Vol. VII No. 37 Maywood Fest in photos, PAGE 9
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
vfpress.news
The Taste of Melrose Park in photos, PAGE 9
Roosevelt Road busy with new developments New establishments – from gas stations to event spaces – translate into lots of ‘Help Wanted’ signs By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
The stretch of Roosevelt Road between 1st Avenue in Maywood and 25th Avenue in Broadview, and the surrounding commercial area within blocks from it, are busy with new development projects that are likely to bring with them new jobs. The Broadview Minuteman gas station that’s inside of the old GoLo gas station at 2319 Roosevelt Rd. opened earlier this year, bringing with it full-time and part-time cashier positions at $15 to $16 an hour. Minuteman is one of the newest gas stations to open in or near the Roosevelt Road commercial corridor. The Mart Express gas station at 1811 S. 17th Ave., about half-a-mile north of Roosevelt Road, also opened earlier this year. David Upshaw, Broadview’s building commissioner, said in July that the village has a total of three gas stations. The village board recently approved creating a Class K liquor license classification that’s required for gas stations seeking to offer video gaming. “In order to have video gaming, you have to have a liquor license,” Upshaw said at the July See ROOSEVELT on page 8
SHANEL ROMAIN/Staff Photographer
John Vergara stands in the parking lot of a jazz cafe under construction. The establishment’s developers commissioned him to paint the sepia-toned mural behind him.
Jazzy Bellwood mural pays homage to music icons Artist John Vergara’s mural at 243 Mannheim Rd. recently went up on the outside of a planned jazz café that will have a Vegas theme By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
When Chicago artist John Vergara was tapped to paint the entire south-facing brick facade of a two-story former auto shop at 243 Mannheim Rd. in Bellwood, he thought about his island roots. “I wanted to focus on the people of the
Caribbean and African culture — that mixture,” said Vergara, who is Puerto Rican. “My favorite icon is Sammy Davis Jr. A lot of people don’t know that he’s half-Black and half-Cuban.” If you’re driving north on Mannheim toward St. Charles Road, you may notice Davis Jr.’s charismatic figure foregrounding two dancers. He’s frozen in
a Las Vegas performance. The sepia-toned mural also depicts Lena Horne and Harry Belafonte, who is the son of Jamaican-born parents and who helped popularize Caribbean music around the world. Vergara’s mural fits the Vegas-style See MURAL on page 8