Argyle Street: A Remarkable Business Progression

by Alex Horowitz

CHICAGO - “Argyle Street looked like death,” recalls Tam Van Nguyen, who frequented the Chicago neighborhood nearly 30 years ago, but only in the daytime.

“Gangs, prostitution, drug trafficking, vacant lots. There were very few open stores, and by 5 p.m. every day, gangs hung around the area. It was very scary.”

Argyle Street, which is regarded as Chicago’s North Side hub of Asian commercial activity, has come a long way since the 1970s. Improved community safety has been the driving force behind Argyle’s vast business growth over the years. In fact, crime on Argyle Street has followed the trend of crime in Chicago, where annual murders have decreased by over 500 since 1975. Now, despite a recent slump, shops and restaurants flourish on the street that was once too dangerous to walk on.

“Crime was certainly detrimental to business before the 1980s,” says Joyce Dugan, the president and CEO of Uptown United, an organization that promotes economic growth in the community. “People were afraid to go [to Argyle], so the business scene was awful. Once crime cleaned up, though, Argyle really became a thriving commercial center.”

Argyle’s Unique History

Argyle Street and its surrounding Uptown community made little noise until the early 1970s, when Chicago entrepreneur Jimmy Wong picked that area as the site to develop his concept of “Chinatown North.” Wong bought 60 percent of the property that lined Argyle, and offered financial assistance to those who started a business on the street, according to Dugan and Uptown United’s Web site.

“What we were looking for was an area which we could develop not only commercially for our shops and restaurants, but also a place which could attract new Chinese, especially the young, as a place to live,” Wong said in a 1974 Chicago Sun-Times interview.

Although people of Chinese descent were the first to commercialize Argyle Street, the business district did not remain ethnically homogeneous for long. By 1975, soon after Wong’s purchases, wars in Southeast Asia brought an influx of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai and Laotian immigrants to the Uptown area, and many set up shop on Argyle Street. These steadfast immigrants gave Argyle Street’s commerce the lift it needed, and persevered through the neighborhood’s crime-laden years in the 1970s to see better days.

“The people who came here, whether it was the Vietnamese or the groups that followed, they came from places that were very, very rough,” says Dugan, who grew up near the Argyle neighborhood. “And that’s one of the reasons they managed to stick it out along here – because they were not intimidated. They toughed it out.”

Profitable businesses were first established in high numbers on the street in the early 1980s, according to Van Nguyen, an assistant at the Chinese Mutual Aid Association and former editor in chief of the Vietnamese Business Directory. Growth continued through the late 1980s and 1990s as vacant lots began filling up with shops and businesses started staying open later into the evening. Van Nguyen estimates that the number of stores in the neighborhood has doubled since the late 1970s.

Today, bustling shops string both sides of Argyle Street, as well as surrounding streets like Sheridan Road and Broadway Street. A diverse assortment of Asian tongues prevail over the loud rumblings of the El, and the fishy perfumes of ethnic restaurants and groceries drift into the street each day as customers rush in and out of the storefronts. The commercial strip is an attraction on the weekends, when visitors from nearby cities and states come to browse, sample and buy goods unique to Argyle Street.

“Things are extremely improved,” says Jolie Lau, the manager at an Argyle Street restaurant called Furama. “So many stores have opened, and the street is filled with people. Now that it’s gotten better, people know this area.”

Today’s Owners Face New Problems

Argyle Street’s remarkable business progress since the 1970s does not mean that the neighborhood exists without problems today. In fact, many owners on the street say they have felt a noticeable economic slump over the past six or seven years.

“Since 2000, things have slowed down a lot for some reason,” Lau says.

The street’s minor recession, which mirrors a slowdown in the overall United States economy this decade, is due to several problems that have only recently faced Argyle’s shop owners. One of them, ironically, is the result of the community’s hard work and great economic strides over the past 30 years.

“Immigrants opened up the businesses and aroused the community and made the area more valuable,” Van Nguyen says. “But when an area is developed that well, condominiums come in and payments on property taxes increase.”

Property tax rates in Chicago have increased drastically since the 1990s, culminating in a recently approved $83.4 million hike this year, the largest in the city’s history, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

These high taxes on growing property values have driven some Argyle Street small business owners out in favor of corporate establishments. Dunkin’ Donuts and video game retailer GameStop are two of the latest corporate additions to the Argyle neighborhood, both opening on Broadway Street in the past month.

“The taxes have pushed out some of the smaller, original shops, and brought in new corporate ones,” Lau says. “It’s very sad and very expensive. It hurts the pockets of the ones that stay, too.”

Imported Food Prices Soar

Groceries and restaurants on Argyle Street have also fallen victim to increased prices on imported foods. Surat Vattanavanitkul, the owner of a Thai grocery located at the western end of Argyle Street, says that the prices began rising about three years ago. Rice, a staple of Thai cuisine, has undergone a price increase of over 20 percent, he says.

“The prices are a problem,” says Vattanavanitkul, who opened the grocery in 1978. “Business a few years ago was better than business now. I hope it picks up again, but it all depends on the world economy.”

Argyle’s Feeble Marketing Programs

Another major problem that confronts Argyle’s business district is its anemic marketing effort. Mark Zak, a self-employed marketing consultant who lives in nearby Edgewater, says that unlike owners on Argyle Street, owners in other commercial strips throughout Chicago construct small merchant associations. These groups pool together funds and use them on promotional programs that attract shoppers to the neighborhood.

“The reason you join a retail strip like [Argyle] is because you’re relying on foot traffic,” Zak says. “Retail always has to have foot traffic, but foot traffic does not always come in on its own. You have to bring it here.”

Joyce Dugan believes that marketing the street has been difficult because the shop owners lack a cohesive identity. Argyle Street, she says, is instead made up of many independently minded businesses.

“There isn’t one voice for the street,” Dugan says. “There aren’t even several consistent voices. That’s what is holding them back. They need to develop a homegrown leadership that looks out for the business district as a whole.”

The Argyle business community has been through worse times. Despite the recent problems, Jolie Lau, the Furama restaurant manager, is confident that the street’s small downturn over the past seven years will be overcome.

“Business is a little slower right now,” she says. “If a few things go our way, I think business will get better again.”

Unlikely Artists Connect at Second Annual Chicago Calling

CHICAGO - As a Chicago musician’s clarinet sang graciously to the solemn words of an Oakland poet, the unique paths of two artists briefly crossed.

“I felt like something happened there,” said Guillermo Gregorio, the Argentinean-born clarinetist now based in Illinois. “I was inspired in that moment.”

The poet, David Harrison Horton, shared the instrumentalist’s appreciation.

“Tonight was incredible with Guillermo,” said Horton, a California writer and performer. “I don’t live in Chicago. I may have never gotten to perform with him.”

These types of opportunities were precisely what the Second Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival provided to nearly 80 artists last week. The four-day festival, which began on October 24^th, aimed to connect artists from various cities and countries.

“Chicago Calling’s central goal is to help foster collaborative projects between Chicago-based artists and artists who live elsewhere,” said Daniel Godston, one of the festival’s organizers.

Perhaps the most luminous example of this geographic connect occurred when Asimina Chremos, a dancer and choreographer from Chicago, improvised in movement while Chuck Stebelton, a Milwaukee-based poet, performed his poetry. Horton believes that these interactions made the Chicago Calling worth the trip.

“Chicago Calling is an opportunity to perform with someone and learn from someone you wouldn’t usually be able to,” Horton said. “That really was the impetus for me to come from California – just the fact that I’d be working with artists that I usually wouldn’t be able to team up with.”

Last year, Horton participated in Chicago Calling from Stanford University and performed with musicians at the University of California at San Diego, the University of Alaska, and Loyola University Chicago over the Internet. This year’s festival again took advantage of modern technology, and connected artists in Chicago with others in places like New York and South Korea.

This connectivity generates opportunities for artists that never before existed, but it also makes some performances very vulnerable to technical shortcomings. On Friday at Elastic, a multidisciplinary performance space in Logan Square, before an audience of about 30 people, Godston performed with New York bassist Tom Abbs via Google Talk. Several minutes into the performance, the artists’ web connection failed.

“Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. But an important part of any kind of discovery in artistic pursuit is the willingness to be experimental,” said Godston, who also teaches at Columbia College of Chicago. “Sometimes if it doesn’t work, it’s still good to try. You can go back later and try to figure out what worked and what didn’t, and improve upon it for next time.”

The unique collaborations that highlighted Chicago Calling did not break down only geographical barriers. For many artists, the festival also offered a refreshing sense of integration between different genres of art.

“I’m used to interacting with other kinds of visual artists, but not much with poets, for example, or dancers,” Gregorio said. “I think that interacting with those people was a very rich experience. Art forms should not just be linked together or have a relationship – they should be in absolute fusion.”

These interdisciplinary performances opened new doors for some of the festival’s younger artists. Adesuwa Obazee, a teacher in Chicago, performed with renowned musician Douglas Ewart during last year’s festival. Ewart was so impressed with Obazee’s improvisational dancing that he took down her information for future performances.

“Getting that kind of feedback from someone like Mr. Ewart made my year,” said Obazee, who also writes poetry. “One of the reasons I like this festival is that it lets new people get their foot in the door and be seen.”

Chicago Calling is sponsored by Poets & Writers, Inc., WNUR and Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Although Poets & Writers Inc. contributed some funding, much of the festival’s expenses still came out of Godston’s pocket. However, Godston thinks that the festival will continue to grow and become self-sustainable.

“Chicago Calling is definitely picking up steam, and it’s going to be really exciting next year,” Godston said. “I’ve always believed the Chicago area is an important hub of cultural activity, and hopefully the festival keeps supporting that.”

Oldie: Quick NU Gymnasium Feature

Oldie: Joe Girardi Recieves NU Engineering Award

Evanston, Ill. - Former pro baseball player Joe Girardi visited Northwestern University on Tuesday where he was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Department of Industrial Engineering/Management Sciences. The award was created 4 years ago and recognizes the notable achievements and leadership roles of selected department graduates.

In his illustrious pro baseball career, Girardi caught for 4 major league teams over 15 seasons and collected 3 World Series rings. He retired as a player in 2003, but returned to baseball to manage the Florida Marlins last year. Despite being named the National League Manager of the Year for his ability to work with Florida’s young talent, he was fired by the Marlins last October.

Girardi, a three-time Academic All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection in his four years at Northwestern, praised his alma mater in a brief speech before about 80 people.

“A Northwestern education is going to open doors for you,” said Girardi. “My favorite four years of life as a baseball player were right here. I absolutely loved it.”

“I didn’t understand the importance of what my parents did [to send me to NU] until I was about 25. A lot of you appreciate where you are now, and you’ll appreciate it more as you get older,” he said.

The Fort Lauderdale resident also spoke about how his Northwestern education and degree, which seems quite engineering-specific, helped him with his baseball career.

“You think about industrial engineers as being problem solvers, and in baseball, that's all you do," said Girardi. “There are situations that come up all the time that you use things that you learned in school on how to solve problems.

“You are going to use your industrial engineering degree in life, in ways you don’t even know yet.”

When Girardi managed an inexperienced Marlins team last year, fan and media expectations were incredibly low. However, after an abysmal start, Girardi led Florida to a respectable 78-84 record. He discussed how, as a leader, he motivated his young team.

“Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can’t do your job,” said Girardi. “You have to show them. A lot of times people want to manage from a piece of paper. But that can’t account for the heart, which can get a lot of people through things.”

“I don’t think you should ever set limits on people,” he said. A manager’s job is to instill confidence. My goal was to win the World Series, not win 70 games.”

Andrew Pellegrini, a sophomore at Northwestern studying economics, was glad to hear Girardi speak.

“Being the Manager of the Year in baseball doesn’t happen by accident,” said Pellegrini. “He dealt with one of the most difficult and accountable positions in the business world, and last year, he dealt with it the best.”

Quick Look at Life in Edgewater Slideshow

Descriptive Piece: Pizzeria Aroma

CHICAGO - The mustard enamel and cheerful red tiles that garnish each wall offer immediate relief from the dreary storefront and overcast skies. From the backroom, bottles of oregano and garlic emit the gentle perfume of an Italian mother’s kitchen.

Visitors are greeted by a chalkboard easel on which an elegant hand has listed the day’s specials in a polished script. A bulky black jukebox sits idle near the door with a record rotating on its top, as if aching to be played. Past the jukebox, several small tables are draped with simple yet homey green-checkered cloths. Orange lights hang from the ceiling that radiate each table with a delicate European glow.

The soft, mechanical reverberations of ovens and dishwashers are briefly interrupted by the rude jingling of bells as a customer opens the door. Sporting a postal uniform, the man stops to wipe a few drops of drizzle off his forehead and drags his feet to the cut-in cashier counter. He sighs and stares at the menu without any expression, as if he sees it a bit too regularly.

“Chicken parm, right boss?” asks the employee leaning over the fake-marble counter, if only as a formality. Pans clash with aluminum behind him in the once tranquil kitchen as the cooks scuffle about and shout for ingredients.

The spirited walls of the restaurant are lined with legends and icons of Italian culture. Joe DiMaggio and Al Capone gaze over the tables through their glass frames, and Frank Sinatra sings from a paperback biography propped up above the counter. The Godfather’s unnerving grimace is eased by breathtaking views of Venice and the Coliseum.

Two balding men sit at a table near the Tower of Pisa. They lean back comfortably in their glossy wooden chairs and discuss political rumors with thick Italian accents. “And that’s exactly what he said it was – an attempted murder…”

One of the men – in his scuffed leather shoes, frayed jeans, and pit-stained white t-shirt – stares at the huge heart-shaped relief of a tomato that rests under the counter as the other man speaks. He seems frozen by the juicy red plaster, like a boy coming out of a ballpark tunnel for the first time.

Across the room, the postal worker sits and looks wearily out the street-side window. The plops of raindrops on the glass become bigger and more frequent, and the man turns to look at his watch. Without a change in expression, he shifts his eyes to the huge protruding tomato and sighs.

Gangs and Changeover Problems in Edgewater

CHICAGO - Gang-related crime and high community changeover are two of the biggest problems that face residents and officials of the 48^th Ward in Edgewater, according to Doug Fraser, Alderman Mary Ann Smith’s chief of staff.

Gang activity, Fraser said, has become increasingly sophisticated and increasingly harder to prevent. While the alderman’s office relies heavily on local police as a quick fix for most gang activities, Fraser said the long-run solution is in the hands of local residents. Consistently reporting gang activity to the police and lobbying landlords who rent to drug traffickers are essential to curbing these criminal organizations, he said.

The 48^th Ward has also undergone tremendous changes in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic status and land ownership.

“It’s gotten whiter, richer, and [has] many more homeowners,” Fraser said.

Fraser explained that this change is disruptive to the efforts of the local government. As different people from different backgrounds move to the 48^th Ward, there is often a discrepancy between the way these newcomers think governance works and the way governance actually works.

“We all think we know how to play tennis, but we don’t necessarily know the new rules of the conversation,” Fraser said.