On the stretch of Ashland that runs from Back of the Yards to Englewood, between 50th and 63rd Streets, vacant lots and storefront churches outnumber shops and homes, and pedestrians are few and far between. But a few scrappy shopkeepers hawk their wares there anyway–some because they’re committed to the neighborhood, others because they got stuck there. They put their goods out on the street and hope the city doesn’t bust them for blocking a public walkway. Then they pray for customers.
Nageh Salameh moved here in 1983 “from Palestine, the Holy Land,” he says. He started his own business selling rugs off a truck in 1994. Now he uses them outside to advertise his variety store. “Sometimes we don’t sell nothing from outside,” he says. “It’s just to attract the customer.”
5323 S. Ashland
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Mike of Ashland Auto Repair & Sales and Gary of G & B Resale didn’t want to be photographed, but both were happy to talk. “There’s no business around here, nothing going on, man,” says Mike, who’s originally from Israel. “From 51st Street to 79th Street is no business. Auto repair, nothing. We tried tire repair, nobody comes. We start selling refrigerators. We put the refrigerators out to draw business. This one is $175. I’d let it go for $125 if somebody offered. Look, I’m studying this book.” He’s holds up a book on oven and cooktop repair.
Before Gary started the resale shop he owned a used-car lot next door to the auto repair store. Gary’s business was better before the corner Walgreens closed eight months ago. “When Walgreens was here there was a lot of traffic, a lot of walkers-by,” he says. “Now, since Walgreens left, gone to 47th Street, you don’t have no ladies walking by.” So he puts his wares out to attract drivers. “If I didn’t they wouldn’t know I’m here. A lot of times people will be looking for a certain thing. If you have it outside and they drive by and see it, they’ll stop.”
Reverend John Johnson has everything a full-service record store needs except walls and a roof. His sound system draws customers–several are browsing the hard-to-find gospel, blues, and R&B CDs and tapes displayed on racks and folding tables. But Johnson, a Pentecostal minister, isn’t here primarily to make money. Forced in 2001 to move from Maxwell Street, where he was a familiar figure for nearly 40 years, he’s on a mission: “I chose this area because it’s involved in gang activity and people are afraid of the area,” he says. “I’m a minister, but I take my ministry outside. I take artistically oriented music and bring it into a community that has devastation and some hopelessness.
5038 S. Ashland
