As an aging millennial at my big 'ol age of 30, I think there's something really grounding about remembering a time before smartphones in our pockets.
Back then, it felt like you could leave the internet exactly where you found it, on a clunky desktop loading at a glacial pace.
And if you wanted to watch a movie at home, you could head over to a local video store and rent one — maybe even ask a worker there for a recommendation. That sounds kind of nice when you think about the endless scroll of titles on streaming services, right?
In today's newsletter, we're heading to McKinley Park, where you can still rent a film at one of the last movie stores in Chicago. We'll look into how, nearly three decades later, the store keeps on rolling.
Staying with our analog theme, we've also got reporting on a board game cafe opening up in Rogers Park and a mural inside the West Lawn library branch.
Plus, the community news you need to know in our digital newsletter below. ????????
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
Origin story: They called Joe Trutin crazy. In 1995, the then-21-year-old planned to open a small video rental store. Trutin said that back then, there were four other rental stores within two blocks of his store, including a Blockbuster. He opened the Video Strip that year at 3307 S. Archer Ave., applying the lessons he learned during stints at several rental stores in his teens.
Still rolling: Trutin’s shop is still here — with shelves, floors and crates filled with the latest releases and hard-to-find titles. The four other stores have shuttered, and there are no more giants. Netflix mailed its final DVD last year, and this year, Redbox declared bankruptcy, removing 24,000 rental kiosks.
A rare find: The Video Strip is now one of the last brick-and-mortar rental stores in the city. It’s one of the last vestiges of the pre-streaming age, when finding something to watch required more effort than scrolling through online queues. It required a little human interaction.
No algorithms here: Trutin credits the store’s longevity to that personal touch. Customers come in with vague ideas of what they want to watch and leave with a Trutin recommendation. When they come back, they ask him to suggest another. There’s also a text club that customers can join for coupons and store-related news. Trutin is even known to bake treats for customers. Hulu doesn’t bake.
More picks than Netflix: The other factor is the size of his catalog, Trutin said. He has amassed more than 25,000 Blu-ray, DVD and video game titles. That range covers genres like anime, Westerns, obscure TV series and wrestling specials. It also has an adult section tucked in the back. Trutin said his collection is larger than the selections offered by many streamers. Netflix, for example, offers more than 8,000 titles in the U.S.
Inside the store: At the Video Strip, plastic cases are shelved nearly floor to ceiling in the cramped space, a maze where cinephiles spend hours hunting. Milk crates overflow with videos. Old and new movie posters, some faded by time, adorn the windows.
Fans of all ages: Many of Trutin’s clients have been with him for years, but the Video Strip is still gaining new fans by word of mouth. As much as he loves movies, he loves the people in his community more, he said, and that’s what keeps him and his store going.
Key quote: "Sure, one day I’d love to retire, but you know if I retired I’d probably be bored out of my mind," he said. "I love movies, but on top of that is the customers. I love dealing with them."
As James Jankowiak planned his mural for the Chicago Public Library’s West Lawn branch, he knew he wanted to pay tribute to the little person’s tavern that once stood on the property.
With an X-acto blade that he also used to create dozens of colorful silhouettes for the mural, he shaped ruby slippers and a soldier to include. That was to recognize actor and tavern founder Parnell St. Aubin, who played a Munchkin soldier in "The Wizard of Oz."
Those were among many neighborhood-flavored characters and figures that Jankowiak, a native of the Southwest Side, included in the 36-foot-long mural titled "Our Collective Catalog / Nuestro Catálogo." Unveiled in March, it arcs around the curved brick wall in the library’s community room.
Jankowiak used a font he designed himself to script the words "La Amada Comunidad," or "The Beloved Community," that nestle among the images. The phrase was coined by philosopher and theologian Josiah Royce and popularized by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who marched for equitable housing in nearby Marquette Park and Gage Park.
The library is offering visitors a do-it-yourself scavenger hunt, Jankowiak says, to search for items and people in the mural.
Athena Board Game Cafe plans to reopen in Rogers Park by early fall at the former site of the Heartland Cafe, the neighborhood’s iconic restaurant and music venue.
The single-story property was torn down in 2019 and replaced with a five-story apartment building that includes retail space on the ground floor. Athena, which signed a 10-year lease, will occupy a 985-square-foot space once construction at the building is complete.
"We expect to offer the same products and services that our customers appreciated in the first location in a new, modern building," Athena’s founder Patricia Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez recalls visiting Heartland when she moved to Rogers Park in 2018.
"It was a beautiful place, welcoming with delicious food," she said. "I’m happy that Athena will be here to be another anchor and gathering place for the neighborhood and still hope for more spaces and activities around us."
Athena, at 1412 W. Lunt Ave., will have hundreds of board games for visitors to play and serve food and drinks. Customers can bring their own alcohol.
Who do you think Vice President Kamala Harris should select as her running mate? Tell us why.
Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
Thanks for reading the Sun-Times Afternoon Edition.
Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Satchel Price
Copy editor: Angie Myers
