There was a time when the Japanese owned Clark Street. After the end of World War II, Japanese immigrants clustered around Clark and Division, moved up to Wrigley Field, and headed north all the way to Andersonville. Dozens of stores and restaurants opened to cater to them. Now Chicago’s Japanese population has scattered to the six counties, and to buy Japanese products one has to go to a Korean store. Still, a few remnants of the Japanese domination of Clark Street persist.
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Joni, who was trained as a chef in Nagoya, ran a tea garden at Superior and State in the 60s. Ninety-five percent of her customers were Japanese businessmen, and they expected to be served a certain way. “What a headache,” she says. “I just wanted everyone to come in and be more relaxed.”
But the Ishidas’ friends kept bugging them to open another restaurant. All the good Japanese home-style restaurants had closed, they complained, and Joni was the best cook they knew. Joni also wanted her own kitchen again, and the Sunshine Cafe was born.
The other day, Joni and John were taking a break, eating a traditional Whopper with fries. “Everyone gets tired of the same old stuff,” Joni said. Around 2:30 an elderly woman came in. She eats at the cafe at least two times a week, always in the middle of the day when there are plenty of free tables and Joni has time to talk. Over a bowl of tempura soba, she said, “A lot of people don’t like to be alone, but I don’t mind.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Dorothy Perry.
