If you drive thru the Bronzeville neighborhood, you'll run by this abandoned restaurant on 4527 S. Indiana. I wonder when this place closed but the owner, Gladys Holcomb passed away in 2003. She served her soul food on the south side of Chicago for 52 years.
The Illinois General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing Gladys' Luncheonette:
WHEREAS, Gladys' Luncheonette became one of the most popular "soul food" restaurants in the Midwest, known for its delicious fried chicken, smothered chicken, smothered pork chops, peach cobbler, "melt-in-your-mouth" biscuits, and other down home, southern delicacies; many famous people were known to dine at the Luncheonette including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lou Rawls, Redd Foxx, Governor Jim Thompson, Della Reese, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Gladys Knight, and a host of others...
Mrs. Holcomb was born in Brownville, Tennessee in October of 1906; she moved to Chicago in 1935 where she married Kinnard Holcomb in 1945. Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb first established Gladys' Luncheonette on State Street and after ten years, the restaurant moved to a basement location at 4541 S. Indiana. The couple soon outgrew that space and moved up the street to the present location of the restaurant at 4527 S. Indiana in November of 1963.
Willpower didn`t stand a chance at Gladys`. When your waitress arrived at your table with biscuits and corn muffins, warm, sliced and buttered, you knew you in for a treat. Eating at Gladys" was serious business. The line--there`s always one--moves quickly. Sorry, no cuts, either. Whether you`re in jeans or silver lame gown and arrive in a cab or a limo, you wait. Everyone waitscause they knew it would be worth it.
Mrs. Holcomb owned Gladys' Luncheonette until 1997 when she was no longer able to operate it on a day-to-day basis and sold it to her daughter and a group of investors. Gladys' Luncheonette has been closed for years and decayed to the point where rehabbing it would have cost as much, if not more, as buying the lot outright.
I'm happy that I got a chance to visit Gladys' many times throughout my time as a Chicago resident. The thing I'll remember most is the "melt in your mouth" biscuits, which sometimes were a meal in themselves. They'll remain in my memory forever.
1 comments:
Gladys was the place to be after a gig. You could also catch up and hook with the happenings of the community. The service was top notch. You were treated well. I miss the food, it taste like love. Homemade food at its best.
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