McDonald’s moved into the neighborhood, in the 1400 block of North Clybourn on the edge of Cabrini-Green, in 1971 but pulled down its yellow plastic arches in 1977. The company claimed poor revenues were the reason for the rare failure. It’s not often that Big Mac suffers a black eye.
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Today what one finds inside is Lee Samawi, a bearded, smiling entrepreneur who two months ago took over the cavelike building. A Jordanian immigrant, he opened up the Seven Brothers Supermarket with his younger brother, Jesse, 26. (The name of the grocery pays tribute to his brothers, several of whom remain in Jordan.)
Samawi doesn’t have an MBA; his venture, like his life in the United States since he arrived here in 1974, is based on his gut instincts. They tell him that this grocery in this forgotten place can survive. It might even thrive. He retains the optimism of the 21-year-old who arrived on U.S. soil seeking freedom of thought and commerce. Samawi, who has another grocery store on the south side, concedes his latest venture is risky, but he is intent on making friends here.
At mid-morning, Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” is pouring out of the store radio and Samawi is looking with some pride at his meat display. Samawi’s shelves are loaded with neat rows of diapers and baby food, marshmallows, soda pop, and an assortment of condiments. “I came here for a better life, and this is what it’s all about,” he says. “Giving people what they want.”
