Another Last Hurrah. Sort of.

By Cliff Etters

I moved to the Edgewater neighborhood in 2007 and have had fun exploring and discovering all sorts of gems like Gino's North, Moody's Pub, Ras Dashen, The Sovereign, the Holzkopf Meat Market, and Standee's.

Regardless of what the sign states, Standee's isn't a restaurant. It's not a diner. It's a greasy spoon, and in the neighborhood, it's one hell of an establishment. With the faux wood paneling, old skool Coco-Cola light fixtures, the faded inkjet printed specials above the back counter, and the brick patterned linoleum, the place exudes a feeling of shabby good-naturedness.

It's the kind of place that your dad would take you. It's the kind of place that terrifies suburbanites. You can see it all here: Loyola students nursing cups of coffee while studying. Folks staggering in from the Granville Anvil and The Sovereign sauced to the gills. Last Halloween I saw one flamboyant young man mince in wearing a mesh top and angel's wings seeking change for a $10 bill, then try to con the waitress by claiming she shortchanged him.

And it's all in our neighborhood. At least until the end of the year.

That's right. Standee's is going the way of Meig's Field and Marshall Fields. The landlord has decided to not renew the lease. This seems suspicious in the current economy, especially since the restaurant seems to do well, and has been in place "since at least the 50s" according to one patron who claims to be a regular since the 1970s.

According to the staff, the landlord has not issued a reason for not renewing the lease (not that there is any sort of requirement that the landlord do so), but Standee's patrons speculate about things like gentrification or even another restaurant coming in willing to pay a higher rent.

Fortunately, Standee's will be reopening across the street, but maybe not with its neon sign. It's a beauty. Traditional and still fully functioning, it's technically owned by the landlord, and there's been no information forthcoming regarding if it will be moved to the new location or simply be discarded like so many of the other neon signs in Chicago.

For a great image of the Standee's sign at night go here.

So we're not completely losing coffee with quick refills, eggs to order, bacon and sausage, and, quite possibly, the best damn patty melt in the city all available 24 hours a day.