Cork & Kerry At the Park Opens

Cork and Kerry opens near The Cell

June 12, 2010

BY MARK KONKOL, Sun-Times Media

Friday was a great day for Chicago - and the South Side.

The Blackhawks Stanley Cup rally strangled downtown with hundreds of thousands of fans. The White Sox clobbered the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

And back in the shadow of U.S. Cellular Field, Cork and Kerry at the Park opened in the former Jimbo's Lounge at 33rd Street and Princeton Avenue. At about 7 p.m., bartenders poured their first pints in two years at the building.

"We got the city license yesterday and the state license this morning, and we're good to go,'' said Bill Guide, who also owns Cork and Kerry tavern in the Beverly community. "It's a good weekend for baseball in the city despite the lack of good baseball in the city. And it's the Hawks' big day, too. Such a special day in the city.''

Jimbo's Lounge, which was owned by popular tavern keeper Jimbo Levato, was forced to close by clout-heavy landlords Raymond and Donna DeGrazia. At one point, the DeGrazias had a contract to put a Cubs-fan friendly John Barleycorn tavern in the building, but the plans fell through.

Early this year, Guide stepped in to keep the joint a Sox bar. The pub was remodeled, including giant storefront windows aimed at making the place more inviting from the street.

"The big windows make the place look bigger and let in the sound of the neighborhood and the natural light and the sound of the ballpark,'' Guide said as beer trucks were being unloaded. "You can see the park, hear it and smell it.''

The Cork and Kerry menu includes "upscale pub grub'' on a menu that looks like a baseball lineup card. On game days, Guide said they'll offer special food and brews from the town of visiting teams.

"If we're playing the Yankees, we'll have Nathan's hot dogs. We'll bring in the Labatt (beer) when we play the Blue Jays,'' Guide said. "And even when the Bears play. If the Saints are in town, we'll serve gumbo. It's something that people can check year-round, not just baseball season.''

Cork and Kerry at the Park has about a dozen tables and 10 beer taps. Guide said they'll stock the bar with "traditional Irish beers'' and a selection of local craft brews.

"I'm a beer geek at heart,'' he said. "We'll have a bunch of micro brews and craft beers. As much as we can - we're limited on space.''

From the Southtown.

Wilson Park "LEGACY Program" -Buy a Brick

An Example of How nice the Pavers will look at our new Park

Wilson Park Legacy Brick Program

Be one of  Fifty Families to commemorate your child or loved one's names in the renovation of the Wilson Park Playground by purchasing a custom paver engraved with your custom message for the soon to be renovated playground.

Work will begin soon (after the summer program session) on the park.  The park's advisory council hopes to have ALL of the fifty alotted custom brick spots sold by June 30th (just fifteen days away).

The Blue area above indicates the planned locations of the paver pavilions for the bricks.

How Do I buy a brick?

Buying a brick is easy.  You can visit the Wilson Park Legacy Brick program page or download the brick paver order form here.

Mail your payment and order form to John P. Wilson Park Legacy Brick Program c/o The Parkways Foundation, 541 N. Fairbanks Ct., Chicago, IL 60611

How much do the bricks cost?

The 4"x 8" Bricks are $50.00 payable to the Parkways Foundation.

What can I put on the bricks?

Inscriptions are limited to names 13 characters) and subject to approval by the Chicago Park District.  The Paver order form has a full list of specific details.

Is my purchase tax deductible?

Yes,  Parkways Foundation is a 501c3 organization.  Tax deductibility may vary by individual circumstance, check with your tax professional for details.

Bridgeport residents’ nutrition suffers from lack of major grocery store

From the Gazette

June 4, 2010

By Sarah Severson

When Jewel-Osco closed its Bridgeport store at 3033 S. Halsted St. in fall 2007, residents had few grocery options nearby. Today, their food shopping options remain limited, making life difficult for residents, particularly those dependent on public transit.

The lack of neighborhood groceries also has lowered quality of life and compromised nutrition and health for those unable to make regular visits to the grocery store.

Bridgeport residents’ current options include a small neighborhood market, Halsted Foods at 3416 S. Halsted St., and the large chain stores farther away, such as the Jewel-Osco at 34th St. and King Drive or the Dominick’s at 31st Street and Ashland Avenue.

Local resident Barbara Stack, 61, doesn’t own a car and relies on friends to drive her to the store. “It’s hard—you have to go when someone else wants to go, and I don’t like imposing on people,” Stack said. “Sometimes I walk to Halsted Foods, but then I have to pay to have the food delivered, and that store doesn’t have everything that I need.”

Stack shops for food every couple of weeks. As a result, she eats fewer fresh fruits and vegetables and more frozen foods because they last longer.

“I have high blood pressure and cholesterol,” she said. “My doctor recommends eating fresh fruits and vegetables, but I just don’t have easy access to them.”

For 60-year-old Wendy Shviraga, another long-time Bridgeport resident, grocery shopping has become difficult because she works during the day and the major stores are so far away.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get to the grocery store at night after work,” she said. “We end up eating out more often, which is costing more.”

Resident Irene O’Neill has a car but shops at Halsted Foods when she needs just a few things or is in a hurry. Often, she buys her groceries in Indiana, where she works just across the border.

“There is no tax on food in Indiana, and sales tax on the other items is lower, so the savings adds up,” O’Neill said.

She also shops at Jewel-Osco and Dominick’s stores in the city or the nearby Mexican specialty store, but she greatly misses the convenience of walking to a large grocery store in the neighborhood.

As for the old Jewel-Osco location, it likely will remain empty for the time being. Pete’s Fresh Market had considered opening a store there, but Charles Boulakis, regional manager, said his company has lost interest because “Jewel was asking crazy numbers to rent the building. It was too high of a price, so we stayed away.”

When asked if Jewel-Osco would consider re-opening the store, spokesperson Karen May said, “Jewel-Osco consistently seeks new business opportunities, including those in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood. However, details about the 2007 closure of the company’s Bridgeport store and any detailed analysis about whether to open a new store in Bridgeport are considered internal information that—as a matter of company policy — Jewel-Osco does not publicly discuss.”

Recent research shows statistically significant relationships between food access and diet-related disease and premature death.

Extensive studies by the Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group show the negative effects of “food deserts,” which are large geographic areas with no mainstream grocery stores. The studies indicate no “perfect distance” to a grocery store; instead, they evaluate different communities’ density patterns and residents’ particular views on driving and walking.

“We often look for things that are closest to you, but these choices add up,” said Mari Gallagher, president. “We can calculate additional life loss based on food environment after we control key contributing factors like income, race, and education.”

Gallagher’s group has found more adult diseases appearing in children. “We have such epidemics on our hands — this will be the first generation of young people whose quality and length of life is worse” than that enjoyed by their parents, she said.

Gallagher’s research shows convenient access to a grocery store can have a very positive impact on a person’s life, gaining years of life back from diabetes, diet-related cancers, and cardiovascular diseases.

Residents in communities lacking a major grocery store can improve their health and lives by recruiting mainstream grocers, improving convenience stores that may lack healthful food choices, and starting community gardens and farmers’ markets to get access to good, fresh foods more easily and regularly.

Gallagher said the City of Chicago has worked to provide better food in public schools, which is a step in the right direction.

Full Story: The Gazette Chicago