Istria on 57th Likely To Close Soon

posted by chicago pop

Multiple sources have informed us of somewhat shocking news: Istria on 57th may close very soon, perhaps as early as December 20th.

Many people have said that this one cafe made life much more tolerable in retail/social gathering spot/bohemian culture--deprived Hyde park.

If this keeps up, it's going to be harder for realtors (or realtor, singular, meaning MetroPro) to make the pitch that, when it comes to Hyde Park, it's either "the golden rectangle" or the wilderness. With the rare exception of the new Z&H location, what little action there is in the area is either well to the north -- Istria's second, Cornell location at the Hyde Park Art Center is doing very well -- or south, where Robust Coffee Lounge is taking on Woodlawn. With Florian already gone, an empty space under the Metra tracks at 57th and Lake Park Avenue will make two conspicuous holes in one prominent block in the heart of Hyde Park.

[Source: Eric Allix Rogers' Flickr photostream -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/reallyboring/5235226193/]

We'd love to know what went wrong. Streams of people pour out of the Metra station at regular intervals all day long, walking right past Istria's front doors. Neighborhood folks go out of their way to grab a seat. Was it poor management? Bad luck? Or simply not enough traffic?

Perhaps locals may find consolation in the fact that Morsbach's Medici Bakery, ever the trend-setter, is now offering cupcakes.

********

Postscript from Istria received in response to this post:

With respect to closing our original Istria Cafe on 57th Street, several factors let to this difficult decision. Chief among them include a multitude of inflationary pressures and operational constraints. In order to be a going concern, we need to make adjustments to our menu offerings and business model - changes that we plan to roll out over the next several weeks at our other location on 5030 South Cornell in the Hyde Park Art Center. Unfortunately, the economic model and real estate associated with our original 57th Street location are not compatible at this time. We are saddened that we need to close the doors of our original store, but remain optimistic that the improvements that we have planned will be well received by our customers. We have served many wonderful loyal patrons at 57th Street over the past five and half years and hope to continue to serve them going forward.
Best,
Marc Pribaz
Istria Cafe

Local Sex Shop has Vibe Sale

posted by chicago pop

Vibe Sale at Drawers Intimates
1450 E. 52nd Street

Every neighborhood needs a decent sex shop, and perhaps none more so than rather top-heavy Hyde Park. Well, we have one, and they're glad to be here ("located in historic Hyde Park"), but not only that, they're having a major Vibe Sale.

Drawers Intimates was closed the bright winter morning I happened past their storefront signage, but this did not keep me from speculating, in true University of Chicago style, upon what might be the ideal-typical, theory-laden inventory of Vibes best suited to the Hyde Park market -- Vibes, that is, sold by an independent, small business, and custom-tailored to the unique clientele of our diverse and sophisticated neighborhood.

Number one on this inventory would be the black, vinyl-coated, and cordless Wrecking Ball, with two adjustable settings: one for "Harper Court" (Low) and another for "Doctors Hospital" (High). The Wrecking Ball would be perfect for aging NIMBY matriarchs who, though outwardly demure when pedaling their bicycles down 56th Street in long skirts and owlish glasses, fantasize (in stolen, private moments) of wanton acts of architectural demolition.

For the high-powered academic set -- and in particular for the misfit Men and Boys of the Committee on Social Thought -- we envision the pink, jelly-filled, and life-sized Platonic Boy, designed to provide years of durable consolation to terminal Masters students facing the bleak prospect of guaranteed academic unemployment, supervisory neglect, and endless revisions of their reactionary theses on Al Farabi. The Platonic Boy comes with detachable laurel wreath, an inflatable Greek vase (with insulated beer cup) cast in the 6th century Attic Style, and is equipped to utter Heroclitian aphorisms when embraced.

Likely to be the most popular item for the grass-roots and horticultural market segment would be the battery-powered (two lithium D cell rechargeable) Jack's Beanstalk. The Beanstalk, in the form of an organic -- and sizable -- community-grown, latex zucchini, would come with a set of three rotating "Promontory Point" attachments, a camel hair "vegetable brush," and a simulated "limestone block" extender. Unlike Platonic Boy, or the Wrecking Ball, Jack's Beanstalk can be left in plain sight on a kitchen countertop -- leaving the owner free from fear of the disapprobatory glances of children, friends and neighbors -- but also readily available for use in one of the many impromptu (and some might say "notorious") Hyde Park "vegetable parties."

Called away moments later by the obligations of the day, here ended my reflections upon this simple set of three ideal-typical Hyde Park Vibes. I hope they provide free inspiration and commercial success to another of our proud, local retailers committed to serving all of Hyde Park's needs. Feel free to suggest your own (or to contact me for questions of industrial design and patenting).

South Side Special: The Obama Security Door

posted by chicago pop

From an ad in this week's Herald (September 2, 2009). Via a reader via, of all places, the Wall Street Journal ("Best of the Web," September 3, 2009).

ObamaDoor
OK, OK, so you already have health insurance. But how safe is your home? "The need for security hits home now more than ever," Family Security Door & Window Inc. informs us in an ad that appears in Chicago's Hyde Park Herald. "This prestigious security door will keep your home safe while honoring our 44th President!"

The door features a likeness of the president above the word OBAMA and then, in bigger letters, HO and PE. "Call to Order Your President Obama Security Door Today!"

For our part, we're just going to put up a "Beware of Death Panel" sign. That ought to be enough to scare off any intruder.

Get yours now.

Anyone Want to Run Orly's? It's For Sale (on craigslist)

posted by chicago pop

Anyone want to put poor Orly's out of its misery? The owner is willing to pay you to do so.

A reader sent us this notice from -- interestingly -- craigslist: where you really can find everything.

Get the word out to all your friends and Iron Chef America fanatics that the kitchen can be theirs to dream with. The location has potential: Zig & Lou's is smaller, as is the Medici Bakery. Someone should be able to work some magic at a strategic and bustling Hyde Park intersection -- so we're re-running the ad!

CHICAGO RESTAURANT OPPORTUNITY (Hyde Park )

---

Date: 2009-08-22, 4:01PM CDT
Reply to: job-d2udy-1336996431@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

Unique opportunity for youthful yet experienced chef-restaurateur in densely populated Hyde Park.

Owner of 30 years in newly renovated central location wants to phase out and just focus on catering...the restaurant operation will be your ship to steer.
New operator will have complete autonomy to run kitchen & restaurant and keep 90% of profit...plus option to buy owner out at end of lease.

Must be capable of injecting his own 75K for working capital. Otherwise, a 700K 90 seat restaurant & bar is essentially free.

A fresh, new, ambitious face can take Hyde Park and the South Side by storm!

** Call David @ 773 330-0440 * Email your interest to: Beitalpha@aol.com **

A Good Sign

posted by chicago pop

An improvement we noticed on East 55th Street. Thought we should call it out: thanks Snail Thai Cuisine!

The Landlords of Hyde Park: How to Go Ghetto at 55th and HP Boulevard

posted by chicago pop

I'm very fond of the intersection of Hyde Park Boulevard and 55th Street. It's got good bones. Take away the bus stops and contemporary signage, and a location scout might be able to convince a Hollywood producer that the panorama was vintage Chicago, ca. 1925. Looking down HPB to the south, the lawn and majestic facade of the Museum of Science and Industry; to the east, Promontory Point; to the north, the wide, tree-shaded boulevard.

It's too bad, then, that the landlord of one prominent building at this intersection has decided to go ghetto with their property, and grace it with this classy little establishment:

Extra Cheeseball Points for Big Vinyl Banner at
You Roll-em Smoke Shop
(they sell phone cards, too)

You may know the building I'm talking about. It's the handsome structure on the SE corner of Hyde Park Boulevard and 55th that has been a dynamic incubator of Hyde Park small retail, or at least an incubator of awesome cosmetology signage:

Lotsa Plastic Earns Respectable Cheeseball Points

...or,

Ooops! Mr. & Mrs. Hair Weave Don't Live Here Anymore...
All Cheesball Points Forfeited

The latest addition, the smoke shop at 5503 1/2 S. Hyde Park Boulevard, is not to be outdone in in the aesthetics of cheesy signage, which happens to spill over into public space:

Urban Loveliness of "Tobacco for Less" at the 5500 building of S. Hyde Park Boulevard

This is simply an atrocity.

Especially when you know something about the backstory of the little walk-down space at 5503 1/2: the ceiling collapsed on the former tenant, a high-end bike shop, raining mold and asbestos throughout the space. The tenant relocated elsewhere in Hyde Park, and 5503 1/2 sat empty for over a year. It's not clear what repairs were made and whether the environmental hazard was addressed. What is clear is that the former tenant, Tati Bike Shop, was the kind of unique, boutique retail operation that everyone in Hyde Park says they want.

What replaced it is not.

We happen to know that the owner of this building is also the proud landlord of a similarly maintained property at the SW corner of 53rd and Harper Avenue (west of Pizza Capri, and directly south of the old Herald Building), where you can also get bongs, smokes, phone cards, maybe a few extra cardboard cut-out Wild Turkey signs, and knock-off perfume laced with pheremones that will "drive him wild."

So we've decided to give this landlord our quarterly HPP's Favorite Landlord Award. Contestant must score high points in each of the following categories:

1) Plentiful, Cheesy Retail Signage
2) Overall Ghetto Flavor and Wide Selection of Cheeseball Products
3) Locating as Many Hair and Nail Salons on One Strip as Possible
4) Giving a Lease to the Guys who Run That Other Bongs-Smokes-and-Pheremones Place on 53rd St.

This quarter, the award goes to the landlord of 5500 S. Hyde Park Boulevard, hands down. Congratulations! Hyde Park welcomes you!

Parker's Pets

posted by chicago pop

Our roving reviewer recently dropped into the new pet boutique in Hyde Park, Parker's Pets. From an admittedly dog-centric perspective, we both agree that Parker's Pets is a needed amenity, and helps prevent the somewhat isolated retail island on 55th between Kenwood and South Ridgewood Court from fading into gray shabbiness. (Cat and other pet owners feel free to offer your opinions on things we have overlooked.)

Parker's Pets presents an excellent selection of premium foods, toys, and clothing, with its food selection singled out by our reviewer as the best in Chicago. Less strong are the merchandising and service, which may strike visitors as drab and indifferent, respectively. Prices are in line with competitors, though not with Internet options. For some shoppers, the prices may be compensated for by a neighborhood delivery service, in addition to the simple convenience of a centrally located pet store in Hyde Park.

Parker's Pets shines in its selection of pet foods that you can't get at the supermarket, such as Merrick, Solid Gold, Wellness, Fromm's, and others. They offer a substantial selection of fresh-baked treats for dogs, something hard to find outside of specialty pet bakeries. Frozen raw meals are also available. Equally strong is the selection of clothing, clever toys, and useful gear. Our reviewer made a point to note that Parker's Pets keeps Lupine brand leashes in stock, the sturdiest and best guaranteed leash in the business.

In terms of merchandising, the layout and displays are utilitarian, and do not convey the same sense of boutique artistry evident on entering Zaleski and Horvath MarketCafe, or the spare but elegant arrangement of bicycle paraphernalia at Tati's custom frame shop. While the service is not objectionable, we hope that with time the energy and passion behind the Parker's Pets venture comes through more.

All in all, though there's certainly room for improvement, Parker's Pets is a welcome and quality addition to the neighborhood.

Parker's Pets
773-496-4785
1342 E. 55th Street
Hours: Mon 12-6; Tues - Fri 11-7; Sat 10-6; Sun 12-5

FIRST AID COMICS

posted by Elizabeth Fama

Yes, Virginia, there is a comic store in Hyde Park.

This is an extremely important measure of urban progress that many of you may not be aware of.

First Aid Comics is at 53rd and Harper, hidden away on the 2nd floor (nested between Mane Objectives Salon and Hair Dare You), with only a Superman poster high in the front window to capture walk-by traffic. It opened on November 28th.

Despite its small-ish space, First Aid is crammed with comics of many types: superheroes, anime, video game characters, and Star Wars and Star Trek. My son -- a devoted Hellboy and Watchmen fan -- was happy to find comics he wanted in this genre. There are also a few graphic novels, and novelty items like drinking glasses, buttons, and action figures.

The owner, James Nurss, is a former manager at Graham Cracker Comics. When I asked him by e-mail what motivated him to open the store, he replied, "Since 1980 I have wondered where the comic shop is in Hyde Park. I love the record and used book shops -- particularly Dr. Wax's, and the maze of rooms at Powell's. A comic shop seemed long overdue, and probably a nice fit for the neighborhood." He has hopes of building enough business to move to a storefront someday.

When you see Nurss in action, he's obviously devoted to the shop. He's friendly and service-oriented. He's eager to order anything you might want that you don't already see.

Check it out.

First Aid Comics
1459 East 53rd Street (west of Harper)
2nd floor (ring buzzer)
772-75-COMIC

Hours:
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 11 AM - 7 PM
Wednesday: 11 AM - 8 PM
Sunday: 12 - 5 PM
Closed Monday

Eric's loot. (But the Susan Storm and Batman buttons are mine.)

Blogs You Should Read and Things You Should Eat

Very Sexy Italian Espresso Machine That May Soon Be Living at
Zalesky Und Horvath Market Cafe

posted by chicago pop

Now that the break in geological time known as Labor Day has passed, and the boat pond in Harold Washington Park has managed to be full of water for half the summer, though not full of boats, I'd like to direct your attention to some of the following developments in the greater Hyde Park/Southside, both in and out of the blogosphere:

Woodlawn Wonder, the dynamic and quite entertaining voice of I Hate my Developer, describes being too close for comfort to the insane spate of gunshots in mid-August, some of which were directed at CTA buses on Stony Island and 65th Street, down the street from her ranch and the future south campus U of C dormitories.

I am appropriately horrified, even from the distance of 47th Street. And the tragic gunfire continues.

Looks like you can have firearms and mayhem even without a decrepit elevated spur along 63rd Street.

You might also read her narration of our first face-to-face meeting, in which we observed her handling table service for at least two successive tables of families with kids, all with impeccable aplomb. From our conversation that evening, it sounds like things are looking up for Woodlawn Wonder. You can cheer for her when you check out her blog.

Meanwhile, another little shop appears poised to enter the local retail landscape: Open Produce, at 1635 E. 55th Street, tells me that they're in the last stages of their build-out, and hope to win their last duel with City inspectors in the next few weeks, which you can read about on their blog.

They have some remodeling pics on the blog, which like the shots J/Tati put up of his shop when his ceiling collapsed earlier this year, remind us how crappy a lot of the lead-paint death-trap retail space in Hyde Park really is. (We note that Tati's old basement shop at 55th and Cornell is still vacant. Low rent with free lead poisoning, anyone?)

Back on topic, here's what the Open Produce folks say about themselves:

Open Produce ... will provide as many fruits and vegetables (conventional, organic, local, really local) and dry goods as we can fit in our storefront. In addition to providing good food at good prices, we also want to push the envelope in terms of transparency and accountability to the community -- all of our bank statements, wholesale prices, contractor payments, employee wages, etc. will be made available for everyone to scrutinize.

"Social entrepreneurialism" it's called, and it looks like the next generation of Hyde Park innovation with some interesting bells and whistles. We'll see if it marks an improvement over what came before when it comes to the bottom line: quality goods, quality service, and reliable operation. Our fingers are crossed.

Meanwhile, of course, our favorite "Zig and Lou" has been blogging about the long-awaited arrival of the Zaleski & Horvath Market Cafe at 1126 E. 47th Street, undoubtedly named after the well-known Polish-Hungarian retail merchants who bring their business acumen, and taste in finer imported foods, here from the Old Country.

Can't wait to meet them and tell dirty jokes in Yiddish.

Read about blogger Z&L's meetings with "cheese reps," the joys of having ComEd inspectors come over, the punctuality of City inspectors, and the super hot technology that is going to make Z&H the hippest Polish-Hungarian outpost in the neighborhood. There's more to learn here about opening a small business in Chicago than I've found anywhere else.

You know we've been cheering for this one for a long time. With Z&H and Open Produce hopefully here this fall, we could be eating very well indeed. Stay tuned.

Companion to the Other Very Sexy Italian Espresso Machine Above

It's Friday and Istria/Cornell is OPEN

posted by chicago pop

Why is this day different from all other days? asks the child of his father.

Because on this day, Istria Cafe opened its branch on Cornell, the father replies.

Yay, and though they were held in bondage by Pharoah's armies of permit inspectors -- some 19 years old and unqualified, others qualified for corruption, the rest caught up in Pharoah's Mother of All Bureaucracies -- today the coffee-makers are free to brew espresso for commuters.

And for this we are thankful, and dip our biscotti in honey.

And on this day, we will only drink Red Bull, to remember the 2+ years we waited for coffee at this location. And though we hold no grudges against Pharoah, because Istria was once in bondage, we see now all the other small businesses that still are.

Woe to cheap landlords and to other harassers! May the stones of their neglected and overpriced buildings crumble upon their heads.

The Great Hyde Park Bagel Hunt (Part 2) & Thai Restaurant Debate (Part 1)

posted by chicago pop

Sesame Seed, Poppy Seed, and Everything Bagels from Orly's

The best bagels in Hyde Park come from a very strange place. Orly's Restaurant, at the corner of Lake Park and 55th. It's weird, there's no doubt about it. But this isn't a restaurant review, so I'll hold off on just why Orly's left me wondering whether I had walked into a Mexican restaurant (southwestern murals), a Wisconsin trucker bar (those tinted windows), or a strip club (those tinted windows). Or maybe some combination of all three, with a bagel rack perched prominently by the door.

But I came here to praise bagels, not to bury restaurants. And on that score, I don't differ from the reader consensus that emerged from the first installment of The Great Hyde Park Bagel Hunt, that Orly's has the best bagels -- in Hyde Park. And considering that Orly's bagels became available only as recently as 2006, this fact alone represents quite an advance. (See this very helpful review from the Maroon on just where to find the best bagels in all of Chicago.)

So Orly's get's an "A" for effort. In fact, I just enjoyed a sesame seed bagel schmeared with my wife's amazing chopped chicken liver, and am now quite content. But the fact remains that Orly's bagels are still not equal to our chosen baseline, bagels from The Bagel on Broadway. And, though we haven't had a chance to get up to Dempster this month, reader sentiment was that Orly's would have to work even harder to compete with other North Side bagel kingpins: New York Bagel and Bialy, and Kaufman's.

Let's take a look at what we have:

Egg and Sesame Seed Bagel Halves from Orly's Restaurant

Orly's bagels come close to the dynamic tension that must be maintained by any great bagel, between an outer surface that becomes nicely crunchy when toasted, and a doughy, twisty-chewy interior. On repeated tastings, however, Orly's seemed to push that dynamic too far, resulting in a very crisp shell encasing an overly- fluffy interior. As far as the seasonings, I have no complaint; it was only the dough that was a little too bread-ish.

By now it should be clear that anyone offering bagels in Hyde Park has to satisfy a discriminating audience. That's how it should be, and how we intend to keep it. Dining establishments only offer quality product where and when they know it will be appreciated, and they only maintain that quality when they face the continuing pressure of discerning customers (which is why the Thai food in Hyde Park is so poor, but that's another post...)

Orly's has definitely raised the bagel bar. Now we don't have to bend down nearly quite so far to get one. If they keep it up, hopefully we might have to reach up a little.

The Great Hyde Park Bagel Hunt

posted by chicago pop

The subject first came up in conversation with a faculty couple from the East Coast. "Where can you get a decent bagel in Hyde Park?" It's come up many times since then. It's not that bagels are unavailable; it's just that, well, they're not really bagels. I don't mind being thought of as a bagel-snob, as I'm sure there are others who would join my club. The point is, progress comes in all shapes and sizes, and in this case it comes with a hole in the middle.

So I've decided to go on a hunt for Hyde Park's best bagels. I'll start with 2 local bagels, and one bagel of reference, imported, of course, from the North Side. There will be future reviews, and this is by no means a definitive or comprehensive sampling. I'll taste bagels as I find them, and maybe readers can tip me off to some purveyors that I've missed. But for starters, here's what I've come up with.

The Bagel Standard

Sesame, Everything, and Poppy Seed bagels from The Bagel, 3107 N. Broadway

OK, these are real bagels. They look the way a bagel should look, like that girl your mom keeps inviting to dinner, the one with hair on her forearms and a broken nose, but an undeniable va va voom. They're lumpy and have a nice, random smattering of topping. They're nice and crispy-golden on the outside. But let's not limit ourselves to superficial appearances, as pleasant as they are.

Now, when you cut one open, here's what it looks like:

Cross Section of Poppyseed Bagel Above

Like good French bread (which is another post, Bonjour Bakery), there should be some small holes in the dough, which displays a varying density throughout. This contributes to the bagel's "mouth feel" of chewiness, in pleasant contrast to its crisp shell. If I cut into a bagel and it looks like a slice of Wonder Bread -- smooth and fluffy and even -- I give it to my dog.

OK, so armed with a standard of reference, let's see what we've got.

The Medici Bakery

Poppyseed, Sesame, and Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels from The Medici Bakery, 1327 E. 57th Street

These bagels are beautiful. I can't deny that. I like looking at them. The problem arises when I decide to eat one. But sticking to aesthetics, these bagels strike me as the kind that Jimmy Stewart would make with his family on Christmas Eve. No hairy forearms here. They are perfectly round, have geometrically round holes in the middle, and look at that almost perfect band of poppy seeds. It's all just so nice!

The problem is, these are bread rolls with holes in them. I think they might be good with butter and jam, but I don't eat bagels with butter and jam. I'm not quite sure how they got this way, but the dough lacks the chewiness and tastiness that lets you know you've bitten into a bagel that means business. I buy these once in a while, but they always leave me wistful for Dempster Avenue.


Third World Cafe/Costco/Einstein's Bagels

Everything and Sesame Seed Bagel from Third World Cafe, 1301 E. 53rd St.

Third World Cafe buys their bagels outside. When I asked the cashier most recently, she told me they were from Costco. I frequently buy bagels in bulk from Costco, and they are usually labeled as Einstein Brother's Bagels. So my assumption -- and it could very well be wrong -- is that these are Einstein's bagels.

I've had Einstein's around Chicago and they are good, and they are just as good when served up at Third World Cafe. They're a little on the oval side, with a nice messy smattering of topping, and when you cut into them, they look like this:

Cross Section of Poppy Seed Bagel Above

Nice and doughy with plenty of holes inside, all translating into that light-but-chewy mouth feel that I love in a bagel. So, you can't really go wrong with the bagels at Third World, but that's because you're more or less buying standardized Einstein's bagels. Not spectacular, but pretty good. They're the best I've been able to find in Hyde Park so far, but I'm not done looking.

Hans Morsbach, the New Normal Medici, and Harper Court

posted by chicago pop

Local burger magnate Hans Morsbach has strong feelings on Harper Court. We shouldn't tear it down, he says, because it would be against Hyde Park's principles and ideals.

But when the demolition is going on in someone else's town, it doesn't seem to be a problem. Witness the soon-to-open new Medici Restaurant in Normal, Illinois.

Interior of New Medici, Normal, Illinois

The rendering above portrays the interior of the newest outpost of the Hans Morsbach empire, the beer-and-burger cash cow that will soon open in the hometown of Illinois State University. The building is all-new construction partly subsidized by the Town of Normal as part of a very ambitious and radical redesign of its central business district.

Morsbach is a prime beneficiary of a tear-down and subsidized redevelopment done according to explicit New Urbanist design principles. I've had coffee across the street from the new Medici, and it looks damn good. Too bad this is the exact opposite of what some Hyde Parkers, including Morsbach, want to do with our own dilapidated, low-traffic commercial district at Harper Court.

The plan for Normal, a product of the Chicago new urbanist and sustainable design firm Farr Associates, has entailed the demolition of wide swaths of the downtown area, including numerous buildings built over the last several decades. As with Hyde Park, a new Marriott hotel is slated as an anchor for the redevelopment, along with a children's museum, and a major municipal commitment to bring about an integrated streetfront design that recalls the commercial heyday of the town in the early 20th century.

Medici site, previous building

The image above is the nondescript 1980s era building that was demolished to make room for this, the new home of the Medici, Normal.

New Medici, October 2007

As you can see, the new building was erected with a facade that refers explicitly to the remaining historical buildings in the area. To guarantee this harmony of new and old facades and a pleasant sidewalk experience for pedestrians, the Town of Normal adopted a set of design stipulations, tied to grants and low-interest loans for facade and structural redevelopment. One example of this comprehensive new urbanist approach -- which required sidewalk-fronting facades, and historical decoration -- is the very pleasant building picture above, one of several that help to restore the downtown's historical integrity, charm, and walkability.

So what does Normal have to do with Harper Court, and Harper Court to do with Normal?

Let's ask Hans Morsbach, because he has some very specific ideas about what to do with Harper Court:

I strongly believe the answer to Harper Court's trouble lies in doing a better management job rather than tearing the place down. The rationale put forward for the redevelopment scheme is not credible, no matter how many consultants were engaged to gussy it up. (April 12, 2006)

Morsbach backs up this position by arguing that retail is declining in Hyde Park -- with the curious exception of his stretch of 57th Street -- and any redevelopment at Harper Court -- including a tear down and new construction -- would be fruitless.

Can we assume, as the backers of redevelopment do that a redone Harper Court, larger and more expensive, will somehow do a better job than the current incarnation? ... I seriously doubt that the veterinarian, the restaurants and other establishments will be better served by new and presumably more expensive retail space. More importantly, I doubt that these businesses will find it easy to survive the disruption the redevelopment project imposes on them.

So let's review:

• Hans Morsbach's new restaurant in Normal, Illinois, is in a new building that takes the place of a previous retail establishment that was displaced and demolished. Numerous other long-standing businesses were also displaced, but Morsbach is obviously happy with the new, modern space: as he told the Maroon, "It's beautiful and it's huge."

• The Normal Town Council, after watching their central business district decline for three decades, decided to turn it around. To do that, "consultants were engaged to gussy it up." Morsbach isn't complaining.

• Morsbach obviously expects that "redevelopment [of downtown Normal] ... will somehow do a better job than the current incarnation," and that the redevelopment is better than "doing a better management job." Otherwise, he wouldn't have sunk his money into it. But when it comes to Harper Court, it's apparently better to stick with the status quo, despite the striking case of Toys Etcetera demonstrating that a small business can make money in Hyde Park, just not at Harper Court.

• The most delicious irony is to be found in Morsbach's comparison of Harper Court redevelopment with a "Second Coming of Urban Renewal," when his new restaurant in Normal is a beneficiary of publicly subsidized demolition of major chunks of its downtown, including portions of entire city blocks, as shown below.

Mr. Morsbach seems to care a lot about principles when it comes to renewing Harper Court. But when Urban Renewal arrives in Normal, Illinois, it's a great business opportunity. Perhaps it's time for Mr. Morsbach follow the same business principles in his own neighborhood that he follows in someone else's.

Hans Morsbach: "I am an old fart"

posted by chicago pop

In an interview with Dan Lambert of the Chicago Maroon (October 23, 2007), Hans Morsbach declares, "I am an old fart."

We're glad he's the one who said it.

Turns out, it's revealed in the interview that the Medici, fabled local business and graffiti backdrop, is about to become -- *GASP* -- a chain! (Actually, it was a chain for a while already, before it closed its location on Surf between Sheridan and Broadway a few years ago). Hyde Park's most prominent local businessman is replicating his success and perpetuating the global spread of corporate monoculture.

The Medici's new space will be a veritable beer hall for the more festive student body of Illinois State University in downstate Normal, where Morsbach hopes to propagate the elevated values that make Hyde Park distinct: "The main reason is economics. We can have liquor, and it is in a good location close to Illinois State University."

Helping undergrads get sloshed close to their dorms so they don't have to drive is truly admirable, but even better is being able to cash in on coed inebriation. "It's in a community where they appreciate me."

Everyone likes to be appreciated, especially when "the main reason is economics." Too bad that reason rarely applies in Hyde Park, at least outside of the Medici.

The interview ranges widely, and explains how the Medici became a retail outlet for various politically-branded forestry products from somewhere up north. But for the true Hyde Park political junkie, the blurb on Morsbach's involvement in the Save the Point Campaign is not to be missed. We'll quote it in full.

I am a troublemaker. I think some issues are just important to me, like Save the Point. I was very emotional about it. I was shocked that the University would side with destroying the limestone ambiance of the point; I still don't understand why they did it. I was also shocked that the city, the University, and a lot of the conservative Hyde Parkers were fighting the issue, which has tremendous popularity with many people. And I think we won the battle.

This statement is truly worthy of a Medici garbage pizza. It's a little bit of everything all messed up.

Take, for example, the idea that the "Hyde Parkers ... fighting the issue" were conservative. Now, being conservative by definition means not wanting change. So, wanting to keep the original (dangerous and decrepit) limestone, as Morsbach did, is the true conservative position. In contrast, wanting to change the revetments is not conservative. Wanting to change the revetments in accordance with modern standards of accessibility, safety, and durability, is a progressive position, and that was not Morsbach's position.

But businessmen can't be expected to be semantically fastidious, nor particularly astute analysts of local politics. Nor should we expect them to be historians, it turns out. Looking back on the outcome of the Point battle, Morsbach states "I think we won the battle." However, this comment seems to resemble a number of other rather satisfied remarks made in the interview -- "I'm proud to say my book is the bestselling one on forestry on Amazon"*(see below for fact-check) -- leading one to wonder if it's not a bit exaggerated.

And just what does it mean in Morsbach-speak to "win a battle?" It's clear that, on this Point, Hans is emotional about the issue; and that may in fact have been the problem. It's also clear that if any victories were had, they were Pyrhhic, on the order of the "strategic hamlet" strategy of pacifying the Viet Cong. To "save" the Point, we had to let it fall apart and watch funding disappear, which is how it remains. Some victory.

One garbage pizza, please!

*[On Morsbach's allegedly top-selling lumberjack tome, we'll quote one attentive reader: "As of noon today [Thurs. Oct. 25, 2007], it looks like Morsbach's "Commonsense Forestry" is actually #26 in the Forests & Forestry category for Amazon sales. Hmmm, that puts 25 other forestry books ahead of Mr. Morsbach's." (See comment section.) Feel free to check for yourself.]

Development Beat: Prospects for Retail on Cottage Grove and in Hyde Park

posted by chicago pop

That's just a tease, of course; no one expects Target on Cottage Grove within the next 6 months, 6 years, and some may say we need to wait 6 decades. After all, it took 30 years for Grand Boulevard to lose 52,000 people, about as much time as it took Hyde Park to lose a comparable number.

But there are signs of positive change. As we highlighted back in August, Alderman Preckwinkle is helping to bring an exciting mixed-use development to the corner of Cottage Grove and 47th. And an estimated 10,000 folks are expected to move into the area as it continues to attract middle-class home buyers, and as 3,600 new mixed-income units come on line by 2010 as part of the Chicago Housing Authority's "great transformation."

Some changes, in the right circumstances, can be bracing. Look at Evanston, which only a few years ago had a rather torpid downtown area with little-to-no advantage taken of its excellent and centralized transit infrastructure. It now has a booming downtown commercial district, high-rise residential clustered around METRA and "L" stations, and a combination of local and national, large and small-scale retail. All while preserving its historic, single-family neighborhoods. This took forethought, planning, and a commitment to change.

Similar transformations, though more limited, have occurred around rail hubs in Arlington Heights, and Palatine, both on METRA lines.

Hyde Park is indeed a different species, not being a distinct municipality, cut up into several different political jurisdictions, and like everyone else subject to byzantine City bureaucracy. But it does have a METRA line with multiple stations, and good bus service, and, as many readers of this blog have commented, a fair amount of pent-up demand.

So what's the deal?

A few factors are mentioned in a 2005 interview with Hank Webber, VP of Community Affairs at the U of C: prevalence of relatively small spaces discourages larger retailers, as does the suspicion that a local store would lose out to competition from the Loop, or the growing commercial strip along Roosevelt Road. From a demographic perspective, Hyde Park's high student population is viewed as more or less equivalent to an impoverished community like Grand Boulevard, with 25,000 people living below poverty. Though aggregate buying power is there, both neighborhoods have to work hard to convince retailers that they are viable markets.

A 2005 Urban Lands workshop on redevelopment in Grand Boulevard highlighted Cottage Grove as a key element in any revitalization. One crucial factor: there is land available. Public transportation, as well as under-utilized road capacity, make the area ripe for future commercial development as the local population grows and average household incomes rise. Hyde Park doesn't have this kind of real estate to offer, but it would only benefit from the development of a neighboring community that did.

While Hyde Park will most likely have to piggy-back off of neighboring communities for large scale retail, it's not too soon to think about how to improve the climate for smaller businesses. The participants at the above-mentioned workshop agree that, in any of the lakefront, South Side neighborhoods, there is a shortage of small retail space, but building it out is an expensive proposition that will require subsidy (from TIF funds, for example), and a commitment to providing top grade retail space in a mixed-use project.

We all know that a few of those are set to come on line, or are in the planning stages, and how important they therefore are to advancing Hyde Park to its small retail "tipping point."

"The most important thing a community can do is to set the table," remarked a local developer at the 2005 workshop. The deck is stacked against a lot of South Side neighborhoods, for historical, racial, and other reasons. But this is all the more reason to make it attractive for the small retailer to locate here by building the best quality and most plentiful new space that can be provided, whether in the ground level of a new hotel, the street level of a new residential tower, or by upgrading and expanding existing properties.

How to Chase Small Businesses from Hyde Park in 14 Points

posted by chicago pop

Mystique Boutique's New Location, 1503 S. Michigan

Let's just start with a few facts, gleaned from the most unlikely of places: the "Shopping" feature of the Chicago Tribune's "At Play" section (Thursday, September 27, 2007). It turns out that shopping advisor Ellen Warren, curious to know if the boutique scene in South Loop had yet to blossom, found that it had. And guess what? Several of the distinctive new South Loop boutiques are businesses relocated from Hyde Park.

What does this tell us about small business? 1) Businesses go where the shoppers are. 2) There aren't enough shoppers in Hyde Park. What does this tell us about Hyde Park politics? 1) Chains are not driving the mom and pops out. 2) The mom and pops are leaving the neighborhood because there aren't enough customers.

Why aren't there enough customers? Because Hyde Park NIMBYs don't want to let more people (i.e., shoppers) into the neighborhood -- just ask Jack and Jill. What may have been a tolerable business environment for a Hyde Park businessperson 10 or 15 years ago is now an insane opportunity cost, given the explosion of new households just a few miles to the north. Despite the many and obvious attractions of the Harper Court business dynamo, they are evidently not enough to distract local entrepreneurs interested in turning a profit.

Mystique Boutique, a Hyde Park mainstay for 22 years, moved to 1503 S. Wabash a few years ago, leaving us, as a reminder, the wonderfully prominent vacant storefront at 53rd and Hyde Park Boulevard. Downtown Pets, at 1619 S. Michigan Avenue, is another small business refugee from Hyde Park. The neighborhood obviously generates business talent; but it's talented enough to know not to stick around.

Why is this so? Two letters to this week's Herald (Wednesday, September 26, 2007) allow us to perform a sort of thought experiment, artificially creating the business psycho - ology of the neighborhood, allowing us to see what might discourage small local businesses from putting up a shingle here.

Mr. Gregory S. has a project to preserve and restore the historic Rosenwald Apartments on 47th Street. The problem is, he doesn't know how to pay for it. Solution? Find someone with lots of money to invest in the area. "Allowing it to crumble and decay is absurd and a real waste of what should be a great investment opportunity for someone with capital."

I agree completely. The only problem is, with the exception of Mr. S., not everyone in Hyde Park is equally enthusiastic about promoting "investment opportunities for someone with capital."

Take, for instance, a quite detailed letter from one Mr. William A. Knack, who feels that, "If Harper Court is to be redeveloped, let's do it right." Thereupon follows a 14 point list of stipulations as to just what a Harper Court redevelopment proposal should include, with tips on everything from including senior housing at the site, getting a movie theater back into the old Hyde Park theater, and telling McDonald's to get lost.

Now let's imagine Mr. Knack's 14 points getting written into the Request for Proposals that will be used to solicit Mr. S.'s "someone with capital." Ready, set, go.

I don't hear anything happening ... do you?

Exactly. Who would be crazy enough to take on the redesign of an entire neighborhood for the sake of getting their hands on some iffy real estate in Hyde Park, when the neighborhood can't even retain its home-grown entrepreneurs?

The solution is ultimately very simple. More people need to live in and around Hyde Park. There just aren't enough people here to support local merchants, and the ones who live here now are small spenders, spending below the national average in just about every category (see Lifestyle chart of spending habits by area code).

There are two ways to change this. Either 1) bring in lots more households that earn below or equal to the neighborhood's average per capita income range of approximately $35-40,000 (as of 2000 Census), or 2) bring in fewer people who earn above the neighborhood's $35-40,000 average per capita income. Either way, there need to be more people with pocketbooks. Bringing them in will only add to the diversity that the neighborhood supposedly cherishes.