This afternoon Lisa and I met up with YaYa and Alex at A &J Deli on Lincoln, just east of 13th St. Earlier in the week we'd heard the sad news on Facebook that they were going out of business, and we wanted to stop by, not only to stock up, but to say our goodbyes to a fine place.
From the first glance, it was obvious the news wasn't just correct, but had been met with a similar reaction in the Polish community.
All we wound up walking out with was a jar of pickles, red cabbage, jam, beet chrzan, and a bag of milk cookies. Oh, and a bottle of Polish alcohol for YaYa.
The owner was there and said he was retiring, but I don't know, it didn't seem like a planned move. In recent years another Polish store, Wioletta's, has gotten a lot of press attention and foot traffic. I have to imagine - and imagine is all it may be - that Wioletta's greatly impacted their bottom line. If so, it's a shame. A&J's felt real - Wioletta's . . .man, it's like shopping at a Target.
RIP A&J's. We'll miss you.
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