Sunday, May 5, 2013

Accustomed To Their Face

We're always happy to welcome new businesses to Uptown, but we also want to acknowledge those that have been serving Uptowners for years.  A salute to just a few of the locally owned shops that have stuck it out through thick and thin.  Who have we missed?  We're thinking of places that have been here for more than 30 years.

Shake Rattle & Read (4810 N Broadway) just got a new sign to pay homage to its origins as
The Book Box, begun by the sister of current owner Ric Addy 47 years ago.

Unbelievably, Felix Keys is approaching the century mark. 
Helping Uptowners get into their homes since 1916.  (4637 N Clark)

FoodTown (Hazel & Montrose) has recently had a makeover, even outdoor seating.

We don't know how long the Pancake House has been serving up breakfast next to the Riv,
but the decor screams "Mad Men"-era to us.

Opened in 1907, the Green Mill was once large enough to encompass the entire area now
occupied by the Uptown Theater.  It had fallen into squalor until current owner Dave Jemilo
took it over in 1986 and revived it into the home of Sabertooth Saturdays and the Poetry Slam.

Jake's Chicken, at Montrose and Broadway, since 1959.  As the legend goes,
"Only a rooster can get a better piece of chicken."  It says so right in the window.

Carol's Pub, at Leland & Clark, opened in 1972 to serve Uptown's then-robust Appalachian
population.  Dave Hoekstra just won a Lisagor Award for his story about Carol's, Carol herself,
and Uptown over the past 40 years.  Photo courtesy of Matt Shobe on Flickr.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this, Uptown Updater!

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  2. Don't forget Uptown Ace Hardware! They've been there 60 years.

    So important to remember and patronize locally-owned businesses because they generate much greater economic benefit in the community than chains do, both for each dollar spent & per square foot occupied. Ace is a co-op, another great retail model for any community.

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  3. Felix keys is a wonderful old school business. He goes out of his way for customers. On the other hand, Carols Pub seems to attract some of Uptowns problems at times.

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  4. How about Big Chicks and Hoa Nam Grocery? I feel they've been around for quite awhile.

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