Hyde Park diner toasts a regular-turned-President
Proud locals share history, stories of favorite son at Valois Cafeteria
By Thalia Gigerenzer
CHICAGO — Valois Cafeteria, the Hyde Park diner and Presidential hangout, surprised its customers Tuesday morning with a new addition to its usual repertoire of hash browns, pot roast, grits, and oatmeal: a slice of homemade history.
By eight o’clock, the line to get a free Obama coffee mug and his favorite breakfast of strip steak and eggs stretched across the entire diner, very nearly pushing the huddled TV crews into the kitchen.
Many of the people here remember the days when Obama was a community organizer and a regular at this homegrown neighborhood favorite.
“I remember him handing out literature on the street corner,” said Jimmy Prowell, 70. “At first it was hard to imagine him in the White House.”
With its cheap eats and friendly conversation, Valois has become a symbol of the diverse community that made Obama—a fact that was not lost on the seven TV stations that marched into Valois armed with video cameras and microphones.
But Drew Thomas and his friend Richard Thomas, both recently retired, have grown used to the limelight.
“She’s our favorite,” Drew Thomas said, pointing at the blonde host of the local Fox News station. After turning off her microphone, she joined the two friends for breakfast, as an honorary local.
The mood was electric at Valois the morning of Barack Obama’s inauguration as people from all walks of life—janitors, teachers, bankers, social workers, reporters, and professors—shared tables and hopes for the next four years.
“I feel a little numb,” said Prowell, who remembers a time when he was not allowed to eat at certain restaurants. “You can really feel the joy in the air.”
But conversations shifted quickly from euphoria to serious discussions of practical matters, such as fixing the economy and getting black teenagers off the streets.
Both Judy Frazier, a post-office worker who raised three daughters on her own, and Carl Mcgahee, who now runs a mentoring program for black youth, were inspired by Obama to return to social work.
“I’m going to start writing letters to Congressmen,” Frazier said.
“One man can’t do it all,” Mcgahee said, “We all have to work together, and I’ll be doing my part.”
But for people like Vernon Haynes, an elderly man who has devoted his life to social work, Obama represents a mentality that was around long before 2008.
“What Obama has changed are the attitudes of young folks, not their parents. Look, I don’t care if you’re black or white,” Haynes said, adding he had enough role models growing up, living among civil rights activists, dentists, doctors, and teachers.
A few hours before the inaugural ceremony, a near-miracle: A roar of applause broke out as Obama himself walked into the small diner. Well, not quite—a man with an uncanny resemblance to Obama shook hands with customers, hugging some. “Congratulations, Mr. President!” people yelled.
Reggie Brown, a 28-year-old Obama impersonator, said it feels great to be greeted as Obama. “I’m doing this all in honor of Obama. He’s always been a role model for me.”
And really, it didn’t seem to matter that this wasn’t the real Obama; it seemed as if the power of symbol, so important in Obama’s election, had taken a bizarre twist in Valois that morning.
As Obama gave his inaugural speech on the mounted screen on the wall, the din of jovial conversation turned to silence as people watched, rapt with attention. Cameramen stood poised and ready to pounce as tears began to flow freely.
And after awhile, the reporters turned their cameras away from the customers and toward the screen and simply watched.
