It had been there as long as I could remember--the rundown-looking pizza place on Irving Park Road just west of Kedzie.
Even before I'd moved into the neighborhood, I'd known Manzo'. One of my best friends from high school loved the place, so we ate there from time to time in the dining room that, in my memory at least, was dark and ancient, the kind of place where wise guys would meet up with aldermen to deliver payoffs and marching orders, hoping to hell that that the booths weren't bugged.
The photo above was taken last summer. At the time, I didn't know it would be the last photo I'd take of Manzo's.
Last week, Manzo's was torn down.
I wasn't overly surprised. Like I said, Manzo's looked worn out, even from the outside, and the supermarket next door had gone out of business at least a decade earlier. After the barricade went up around the adjoined buildings, I looked at the sign on Manzo's front door. It thanked patrons for their 20+ years (Manzo's was much older than that, so this must have been a message from the then-current owners) and announced that they would reopen in a new space with a new concept and new attitude--in other words, another restaurant, but nothing like Manzo's.
A sign attached to the barricade announced that a Chase bank branch would be built on the site. Great. Yet another bank branch swallowing up yet another corner. Yet another corner that looks like yet another corner. No business with a personality--even a well-worn one--of its own.
No Manzo's.
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