” rule very seriously.
New Park Manor Lanes, 100 E. 75th St., 773-651-2895–Sure, there’s nostalgia here, but bowling is cheap and cool.
B&B Pizza King, 122 E. 75th St., 773-846-5464–We just love the name and its sign.
Soul Vegetarian Restaurant East, 201 E. 75th St., 773-224-0104–You will eat yourself immobile, but it’s soooo good.
Kah-Ni-Yah foot maintenance service (hey, we wouldn’t make this up), 209 E. 75th St. 773-723-6596–We personally admire those who dedicate themselves to their tootsies.
Lem’s Bar B-Q, 309 E. 75th St., 773-994-2428–Childhood memories of soggy white bread and spicy sauce can be yours, too (on vacation until the end of September).
Frances’ Cocktail Lounge & Grill, 307 E. 75th St.–Typical neighborhood flavor, complete with those little bags of chips.
Black Wok, 405 E. 75th St.–Ultimate food experience or not, this place makes our all-name team.
Army and Lou’s Restaurant, 422 E. 75th St., 773-483-3100–It’s soul food–come on, you know you want it.
New Apartment Lounge, 504 E. 75th St., 773-483-7728–It’s cool on Tuesdays, it’s cool but very local on weekends.
Flowers First by Erskine, 511 E. 75th St., 773-783-5300–You have to see this place.
Slaughter & Sons Funeral Directors, 2024 E. 75th St., 773-643-5355–A neighborhood legend.
Jim’s Bait Shop, 2322 1/2 E. 75th St., 773-978-6596–A more tightly focused business you’ll never see. If fish want it, Jim’s has it.
— Kevin M. Williams
