The Frunchroom

A ladies-only lineup. The kickoff to Beverly Art Walk Week. Craft cocktails! There’s a lot to love about this edition of The Frunchroom.

If you’re just learning about us after South Side Weekly named us one of the Best of the South Side or seeing us on Windy City Live, here’s everything you need to know. Even if you’ve been to The Frunchroom before, there’s new info here for you like the artists whose work you’ll see and details on those drinks.

Who are the readers?

Eve Ewing
Essayist, poet, sociologist, editor, artist

Katy Jacob
Writer, professional nerd, payments expert

Sheila Maloney
Mom, lawyer, professor, friend, wine enthusiast

Eileen O’Connor
Blogger

Mare Swallow
Writer, founder of Chicago Writers Conference, fan of gin, ukulele novice

What’s the time? 730pm. But show up early so you chat with friends, get a drink from the bar and settle in.

Where’s the place? Beverly Woods Restaurant (11532 S. Western Ave.)

What’s the cost? We ask for a $5 donation at the door to support the work of the non-profit Beverly Area Arts Alliance, which co-produces the show, sets up the room and coordinates the beautiful art you’ll see in our space.

Wait, there’s art? Yes, we will have vintage fashion illustrations from Judie Anderson and some sharp hats from Jen Kolb throughout the space.

Are there seats? Yes, but get there early. We tend to pack the house. We’ll be in the Caravan Room.

Where do I park? Beverly Woods has ample parking. Park in the north lot and you’ll be closest to the entrance for the show.

How do I get there via transit? We’re a more car-friendly destination than a transit-friendly one. It’s a 15-20 walk from Metra’s 1115th St. stop on the Rock Island Line. Take Metra’s Rock Island line to 115th St. Walk west on 115th St. then make a left on Longwood to 116th St. and make a right. Walk toward Bell Ave. and make a left until you get to 116th Pl. then make a right. Walk to Western Ave. and make a right. Cross Western at 116th St. You’ll see Beverly Woods on your left. Or you can take the Western Avenue CTA bus (note to North Siders: this is a reaaaaally long ride) or the Pace 349.

Where can I eat? Get there early and you can eat in Beverly Woods’s restaurant area (try their famous rolls). Snapper’s is right next door for some fast-food fish and Lumes Pancake House is across the street. For more nearby restaurants, there’s this list from Yelp.

You mentioned drinks? Beer and wine will be available at the cash bar. Plus, Horse Thief Hollow’s own Lizzy Benner will have two craft cocktails available: Commodores and blackberry gin fizzes, each for $8.

What are the stories like? Some are sincere, some are tongue-in-cheek. One may be a call-to-action, another might make you think. One might be historical, one might make you remember a place you haven’t been since childhood. Basically, like having a conversation with someone you haven’t seen in a while. This review from South Side Weekly really captures what we’re about.

Who’s helping you with this? I’m producing this in partnership with The Beverly Area Arts Alliance (or The Alliance, for short).

A big thanks to Monica Wilczak, Sal Campbell, David Barsotti, Jane Zia, Chris Wilczak and Lizzy Benner who’ve given this event material, financial and moral support. And a huge thanks to Beverly Woods for hosting us. (Thank them by purchasing beverages and tipping profusely.)

And, of course, huge thanks to all our readers and, in advance, to you for coming.

Our final reader for this edition of The Frunchroom is filling the “token North Sider” role, but, as you’ll see and hear, her roots are on the South Side.

Mare Swallow is the Founder of the Chicago Writers Conference and author of 21 Ways to Engage Your Audience. Her work has recently appeared in Story Club magazine. By day, she is a professional speaker and MFA student. She writes creative non fiction, and tells her stories on the Live Lit Circuit, at events such as That’s All She Wrote, FlickLit,  Story Lab, Story Club, Is This A Thing? and Tuesday Funk. She has been named to New City’s Lit 50 list twice.

Born at South Shore hospital and originally from the East Side, she defected to the North Side 17 years ago and now lives in Andersonville. She is a total gin Snob and plays ukulele, very badly. Mare will read a personal essay about the crazy work ethic she says she grew up with.

See you tomorrow at The Frunchroom! 730pm at Beverly Woods (11532 S Western Ave.).

Click here to RSVP on Facebook for a reminder about the event.

The third reader in our ladies-only* edition of The Frunchroom is Sheila Maloney, a Beverly resident and wearer of many hats.

At work Sheila is the Director of Externships at Northern Illinois University, College of Law. In addition to her work at the university, Sheila has a private legal practice focusing on arbitration and mediation where she resolves cases, conducts trainings and works with high school students on restorative justice issues. She is the author of The American Bar Association’s Guide to Resolving Your Dispute: Inside and Outside of the Courtroom. At home she has the title of Mom to her 3 kids and Wife to her dear husband. Sheila tries to balance work and family and finds that it’s almost always just one big zoo.

Sheila is a student of life who enjoys traveling, reading, dancing, and binge-watching Netflix series. She’s passionate about diversity issues, current affairs and sweet white wines. Sheila was born in São Paulo, Brazil, grew up in the Chicago suburbs and has lived in Wicker Park (before it was cool), the West Loop (when it was turning cool) and now Beverly (which has always been cool). She’s also a member of the Southwest Chicago Diversity Collaborative.

Sheila received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and her law degree from Northwestern University, School of Law. She has a mediation certificate from the Center for Conflict Resolution. She will read a piece about choices and says it will be more “drama” than comedy, but promises a couple jokes all the same.

See Sheila and the rest of our readers at Beverly Woods on Tuesday, September 27th at 730pm.

* Ladies-only readers. Gentlemen welcome in the audience!

Many of this month’s readers have strong Beverly ties, including our next reader – even though she doesn’t live in Beverly anymore.

Katy Jacob is a professional nerd, a mom of two and a wife to one. Given “spare time,” she likes to be by herself. She writes at katydidcancer.blogspot.com  as well as at livechickenonsix.blogspot.com and is proud to have been part of the inaugural cast of Listen to Your Mother Chicago (2012).

Katy spent almost twenty years working on financial services and economic development research and policy for nonprofit think tanks and the Federal Reserve System. After a decade as a business economist and senior payments consultant for the Federal Reserve, Katy quit the daily grind and started her own consulting company, Katy Jacob Consultants LLC. (This just happened, so she’s still trying to figure out exactly what to do with herself.)

She hopes that now she will have more time to devote to writing poetry and missives about Chicago. Katy lived in Beverly for twelve years until last month, when she moved to Oak Park, her hometown. Her kids will always be native south siders and she will always believe that the Dan Ryan is the most efficient expressway in Chicago. She will read a bittersweet personal essay about her dysfunctional relationship with Chicago.

Join us at The Frunchroom at Beverly Woods Restaurant on September 27th at 730pm.