Taste of renewal: New restaurant opens
John McCarron
Published: September 15, 2004
Neighborhood redevelopment is a complex buffet, but the latest victory in Auburn-Gresham is as simple as sweet potato pie. Or mustard-fried catfish, served with cornbread and peach cobbler.
Residents said they wanted a nice sit-down restaurant, and now they have one.
Photo: Eric Young Smith
That's the fare at BJ's Market & Bakery, 79th and Racine. The new restaurant is the third South Side eatery opened by the Meyer family, masters of southern home cookin', but it's the first sit-down eatery to join Auburn-Gresham's remarkable comeback.
"It's all about economic development," Mayor Richard M. Daley told the crowd gathered for opening festivities on August 28.
The city had purchased and demolished an abandoned store-front at the strategic intersection and conveyed it to BJ's for $1, while providing a startup loan and grant. Major financing was provided by LaSalle Bank, whose nearby branch at 79th and Halsted gave the neighborhood's comeback an early boost.
Click here to read more about Auburn-Gresham's renewal.
Posted in Business, Housing, Economic Development