Week Seven/ Eight: Crazy Weeks!

Namaskar (greetings) everyone!

     I have been working on several things over the past two weeks. I went through the information I collected from the archives at the Chicago History Museum. I specifically looked at several store-front pictures taken around the 1980's and compared them to the recent pictures I had taken. I noticed there were several stores such as the Indian Sari Palace and Taj Sari Palace that are still in business today. There were numerous others that cease to exist in the present times. I noticed there were several American chain stores such as Payless Shoe Source that were located on Devon Ave. I examined census data from the Chicago Local Fact Book  for West Ridge and the Rogers Park neighborhood for 1980 and it showed that there was a higher percentage of Caucasians residing in the area. Something interesting I came across was the Standard India Restaurant. This restaurant was located between Campbell and Rockwell on Devon Ave. but it relocated near the intersection of Belmont and Clark. I called the restaurant to find out a little bit more information a couple of weeks ago. The store is still owned and operated by Kamboj family and description of the origins and development of the restaurant can be found on their website.

  I also had to modify my list of business addresses between Damen and Western on Devon Ave. I had to walk down several blocks to make sure that the addresses that I recorded were still existent. There were several businesses that closed down. For example, a Pakistani bank, salon, and restaurant all near each other went out of business quite recently. Even Stella Espresso closed down over the week near Sheridan and Devon Ave. There is a Papa Johns that will soon open near the same location.

  My mentor and director of the internship, Dr. John Pincince, also compiled all of our proposed interview questions together and came up with a guideline of sorts to help us when we begin interviewing residents and store owners of Rogers Park. This week our task is to conduct mock interviews and attempt to record them. I will interview my mother because she is a resident in the neighborhood and I will interview a family friend because he owns and operates Shahjalal Grocery on Devon Ave. Below are the questions I will ask during the interviews. For my next post, I will attempt to upload the recording.

Interview Questions:

1. Where are you from? For how long have you been in the USA?  In Chicago?  On Devon?
2. [If individual emigrated to the USA, then these questions may be asked):
a. What drew you to the USA?
b. What drew you to Chicago? 
c. What drew you to work/open business on Devon Ave.?
3. What languages do you and your employees speak?
4. Do you live near the Rogers Park, West Rogers Park or West Ridge area? If so, why have you chosen this location?
5. Why did you choose to open up a business on Devon Ave. in particular?
6. How long has your establishment been open?
7. Are there stores that sell similar products as you nearby? Does this affect your competition?
8. Are your customers local residents or from towns outside of Chicago?
9. Which days are your busiest days of the week?  Why?
10. What have you learned from your experiences as a shop owner and do you have any advice for new business owners?
11. What memories do you have of Devon Ave?
12. How has Devon Avenue changed since you first arrived here?
13.  What changes would you like to see to Devon Ave?
14. What do you think of the future of Devon Ave.?
15.Do you think you will pass on the business to your children or another family member?
16. Do you think the diversity on Devon Ave. is beneficial to your business?
17.  How have you been affected by the recent construction?
18. Why did you choose Devon Ave for your shop/restaurant?
19. Have you lived anywhere else in the United States previously? How does life in this other location compare to life here?
20. What demographic does the majority of your business come from?