It’s been less than a year since JJ’s Market closed and I still miss that funky little shop where you could get coffee drinks named for James Brown or Schopenhauer, or any one of more than a dozen craft or imported beers—including Dirty Dick’s Ale—as well as candy from Japan and local handmade mugs.
I’ve avoided walking down that way for months so I missed that the block where JJ’s stood has been completely razed to the ground. It wasn’t just JJ’s but also the former Noshville Delicatessen, where you went if you were in the mood for chopped liver.
The destruction must have happened in less time than it takes an espresso to get cold. Pokeweed and sweetgum bushes have grown large in the cleared earth, and been left long enough to spread seeds which, hopefully, will find another place to grow.
I’ve seen the neighborhood change significantly. Single-level restaurants have closed, been knocked down, and replaced with high-rise apartments. Something I never thought about until I went for a walk one afternoon was that, on a particular stretch of sidewalk, the sun didn’t warm my face like it used to, because now there are buildings in the way. They’re not tall enough to be skyscrapers, but they are tall enough to be skyblockers.
One block over from JJ’s and Noshville there was a barbecue place. Every Sunday the owner would serve a free meal in the parking lot. He did it to help the homeless people in the area, but anyone who wanted to was welcome to come and eat. Then the restaurant closed and the whole building was knocked down. It’s all a parking lot now.
I know change is inevitable, and I take some hope in seeing that the neighborhood hasn’t completely lost its sense of humor.
“they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”.
“Big Yellow Taxi” has come to my mind as I walk through the neighborhood more times than I care to count. It’s a great song, but a sad reminder.
If I wait until I have a taste for chopped liver, it will be some time.
Alien Resort recently posted…We’re Extremely Concerned
On the bright side you’re saving a fortune on pate.
I’m always in the mood for chopped liver and your posts, Chris.
Chopped liver is hard to hard to find in my neck of the woods, but I’ll settle for your comments.
Your comment about Dirty Dick’s Ale reminded me of a time I was on travel for work. I ate ate a place called Dirty Dick’s Crab House and I used my work travel card to pay for it. Weeks after the trip I got an e-mail from our travel department wanting to know why I used my work credit card to pay for something at Dirty Dick’s. Evidently the credit card transaction truncated the name of the restaurant and left out the Crab House part. I had to fill out a big form and show them the website of the place before they let it drop.
Arionis recently posted…Time to Replace Some Cogs
Lmao!
So you went to Dirty Dick’s and got crabs and I’m just gonna leave that there. Seriously, the jokes just write themselves. I would have thought the travel department just wanted to make a joke about it, but I know accountants have no sense of humor.