by PolackTony » Sat Jun 07, 2025 3:06 pm
NickyEyes1 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 07, 2025 1:34 pm
PolackTony wrote: ↑Sat Jun 07, 2025 12:07 pm
NickyEyes1 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 07, 2025 10:59 am
Patrickgold wrote: ↑Sat Jun 07, 2025 10:49 am
funkster wrote: ↑Sat Jun 07, 2025 9:51 am
He has jumped the shark for sure.
Just attended kids party on Harlem literally two doors down from Sorrentos, hasn’t it been figured that this is where the last supper meeting was?
It’s a take out food only place now. They cut the building into three different businesses with one being Sorrentos. So it is very likely the picture was taken in one of the other businesses because there is no dining room area now. Just a counter to pay and pick up food and a kitchen in back.
It's too bad Agostinos closed down. I went past there the other day and it's still empty
End of an era, Fiasche family had Agostino's going for like 40 years there. They had that big kitchen fire in 2021 and managed to rebound from it, just to close for good two years later. Harlem Ave is... not what it used to be, though that's not news to anyone familiar with the area. This is also the way of the world. I know that the hope is that the relocation of the IASHF to Harlem is going to shore up the dwindling Italian character of that strip and spark a renaissance, but I wouldn't be overly hopeful about this myself.
Tony I don't think I would go as far to say "dwindling" for the area. But the Italian character has definitely lessened in the last 10/15 years. Definitely the most concentrated area in Chicagoland
Sure, “dwindling” might be an overstatement (or, at least, premature, as I think that will be the situation before too much longer) and “declining” more accurately captures what I meant. I can say that when I’ve gone back, Harlem Ave is noticeably not what it used to be, but nothing stays the same, so this is to be expected. There’s also multiple facets to this. On the one hand, you have the presence of Italian businesses and cultural institutions. My impression is that these are declining along Harlem Ave. The relocation of the IASHF is in part intended to stem this decline and reinvigorate the “Italian” character of the business strip. I hope that this is successful, but the fact that the former Agostino site remains vacant isn’t a good sign. Another facet is the actual demographic trends of the surrounding communities. My impression here is that decline in the proportion of Italian residents, both on the Elmwood Park and Chicago sides, has been even more notable than the decline of the business strip. Anecdotal, but from people I know who still live in that area, the surrounding communities are becoming more strongly Latino and Polish/Eastern Euro by the day. I don’t have objective figures for demographic change since, say the 90s/2000s, but I would imagine it has been considerable. And then, how many of the remaining Italians are older folks? How many younger Italians, with families, are buying homes in the area? What happens when the older cohort dies or sells their homes?
Today, you see popular and successful Italian restaurants distributed all across the more affluent sections of Chicagoland, from the City to outlying burbs like the Barringtons. This reflects the increasingly dispersed nature of the Italian population of the region. One can’t put the cat back into the bag here, so to speak, and despite any attempts to shore up the Italian legacy of Harlem Ave, I don’t see this pattern as likely to change. Harlem Ave is, of course, never going to again be what it used to be. IMO, the best that can be hoped for is “managed decline”, where some businesses and institutions hold on while the surrounding communities retain an increasingly minor Italian population.
Of course, none of these trends are unique to Chicago and are also very much evident around NYC.
[quote=NickyEyes1 post_id=295275 time=1749328445 user_id=70]
[quote=PolackTony post_id=295271 time=1749323243 user_id=6658]
[quote=NickyEyes1 post_id=295265 time=1749319181 user_id=70]
[quote=Patrickgold post_id=295264 time=1749318571 user_id=6577]
[quote=funkster post_id=295258 time=1749315096 user_id=161]
He has jumped the shark for sure.
Just attended kids party on Harlem literally two doors down from Sorrentos, hasn’t it been figured that this is where the last supper meeting was?
[/quote]
It’s a take out food only place now. They cut the building into three different businesses with one being Sorrentos. So it is very likely the picture was taken in one of the other businesses because there is no dining room area now. Just a counter to pay and pick up food and a kitchen in back.
[/quote]
It's too bad Agostinos closed down. I went past there the other day and it's still empty
[/quote]
End of an era, Fiasche family had Agostino's going for like 40 years there. They had that big kitchen fire in 2021 and managed to rebound from it, just to close for good two years later. Harlem Ave is... not what it used to be, though that's not news to anyone familiar with the area. This is also the way of the world. I know that the hope is that the relocation of the IASHF to Harlem is going to shore up the dwindling Italian character of that strip and spark a renaissance, but I wouldn't be overly hopeful about this myself.
[/quote]
Tony I don't think I would go as far to say "dwindling" for the area. But the Italian character has definitely lessened in the last 10/15 years. Definitely the most concentrated area in Chicagoland
[/quote]
Sure, “dwindling” might be an overstatement (or, at least, premature, as I think that will be the situation before too much longer) and “declining” more accurately captures what I meant. I can say that when I’ve gone back, Harlem Ave is noticeably not what it used to be, but nothing stays the same, so this is to be expected. There’s also multiple facets to this. On the one hand, you have the presence of Italian businesses and cultural institutions. My impression is that these are declining along Harlem Ave. The relocation of the IASHF is in part intended to stem this decline and reinvigorate the “Italian” character of the business strip. I hope that this is successful, but the fact that the former Agostino site remains vacant isn’t a good sign. Another facet is the actual demographic trends of the surrounding communities. My impression here is that decline in the proportion of Italian residents, both on the Elmwood Park and Chicago sides, has been even more notable than the decline of the business strip. Anecdotal, but from people I know who still live in that area, the surrounding communities are becoming more strongly Latino and Polish/Eastern Euro by the day. I don’t have objective figures for demographic change since, say the 90s/2000s, but I would imagine it has been considerable. And then, how many of the remaining Italians are older folks? How many younger Italians, with families, are buying homes in the area? What happens when the older cohort dies or sells their homes?
Today, you see popular and successful Italian restaurants distributed all across the more affluent sections of Chicagoland, from the City to outlying burbs like the Barringtons. This reflects the increasingly dispersed nature of the Italian population of the region. One can’t put the cat back into the bag here, so to speak, and despite any attempts to shore up the Italian legacy of Harlem Ave, I don’t see this pattern as likely to change. Harlem Ave is, of course, never going to again be what it used to be. IMO, the best that can be hoped for is “managed decline”, where some businesses and institutions hold on while the surrounding communities retain an increasingly minor Italian population.
Of course, none of these trends are unique to Chicago and are also very much evident around NYC.