WORD
ON THE STREET
by Holiday Dmitri
The Booster - Wicker Park
May 29, 2002
|
|
WORD
ON THE STREET |
Of the few things I recall about the '80s, I remember the radio songs. During the decade of decadence, I was in grade school: too young to care about Carter or Reagan, but not yet old enough to discriminate the tunes. Back then everything was fun -- from the new wave punk musings of The Cure to mall-touring, Britney-predecessors like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson. And just the other day, I took a trip down memory lane... I
used to be a renegade, I used to fool around Huey Lewis created the type of vanilla-icing music that made it fun to watch a bunch of white people dance. Hey, I admit it, I still like the News. How could anyone not respect a band that said it was hip to be square? Similarly, that's the reason I dig Square One, the no-smoking, no-boozing late-night juice bar and health food restaurant in the heart of Wicker Park, co-owned by head squares Eric Williams and Jeanette Fernandez. It all seemed sort of funny to me when I first heard the concept of the place -- of a food-folks-and-fun joint serving up a natural high. I drink. I smoke. And so do many of the denizens in the neighborhood, I imagine. Smoky bars and clubs line the streets near the "six-corners" and, of the late-night, hang-out places nearby that I patronize, I can only think of one -- The Local Grind at 1585 N Milwaukee Ave -- with a similar stance to Square One's. But, alas, The Local Grind is no longer there. Hip as they come, Williams and Fernandez are nonetheless squares in a sense. Neither smokes. And you won't ever find either face down at a bar or downing a brewskis any day soon. "The concept was to have a place that would inspire people and you could eat at that wasn't super expensive," explained Williams, 32. "So instead of turning it into a regular restaurant, we thought, 'Why not include the other things that we enjoy too?' I'm a huge magazine fan, I love film, and I deejay and enjoy music. So we incorporated all those aspects into one space." Opened for less then a year, Square One is a combination juice bar, screening room, magazine stand and restaurant set in a narrow, lofty space on Milwaukee Avenue. Three levels tall, each floor approximately 1,500 square feet, its interior is set with exposed bricks and red-hues, and was the former space of the Occult Bookstore. Williams and Fernandez had to gut the interior, then hired their architect friend Obi Nwazota, owner of Orange Skin and Softcore, to design it. "The name [of Square One] came, because we really did start from square one," Williams said. "I thought it would take me four months to finish this place -- it took me a year," he said. "Our basement flooded, so we had to replace the beautiful hardwood floor, which cost me $10,000. People bought equipment that didn't work, I gave guys money to do a job and they didn't show up. I got hurt one time, other people got hurt -- all kinds of stuff. We ran out of money like four times, and what we learned from this was that it doesn't pay to take short cuts, because it cost us more in the end to go back and fix it right." "Even after we opened up, people were like, 'It's not going to work, you have to sell alcohol to make money.' My whole life," he said, "I've been hearing negative things. But I realized people who say you can't do something are the people who don't do anything with themselves." An entrepreneur at heart, Williams was, from the age of 18 until 27, a street peddler. He enjoyed it so much, he did it while pursuing his degree in financing and continued even after graduating and while holding down an 8-month stint as a stockbroker. Williams only stopped when the city started cracking down on street peddlers. Williams then just took it off the streets and into a store. When he first opened the Silver Room,1410 N. Milwaukee, in December 1997, Williams hawked the same merchandise he sold on the streets -- sunglasses, hats, jewelry, everything but the T-shirts. But with money now moving into the trendy, yuppifying Wicker Park neighborhood, business is booming. He can now offers more upscale items, like an Alfex or Andrew Mark watch for $500. Initially, Square One was marketed as an all-ages, community-oriented "hang-out" joint. You can watch a free flick, browse through their collection of more than 300 magazines, listen to DJs spin eclectic tunes off labels like Compost, Nuphonic and Strictly Rhythm, and order a fruit smoothie while you are there. "Before we were promoting it as more of a hang-out place, with the food secondary, probably because we weren't comfortable with the menu," admitted his partner Fernandez, 29. "But now we're more comfortable with the food, and we realize that that is what is going to bring us the money, so we now consider it a restaurant." Square One is sort of a throwback to the bubbly feelings I get listening to the music of the '80s: unadulterated enjoyment, happy people and a thriving community. "What we offer is a different way to think about night life," Williams told me. "I think people are brainwashed into thinking they have to get drunk to have a good time. Good atmosphere, good conversation, good music. That's all you need." Side Note: Square One activities include DJs night with Jesse de la Pena on Tuesdays; the Wednesday-night film series; PAL, "Women Outloud!" every last Tuesday of the month; and special parties including "Resource," a monthly DJ party. They are launching their new menu with a party from 7 pm-11pm. Thursday, June 20. $12 cover. Square
One is located at1561 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. 773-227-7111. Hours
are 11 a.m.- 2 a.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-4 a.m. Friday and
Saturday; 9 a.m.-12 a.m. Sunday (brunch from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m). |
| |
