Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
For just about as long as I can remember, thrift stores have been something of a constant for me.
I’ve got great memories of countless days spent roaming the aisles of Goodwill with my grandma as a kid, feeling like I was on some sort of a treasure hunt.
That feeling never really went away, with thrift store finds like clothes, art, records, books and furniture becoming staples in my teens and throughout my 20s.
Below, my colleagues at WBEZ link up with a local high school thrift club, showing how the cycle continues with this generation of young folks.
Plus: We’ve got the community news you need to know this afternoon.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Is the ephemeral pop-up food moment becoming the new normal? These Chicago chefs say yes
Reporting by Maggie Hennessy | WBEZ
The pop-up food moment: Over the last decade, Chicago has built a thriving pop-up restaurant culture. Owners sustain their businesses through roving collaborations, restaurant and bar residencies, catering and wholesale production.
More than a trend? Local pop-up owners point to several reasons they’ve opted for the nomadic lifestyle. In addition to the exorbitant (and rising) fixed costs of running a business, there are also the city’s onerous food truck laws, ongoing worker shortages — and the general physical and mental toll of running restaurants. For some chefs, the end goal isn’t to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant anymore.
Format breeds creativity: Not having a physical restaurant can offer the freedom to stay truer to one’s creative spirit — and the ability to try, fail and evolve quickly. Because of that, Chicagoans are gaining regular, fairly inexpensive access to some of the city’s most dynamic and creative cooking — from Midwestern potato casseroles imbued with kimchi and black pepper bechamel to corn and shishito cream pizza by the slice. You just have to find where to try these dishes.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
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Ald. Ramirez attacked by protesters: Protesters opposing tents for migrants in Brighton Park surrounded and harassed Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) and an aide Thursday morning, prompting police to shuttle the pair off in a squad car. Mayor Brandon Johnson said the “physical attack” is being investigated by police.
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Next chapter for groundbreaking arts alliance: The African American Arts Alliance, which has been fostering the creativity of Black artists in the city for decades, has a new name: the Black Arts & Culture Alliance of Chicago. The group also has a new president, Charlique C. Rolle, who’s aiming to expand its mission.
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LaSalle Street revamp’s future in question: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to use a record tax increment financing surplus threatens to deprive developers of the subsidies they need to transform LaSalle Street office buildings into residential use, downtown City Council members warned Wednesday.
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The most anticipated football game of the year: Ahead of the final week of the high school football regular season, Mike Clark previews the area’s best games, including the highly touted matchup between No. 1 Mount Carmel and No. 2 Loyola.
- WNBA’s Aces ready for a three-peat: After a history-making regular season with a second consecutive championship clinched last night, the Las Vegas Aces are ready to chase another winning season, the Associated Press reports.
OUR CITY IN COLOR 🎨
Reporting by Sun-Times staff
One of the figurative bright spots of 79th Street is literally bright once more. Max Sansing’s ”Culture is Power” mural across from the storied Avalon Regal Theater recently was restored, and in a larger sense, reimagined as Sansing fixed years of chipping and fading that resulted largely from Chicago’s weather.
The brick wall had to be significantly patched, too. The new version is similar to the old one and keeps the same theme. But it has “more flowers and abstracts,” according to Sansing, who says he tried to be “more contemporary,” in line with his current style.
The mural, at 79th Street and East End Avenue, conveys a sense of the power and importance of the family.
“It starts with the family,” Sansing says. “As long as the family’s strong, the neighborhood is strong. As long as the neighborhood is strong, the community is strong.”
BRIGHT ONE ✨
What’s old is new again for yet another class of high schoolers in Chicago
Reporting by Nereida Moreno | WBEZ
On a recent afternoon, a group of about two dozen Chicago high schoolers descended on Village Discount Outlet, a thrift store in Albany Park. They’re members of the Von Steuben High School Thrift Club, co-founded by senior Philip Tran last year.
He says it’s taken off: “It went from maybe a measly 20 members to 60.”
Hardly the first, and probably not the last, to discover thrifting, the Von Steuben students say buying clothes from secondhand shops is appealing on a number of fronts. Some talk about rejecting fast fashion in favor of the more sustainable practice of reusing gently used clothing. Others say it’s a low-risk way to develop their sense of style and a good option for saving money.
Sophomore Deena Sun says thrifting is a great way to experiment with different fashion styles. You have to treat it like a treasure hunt.
“It takes a little time, but at the end of the day, it’s gonna be so worth it because you put your own time into that,” she says.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What’s the best item you’ve ever bought from a Chicago thrift store?
Email us (please include your first and last name and where you live). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
