New Harold’s Chicken off to a great start

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By Kathy Headley

Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor

6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778

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I have been planning on checking out the new Harold’s Chicken location since it opened at 2900 W. 63^rd St. This week I did. This is the first business venture for new owner Alicia Cooper. What made her choose this location?

“First of all, I wanted to be able to be part of a community and felt I could do that here,” she said. “I met Alderman Ray Lopez. He was excited to have a different kind of food offering in the neighborhood and gave me lots of support.”

“Light is important to me,” she added. “And when I walked into the vacant restaurant building, the first thing that struck me was all of the windows and the bright feel to the place.”

So what did I think? I found the restaurant to be light, airy and clean, with a neat Chicago mural on the wall, and a very friendly staff. I went for the standard chicken dinner with fries and slaw and it was very tasty. I loved the batter they used – not real salty like some – and it is made fresh while you wait. The fries were really good too, as was the cole slaw. In addition, Alicia offers a nice array of desserts to choose from which include cheesecakes, puddings and taffy grapes. Will I be back? Absolutely!

I also add that Alicia has hired 10 employees from the neighborhood to start.

While on the subject of food, rest in peace to John Pawlikowski, aka Fat Johnnie, who happily served us some of the best hot dog creations for decades at 72^nd and Western. I think Tom Schumacher said it best when he posted on the notice in the CLHS FB site: “A legend.”

Congratulations to Alfredo Ledezma on his ordination last week as Interim Deacon at Mary, Mother of Mercy Parish.

Happy anniversary to the Rev. Stephan Isley, OSA, who was ordained at the St. Rita Shrine seven years ago and currently serves both at St. Rita of Cascia Parish and St. Rita High School. He celebrated with a Mass on Sunday, Jan. 7 at St. Rita Church.

Tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 20) is the last day to drop off your live Christmas tree for recycling at Marquette Park. Unfortunately, the mulch that will be made from these trees will not be available at Marquette this year. If you would like to take advantage of the free mulch pick-up, the closest place will be Mount Greenwood Park, 3721 W. 111^th St.

St. Rita of Cascia Parish is hosting a blood drive this Sunday, Jan. 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. A Vitalant Bloodmobile will be outside for your convenience. To schedule an appointment, call Vitalant at (877) 258-4825 or visit Vitalant.org and use group code ORD00E80. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Community Cinema brings the 2023 Columbia Pictures film ‘65’ to the Chicago Lawn Branch Library, 6120 S. Kedzie, this Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. This movie is suitable for ages 13 and older.

Next Thursday, Jan. 25, the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office is scheduled to come to the Southwest Regional Senior Center, 6117 S. Kedzie, for Illinois Driver’s License Renewal and REAL ID. Space is limited, so pre-registration in person is requested. For more information, call (312) 747-440.

Tickets are on sale for Winterfest 2024: Eras at St. Rita of Cascia High School, 7740 S. Western, which will take place on Saturday, Jan. 27 from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. The annual fundraiser promises a travel through time with music from the roaring 20s to the electric 80s and features a silent auction and basket raffles. Tickets are $55, which includes dinner, drinks and live entertainment. Learn more at stritahs.com.

Back to 1981. We are finishing our look at December of ‘81. Sadly, we lost a prominent member of the neighborhood business community just before Christmas that year. Peter Herbert Jr. died in his Herbert’s Barber Shop, 3312 W. 63^rd St. I’m sure many of you are familiar with Peter and the Herbert family. His dad, Peter Sr., opened the shop in 1930 and ran it until his son took over in 1962. Of course, Peter’s brother, Joe, was the owner and familiar face of Marquette Photo Supply for so many years.

Forty-two years ago, a production crew was here filming a scene for a popular television show. Audrey P. was the first to identify Chicago Stories.

The crew set up at the corner of 63^rd and Spaulding. In the scene actor Dennis Franz, who played Officer Joe Gilland, buys a hot dog and Vince Baggetta, who played attorney Lou Pellegrino, buys a bag of chips from a street vendor on the southeast corner. While walking to their car, a call comes in that send them to investigate a domestic disturbance, and the crew moves to 64^th and Spaulding.

Interestingly, before filming could begin that morning, members of the crew had to shovel snow off the sidewalk because the following sequences did not have snow in them.

Let’s end our visit to 1981 with two questions I think are kind of tough – but of course you always surprise me with that. This restaurant and lounge at 2432 W. 63^rd Street had live entertainment on weekends. Every Sunday was Greek Night, and part of the entertainment was belly dancers at 9 p.m. (I never would have guessed this one. We always went here for breakfast).

The second one was a Centrella grocery store right down the street, at 2454 W. 63^rd St. Can you name either the restaurant or the grocery?