Looks like the rehabbing of the Jewel is finally complete. We like the bigger produce section, the new awnings and the stone pillars. Perhaps Jewel is prepping to compete with Target?
While it's apparently still true that "Only a rooster can get a better piece of chicken" -- we were amazed to see last week that the windows at Jake's are otherwise clear of graphics for the first time in memory (and we've got a long memory!) It seems, just, well, wrong, to be able to see what's going on inside.
I think this is a great trend. Starting from resident's (including me) contacting Dearborn Grocery across the street earlier in the year addressing their fence, and the popular squatters.
ReplyDeleteFunny how good things can happen up here despite the stagnant local government.
Progress!
ReplyDeleteFunny, I would have thought that the "chicken" cartoon would have been the first to be removed from Jake's window - so un-PC dontchaknow. I hope some more contemporary cartoons will be displayed shortly. Maybe they're getting ready to have all those holiday window paintings that enhance so many other local restaurants.
ReplyDeleteThe graphics at Jake's will be back:
ReplyDeletehttp://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/2009/11/jakes-mural-is-not-gone-forever/
Too bad, I actually went in there after almost seven years on the corner. I was the cleaned up look that compelled me to go in. Got a breakfast sanwich with extremly stale bread. You cant polish s turd I guess
ReplyDeleteOne other thing going on this corner and others around Graceland. New Iron Fence atop the brick walls. It no longer looks like East Germany during WWII. Shiller please stop all these improvements. It is giving people a false sense of pride of our neighborhood. You only have a few more years to keep it down anyway. Bye bye
ReplyDeleteWishinevercamehere,
ReplyDeleteI suggest a nice cotton cloth and some Turtle Wax for your head.
Let me know how that shines up.
Happy Holidays.
On a similar note, down the street...I spoke with Ajay a Kahawa House congratulating him on finally getting a big banner so people actually know that gem is there. He said he's seen a boost in business since and an awning is on its way.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to make that whole Montrose area one people want to walk down and take pride in.
Now to fill the other empty businesses next door
I can't believe they're bringing back the murals. It actually looks like a nice corner restaurant now.
ReplyDeleteInteresting aside, that on channel 11 tonight, one of Geoffrey Bauer's tours touched upon Uptown's treasures....always with the caveat that "while it's seen better days/run down today" etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that unlike a lot of 'revitalized' areas, Uptown seems lost and fading/crumbling fast. (The Uptown Broadway Building is a happy exception).
I disagree, Wish. I HATE the new fences above the Graceland walls! They are aesthetically unappealing and make the cemeteries look even more "fortress-like." What was the reason for this - too many drunken Cubs fans, etc., jumping the walls in the wee small hours?
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of valuable stuff inside Graceland... metal vault doors, ornate stones, even some monuments listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Attempted theft from Graceland goes way back, some of it having to do with organized crime and some with "theft by request." I'm sure the higher fences are in response to that. What many people don't realize is that, at some points, the land inside Graceland is ten feet higher than the sidewalks outside it, so taller fences will make it more difficult to scale the walls from the inside.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of valuable stuff inside Graceland... metal vault doors, ornate stones, even some monuments listed on the National Register of Historic Places
ReplyDeleteDon't forget all of those registered voters
;)
I quite like that Jewel, they carry Hummus.
ReplyDeleteThat mural is so cool, it would have been a damn shame if it were gone for good. I'm going to make it a point to eat there as soon as it returns.
ReplyDelete