locationorbuyatraditionalIndiansariandaJewish
tzniusdressononeblock.”
FourdecadesafterI lefttheneighborhood,Isit in
EstherSabo’s tinyoffice inTel-AvivKosherBakery,
drinkingcoffee,devouringastickysweetrollandsa-
voringtheold-worldovenodorsofryebread,cookies
andonionbagels. Esther is the owner’s daughter,
andalongwithherhusband,Menachem, hasman-
aged thebakeryat this location formore than three
decades.Hersister, SharonNagel, alsoworksat the
store, and theirparents, bothHolocaust survivors,
established the bakery in another locationmore
than60yearsago.
I joke toEsther: “I leave theneighborhood for
40 years and everything changes.” Yet, Chicago
neighborhoods are constantly changing. As au-
thorsCharlesBowdenandLewKreinbergwrote in
StreetSignsChicago
,“Neighborhoodsareoccasions,
placeswherepeoplehangtheirhatsuntiltheygetthe
chance tomoveon.”
Menachem, who works six days a week from
4 in themorninguntil 6 in theevening, givesmea
succinctrecapon thechanges in theneighborhood.
“Twenty-five years ago, therewas abigmigration
of RussianJews into theneighborhood. After the
RussianJewscametheGreeks.AftertheGreekscame
theAssyrians.AftertheAssyrianscame theIndians
andPakistanis.”
Estherexplainstome ingreatdetailhowthebusi-
ness has adjusted to amore-diversedemographic
onDevon. “Whenyouwerehere, itwas99percent
Jewish,”shesays.“MyclienteleisstillmostlyJewish,
butwenowhave a lot ofMuslims.We adjustedby
making products that fit the neighborhood, such
as churros for theLatinopopulation. But inmany
waysthenewresidentsadjustedtous.A lotofpeople
fromdifferentethnicgroups likeourbaking.During
Ramadan,Muslimscome intobuyourMiddleEast-
ernproducts likerugelach.Ourpoppy-seedcakesare
60
JUNE2015
AMERICANWAY
BabuPatel, president
ofSahil, canhelpyou
havea traditional
Indianwedding.
Thisspiritofcooperationamong
somanydifferentculturesand
faiths is inspiring,andIbeginto
wonder ifDevonholdsagreater
message fortheworldat large.
