By Ricky Rieckert
Dear readers,
As I started to write this article, I read that Wyckwood House in downtown Aurora, is closing after seven years.
The Asian Fusion restaurant has closed, but may reopen in the near future. Sadly, I wonder how many more of the 30 new restaurants in downtown Aurora, will close in the future.
Restaurants are a tough business these days, with high costs for many things including rent, and the food products they serve.
Again, we, the consumer, absorb the costs by higher menu prices.
As a serviceman for 43 years of my life, for the same company, starting at age 18, I did a lot of work for restaurants around the Fox Valley area.
Most of the restaurants were owned by Greek immigrants, many of whom came over to the U.S. after World War II.
They were great cooks and opened restaurants as a source of income for their families. They worked hard, some working 12 to 16 hours a day to keep them going.
I was able to enjoy stories about their lives and heritage. I saw their young children grow up and become adults.
They worked hard so that they could make better lives for their kids. At home, many didn’t want their children speaking or learning their native tongue, but wanted them to excel in English, succeed in college, and have a better life than the generations before them.
If something was in need of repair, many learned how to fix it, because they didn’t have the money to call in a professional most of the time, especially, when starting out.
When a son became a teenager, he learned how to peel potatoes, wash dishes, pots and pans, working his way up to become the Maître d’ of the restaurant.
Then the day came, when the son wanted his own restaurant. So his dad would buy a rundown restaurant so the son could fix it up and build it up, and call it his own.
Many of those ma and pa restaurants still exist today, but a high percentage of the chefs in the kitchens are now Mexican. And they are excellent cooks.
I still keep in touch with some of the families at Greek Fest at St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church on Fifth Avenue, east of Farnsworth on the southside. For me it’s like a family reunion, seeing the families I have known for almost 50 years.
Working sure has changed through the years. When I was born, I was considered, a Baby boomer and I worked since I was five years old. I would shovel sidewalks and driveways, mow grass, and rake leaves.
Unfortunately, a lot of the youth think the workweek should be 2-3 days, as can be seen by the newer employees at the USPS, to name a few.
My first job receiving a paycheck, was at 15 years old, as a busboy at the Blue Lantern Restaurant, on E. New York Street, just east of Farnsworth, where O’Reilly Auto Parts is today.
It was owned by a Greek, John Benakis, a great man, who told me there is no such thing as a bad customer. Through my experiences I had a hard time believing that, but tried my best to maintain his philosophy.
One of many reasons John’s restaurant was successful was because he hand-cut his own steaks and his filet mignon was always a fan favorite.
I earned $1.25 per hour and 10% of all working waitresses tips, and a meal before starting work. Choice of burger, ham steak, scallops, and once in a while, smoked salmon.
I went on to work as a stock clerk at 16 years old, at Osco Drug on E. New York St. and Smith Blvd., getting $1.25 per hour, minimum wage. Now, it’s $15 per hour for non-tipped and $9 for tipped employees, in Illinois.
As for the downtown Aurora restaurants, maybe an advertisement booklet, billboard signs, or as a successful man once told me years ago, in Downers Grove, you need a successful anchor store to get it rolling, and others will follow.
Sort of like the movie; Field of Dreams: If you build it, they will come. Food for thought. I know the City is in financial turmoil, but there’s nothing I would like better, than the whole Chicagoland area visiting, spending money, and making our City one of the best cities ever.