Nate Duncan (Nate's Deli)

[Dauber]

Just read in the obituaries in the Sun-Times this morning....Nate Duncan, the guy who owned Nate's Deli, aka The Soul Food Cafe, died after a long illness. 76 years old.

[bbcentral]

That's sad news. It's a real shame since the Deli itself is also gone.
Apparently he was a nice guy.

[bluesharp]

Aw,R.I.P.

[bbcentral]

I wonder what he did for those last 10 or so years? I wonder if he retired and spent his time relaxing somewhere with his family, or if he worked somewhere else.

[bluesharp]

Any chance anybody can find out?
I'd like to think he spent it with his family and just a chillin'!!

[Dauber]

Here's the obit from the Tribune:

Nate Duncan 1930-2006 Maxwell Street deli owner For more than 20 years his formerly Jewish neighborhood business continued to serve corned beef and other kosher specialties to a diverse clientele


By Trevor Jensen
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 21, 2006

Nate Duncan's Maxwell Street delicatessen was one of the last links to the neighborhood's Jewish heritage.

An African-American who stood 6 feet, 5 inches, Mr. Duncan learned to cook corned beef and other kosher specialties while working for the deli's original Jewish owners, who sold him Lyon's Deli in 1973. It was known as Nate's Deli from that point until he unhappily sold it to the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1994. The school then tore down the building as part of its redevelopment of the area.

Mr. Duncan, 76, died in his South Side home Tuesday, July 18. He had been ill for several years and used a wheelchair, according to his sister-in-law, Vanessa Duncan.

The reputation of Nate's Deli, used as a location in the movie The Blues Brothers, belied its size. It was a tiny place a few steps below street level, with a small counter and seating for six at three tables.

"But it was a really congenial space, a lot of that because of [Mr. Duncan's] personality," said Carolyn Eastwood, an adjunct professor of anthropology at the College of DuPage and author of a book on Maxwell Street. "Here I am, a white woman from the suburbs, and I felt completely at home there."

Mr. Duncan grew up in the neighborhood and started working for Ben Lyon and his family as a teenager. Lyon and his wife taught him how to cook and slice corned beef and pastrami, even how to pickle herring and prepare gefilte fish. The onetime Jewish port of entry in those years became a predominantly black neighborhood, and Mr. Duncan was able to straddle both worlds.

"He told me he'd stay late at work to listen to these old Jewish guys talk," Eastwood said. "He was a great transition figure."

The deli thrived under Mr. Duncan, despite his own initial worry that people wouldn't accept a black man running a Jewish deli. But he later spoke about "how much Mr. Lyon helped him, he introduced the vendors to him and put his arm around him," Vanessa Duncan said.

Mr. Duncan was born in West Virginia but his family moved to the South Side around Maxwell Street when he was 3 or 4, Vanessa Duncan said. He was always a hard worker, shining shoes on the bustling market street and getting to know the vendors and musicians who made it such a lively place. Except for two years in the Army in the mid-1950s, his entire working life was spent there.

He lived with his sister in an apartment above the deli, as did his mother. His mother and granddaughter had cameos in The Blues Brothers, looking down from an upstairs window of the deli, which had been redubbed the Soul Food Cafe with Aretha Franklin as the owner.

"It was exciting, he always talked about how nice [the actors] were," his sister-in-law said.

Mr. Duncan fought to hold on to his deli amid the U. of I.'s expansion plans. When the end came he was sad but knew he had had a good run, she said.

"Nate did not want to close his business," said Steve Balkin, a Roosevelt University economics professor who maintains a Web site about Maxwell Street. "It was not just a source of income, it was his social life."

Mr. Duncan bought a two-flat in the Gresham neighborhood and became active in the Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church. He took with him his meat slicer from the deli, and thinly shaved corned beef was for years a staple at church events and holiday gatherings.

Mr. Duncan is also survived by a brother, James; a daughter, Tanna Hill; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Visitation is set for 10 a.m. Saturday in Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church, 7814 S. Lowe Ave., Chicago, followed by an 11 a.m. service.

[bluesharp]

Thanks Dauber!!

[philcr]

I spoke to Nate in the hospital, the week before he died. Since his deli was taken away by UIC and the City of Chicago (under eminent domain) in 1994 when the Maxwell Street market was destroyed, Nate completely lost his will. For most of his life, Maxwell Street had been his home, his community, and he was a product of this magical place -- a way of life that is gone forever in America. First, he lost use of his legs, then it was one ailment after another, existing mostly in a hospital bed for the past 10 years. This sweet man, this gentle giant, was reduced to nothing, I believe, as a direct result of having to give up his lifelong vocation and the 3-flat building he owned (his deli was on the first floor) to UIC for $114k when they turned it into a parking lot. Nate was left with nothing and his mounting hospital bills over the years have only left his family even more destitute. If you're interested to learn more about Maxwell Street, its history, culture, music and the shady deals that went on to bring it down, check out my documentary website at www.maxwellstreetdocumentary.com. This has been a labor of love since 1994 when it was torn down and we're finally almost finished and ready for Sundance. He didn't have much, materially, but Nate will always be loved by many.

[bbcentral]

Hi philcr, thanks for posting the info.
I'm glad you've worked so hard to put together this documentary, it's something that needed to be done.
If you've seen the Blues Brothers Anniversary DVD, John Landis talks about how the Blues Brothers movie was like a snapshot of how Chicago used to be. Many of those places are gone now, but at least they've been preserved for the future through film.

I see you've managed to get Dan Aykroyd to narrate your documentary, well done! He's a great choice, and it should help boost the profile of your work. Even if he wasn't involved, I'd love to help promote your documentary, perhaps through some free banners around the site etc.

You're most welcome to keep coming back to keep us updated

[philcr]

Thanks, Chris. I'll take you up on your suggestion. We're sprinting toward the finish line to get this doc completed in time, but when the dust settles, I'll be able to move to the next step of marketing, etc. No other doc shows Maxwell Street -- from the beginning to the end -- like this one does. Thanks for your support!

[dixiesquare]

if some one give me the adress where it was , i will post some more of the photo's i took today .

[bluesharp]

Fantastic site my man,be reading that later!!