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Jim Vrettos started working in the service industry at age nine,
bringing water to the counter customers in his dad’s luncheonette
on Chicago’s south side. In his early teens the family moved
to the north side. They rented a storefront at the corner of Broadway
and Belmont, and opened a fruit stand, where Jim continued to
work and to gain experience (especially in the finer points of
customer service).
Jim served in the Army from 1952 thru 1955. After the sudden
death of his Father in 1956, he bought out the other Family members
to establish the Evergreen Fine Foods.
Jim and his wife Monica worked long hours, seven days a week,
and seldom took a vacation. They never lived more than half a
city block from the store. He loved the neighborhood and its people
and came to be an active member of the community.
Jim worked to establish the first Broadway Chamber of Commerce.
He started a small ad paper to promote store sales. The front
page of the paper was dedicated to neighborhood news. He took
on everything from slumlords to streetwalkers. He worked with
all the local religious and community groups, local government
and police agencies. Still, he found time to grow and enlarge
his business and establish the Broadway Art Fair.
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