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Taylor Street Archives
www.taylorstreetarchives.com
“It was a glorious time.”
Nick Caruso Sr.: My Way
Vince Romano
June 2006
Prologue
In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Plato depicts the mass of humanity
chained to the floor of a dark cave. Their only source of motivation,
in addition to their basic survival needs, comes from the images cast
on the wall of the cave…images created by “architects of culture”
manipulating an artificial light source behind them. In this classic
philosophical dialogue, Plato describes how, from this mass of
humanity, an occasional individual recognizes and responds to the
lure of the light at the opening of the cave.
Over two millenniums later, modern day allegories, such as Richard
Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, tell seemingly parallel stories of
individual odysseys by those individuals who, heeding a similar call,
chose to break from the herd…timeless stories of rare individuals
who did it their way. In Jonathan’s case, it was the flock from which
he broke.
In “Be…,” the lead song of the movie version of Richard Bach’s
fabled seagull, Neil Diamond memorialized the existentialist seed
that lies dormant within us…the seed that first emerged with the
rebellion of Prometheus. Defying the Gods, Prometheus gave fire
and enlightenment to us mortals. Neil Diamond’s poetic words
captured the essence of Prometheus, Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre,
Richard Bach, and other existentialists.
In yet another of our modern day musical allegories (written by Paul
Anka and popularized by Frank Sinatra), the journey through the life
of a single individual is again used to remind us that we were neither
destined to remain shackled to the bottom of the cave, groveling for
our existence, nor, like Jonathan’s flock, were we destined to depend,
for our survival, upon the garbage thrown overboard by fishing
vessels.
A Taylor Street Odyssey
To begin before the beginning, Caruso’s mother, Mary, was born on
DeKoven Street, in Mrs. O’Leary’s cottage. It is here, in the southeast
corner of the legendary Taylor Street’s Little Italy, that the Great
Chicago Fire is alleged to have started. Spanning over eons of time,
it was the gift of fire, given to us by Prometheus, which destroyed the
legendary Phoenix that rose again from its own ashes. An omen,
perhaps, of what awaited Mary Caruso’s eldest son.
Fast forward to today, and, for many, Nick Caruso Sr. epitomizes the
quintessential Taylor Street bred entrepreneur. Whether it was the
light at the top of the cave or the Prometheus instinct that stirs
within us all, Caruso weaned himself from the confines of Taylor
Street’s Little Italy. He entered what many consider to be the riskiest
of all entrepreneurial ventures. Caruso traveled a road not far
removed from that of other Taylor Street bred entrepreneurs. The
similarity between and among these Taylor Street alumni and
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, was that each did it “their way.” For
Jonathan, “becoming all that he was capable of becoming” was his
inspiration for learning to soar, at 160 miles per hour, around and
over cliffs that once confined him to his birthplace. Ultimately, the
price Jonathan paid was an untimely death when he crashed into
those same cliffs.
Excelling in a world that had been defined and shaped for us by
others, Caruso reached out beyond the boundaries of Taylor Street’s
Little Italy to the entrepreneurial world that encompassed Rush
Street, then Vegas and ultimately reaching out to the city that never
sleeps…a world with its own treacherous cliffs and unpredictable
winds. Whatever it was that triggered a handful of other Taylor
Street bred entrepreneurs to venture out beyond the limitations
imposed upon us by the larger society, that same “piper man” called
out to Caruso. In responding, Caruso joined that small group of
residents who transcended the local tradition of aligning one’s career
to neighborhood and “first ward” ties.
When he was not in class or playing ball, Caruso could usually be
found at the South Water Street Market helping his dad, Sam, with
the family produce business. The entrepreneurial side of his
personality developed in the hustling world of one of Chicago’s
busiest marketplaces. One could surmise that Nick’s soft-spoken
and empathetic personality would have put him at a disadvantage in
the “ask for and give no quarter” culture of South Water Street.
Whether it did or not, we do know that his loyalty, humility,
compassion, and unpretentious behavior were welcomed traits in
gaining him the trust and respect of business associates far removed
from South Water Street’s produce market. As the record shows,
there are numerous attestations, from a host of friends and business
associates, to the qualities Caruso possessed that inspired their
association with him. They include the likes of Tommy Lasorda (of
Los Angeles Dodgers fame); George Randazzo (who participated in
recognizing and honoring Caruso’s loyalty with the Salvatore Franco
Award at the Italian American National Sports Hall of Fame); Frank
Sinatra (including Jilly Rizzo, D’Rone and other members of Sinatra’s
close knit associates); and a host of other notables too numerous to
mention.
Do not be misled by the young Caruso’s less than aggressive
personality and the obedient responses of a son to his father’s needs
and wishes. Stories abound about escapades reminiscent of growing
up on Taylor Street. Having a driver’s license at age 14, Caruso was
in demand by his boyhood friends. Joy rides were accomplished by
pushing the targeted cars out of their garages so as not to alert the
owners by starting the engines too close to their homes. Ditto when
they returned the cars to their garages later that same day. Needless
to mention, there must have been other instances that reflect the
adventurous and mischievous part of “growing up Taylor Street.”
His athletic talents and leadership skills offer yet another dimension
of him. St. Ignatius, the prestigious college prep school, which
anchors the south end of Taylor Street’s Little Italy, preserves in its
trophy case, for posterity, a reminder of Caruso’s superb athletic
gifts. As the starting guard, he led their basketball team to the co-
championship of the largest catholic school athletic conference in
America. His genetic link to Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, the great Joe
DiMaggio, apparently had not lain dormant. The Carusos and the
DiMaggios, sharing the same blood lines, emigrated from Sicily to
America at the turn of the 20th century. One eventually settled in a
west coast fishing village with “tiny cable cars” and the other
emigrated to the city that anchors the “bread basket of the word.”
Other, not so visible, qualities he possessed were apparently
recognized by his high school teammates, long before he made the
decision to venture beyond his Taylor Street confines. His
teammates elected him to be their team captain. Of course, one
could also make a case that Caruso’s inspirations, dreams, drives,
and leadership talents were also due, in part, to his ancestral links to
the likes of the Caesars, DiVincis, Michaelangelos, Galileos, et al. If
history has taught us anything, it was that they too, regrets and all,
responded to the light, broke from the flock and did it their way.
At the time Caruso was growing up, Taylor Street’s Little Italy, like
many other Little Italies throughout America, abounded with 15 and
16 year-old high school drop outs. (Federal studies showed that
Italian-Americans had fewer students enrolling in college than any
other European ethnic group--not an unlikely result when one
considers the impact the media had upon the opportunities available
to Italian-American youngsters.) Caruso, contrary to the path
followed by most of Taylor Street’s first and second generation
Italian Americans, attended Loyola University. His employment as
an instructor at both Sheridan Park and the CYO, two of the
institutions that anchored the Taylor Street community, followed
shortly after his tenure at Loyola University. Both institutions
complemented the now legendary Jane Addams’ Hull House in
serving the needs of its Taylor Street residents. Bowen Country Club,
a summer camp affiliated with Hull House, is memorialized
elsewhere in these Archives.
The defining moment of the business enterprise Caruso led came in
1971, when he met for the first time with Jilly Rizzo, Sinatra’s best
friend and bodyguard, at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. There were
frequent consultations and meetings with Jilly before Caruso finally
orchestrated the opening of Jilly’s Rush Street Lounge in 1981. Its
meteoric success was sparked, in no small part, by the Sinatra
influence. During the turbulent eighties, social, political and
demographic changes began to impact the Street. Eventually, Rush
Street succumbed to those changes. Jilly’s, along with other anchor
tenants that had given the Street its glitter, was forced to close its
doors.
Like the perennial seasons, Rush Street once more reinvented itself.
As we entered the 90s, the Gibsons and the Carmines began
replacing the Sweetwaters and the Adolphs that were the Rush Street
icons of the 70s and 80s. Reminiscent of a climax forest, the street
awaited the Caruso/Sinatra ingredient to complete its resurrection
and restore its lost glitter. Like the legendary Phoenix, Caruso’s Jilly’
s responded. On May 6th 1995, Jilly’s opened its doors once again on
Rush Street. The Caruso/Sinatra rebirth was an overwhelming
success. That success spurred the expansion of the Jilly’s
Entertainment Group. By the end of the nineties, the Jilly enterprise,
led by Caruso, had opened a Jilly’s in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Prior
to the untimely death of Jilly Rizzo, plans had been in place to open a
20,000 square foot Bistro lounge in Vegas.
As we entered the new millennium, the news began to spread that
Jilly’s was looking to expand eastward, to the city that never sleeps.
In August 2001, the New York Jilly’s opened its doors. Before the
successes portended by the gala opening could be digested, New
York was hit by the now infamous September 11th terrorist attack.
Shortly after, another crippling blow was dealt to New York’s food
and beverage industry when an ordinance was passed banning
smoking in public places. That combination proved devastating to
the newly opened Jilly’s Bistro. No stranger to adversity, it was time,
once again, for Caruso to deal with the aftermath of destructive
forces that were beyond his control.
Caruso’s father, Sam, although living the last 35 years of his life
blind, continued to excel at his trade and to provide for his family.
Nick battles a similar set of problems, among which is a diabetic
condition that has significantly impaired his vision. Perhaps it is
again the same genetic connection to the great Joe DiMaggio that
enables the Carusos to take the blows and, through it all, to continue
fulfilling their responsibilities and to meet their obligations. I share
with you this excerpt from Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man
and the Sea. I quote from memory:
The old man, struggling to fight off sharks eating away at the prize
fish he caught and struggling to overcome the painful burns from the
rope holding the great fish to the side of his boat, renews his will and
summons the courage to endure by comparing his struggle with the
struggles that faced Joe DiMaggio during his waning years. “His
heel was so painful he could barely put on his shoe before each
game. He did not give up…he did not complain…he did not make
excuses! I too will not complain…I will have no excuses…I will not
give up!”
Not unlike his dad, Caruso’s presence and his words continue to
command the attention of business associates and personal friends.
When visiting the Blue Boys’ Club at Polk and Aberdeen (as he
occasionally does on Friday afternoons), Nick Caruso can be found at
the center table reminiscing with his Taylor Street boyhood friends.
When the language suddenly clears up, table by table and room to
room, it is a signal that his wife, Pat, has arrived. Like the summer
wind, her brief stay, prior to embarking on the return trip to their
home in Oak Brook Terrace, fans the embers of memories and
reveries of times gone by. It is a welcome glow.
A quarter century spent in the inner circles of Frank Sinatra have
brought Caruso and his wife, Pat, in contact with numerous
celebrities. In addition to the Lasordas and Randazzos, they
included the Kennedy clan and an assortment of movie stars, TV
personalities, sports figures, entertainers, and other celebrities—the
noting of which would exceed the limitations of this writing. The
guest list and congratulatory letters at his recent birthday celebration
attest to the strength of those friendships as they endured through
the years.
Nancy Sinatra remains close to the Caruso clan. Time will tell
whether or not Caruso will, once again, take on the treacherous cliffs
and the unpredictable winds of the entertainment industry. If so,
like the great ancestral navigators before him, the charts he has
accumulated will inspire confidence in the crew assembled for the
journey. And even if he decides to pursue a retirement away from
new business endeavors, the territory he has already charted will
serve as an inspiration to others.
By: Vince Romano
312-443-6241
Upon my return to Taylor Street, after decades of being away to raise
my family, I am reintroduced to everyone as follows, “You remember
Josie from Sheridan Park…well this is Josie’s son.” When I won the
raffle (a brand new BMW car) at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii’s
Annual Summer Fest, the word that passed through the crowd and
around the neighborhood was, “Josie’s son won the BMW.”
This site, the Taylor Street Archives, is dedicated to the memory of all
of those Taylor Street mothers who nurtured their Taylor Street
children through a time and place unmatched by any other. The
Profiles of those strong willed mothers who nurtured us through the
great depression (and other, not so visible, obstacles of similar
magnitude) will be found in these archives.… Vince Romano
If you resided in Taylor Street’s “Little Italy” at any time, you and
your family are eligible to be listed in the Taylor Street Archives
along with any stories and pictures you wish to present.
Applications can be picked up at Taylor Street establishments such
as Ferrara’s and Scufari’s bakery shops, Conte de Savoy grocer,
Chiarugi’s hardware, or any of the Social Athletic Clubs that
proliferate the neighborhood. (312) 218-4044. www.
taylorstreetarchives.com