AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE
G old e n A pple Di n e r
AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE
G old e n A pple Di n e r
Delaney Lundquist Senior Communication Design Capstone Spring 2014
Table of Contents 3 I N TRODUCTI ON 5 THE D I N ER 9 THE STAFF
Tom, Nick, and Pete
Donna 13 THE D AYTI MERS
Eddie and Scott
Joe John Alice
The Regulars
Manuel
Allison, Ian, and Madeline
Daniel and Sylvia
Kay a.k.a. Katie
25 THE N I G HTOWLS
Danielle and Allison
Clark and Norman
Kim, Beth, and Oscar
Tom, Scott, and the Hawaiian Shirt Stranger
Nancy 35 EN D N OTES
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Introduction In 2000, the producers of the radio show This American Life spent 24 hours interviewing the patrons of an all-night diner in Chicago for their 172nd episode. This American Life is hosted by Ira Glass and broadcast by National Public Radio. From Friday, July 14th at 5 a.m. until Saturday, July 15th at 5 a.m., the owners, staff, and diners were asked about their experiences and relationship with the Golden Apple Diner. This book is a visual representation of the reportage that took place within the 24-hour span and was translated into a one-hour audio program.
The information here draws visual inspiration from these recorded interviews and incorporates imagined details and speculative narratives to further develop the Golden Apple experience. While all major facts and quotes are taken directly, side notes are often from my own imagination or based on the day I spent observing life at the Golden Apple. This book explores site-specific storytelling, and the way in which facts become fiction when real events 15 are communicated orally, translated to audio, and then interpreted visually.
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1 T H E DI N E R
The Golden Apple The Golden Apple (or, more formally, the Golden Apple Grill and Breakfast House) is a 24-hour diner in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. It’s located at the intersection of three roads, making the restaurant wedge-shaped. Inside, there are booths along two windowed sides, stools at a counter, and a back room with tables. They play the radio and have the TV on at the same time. The menus are made up of large, flapping, laminated pages. Each table is set with a wire caddy of salt, pepper, jellies, Heinz ketchup and mustard, half and half containers, and sugar packets.
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2 T he Sta f f
Tom, Nick, & Pete This is Tom, Nick, and Pete. They own the Golden Apple. At any given time of day, at least one of them is at the restaurant. All three of them are Greek.
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Donna Donna is the night waitress at the Golden Apple. She works from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. She knows all the regulars and brings in cookies on the holidays for the patrons who don’t have anywhere else to go.
Two decades ago, Donna moved here from Oklahoma City with her three young kids. She’s not a night person, but she has continued to work the same shift for the past 26 years. She doesn’t know why.
3 T h e Dayti me r s
Eddie 5 :0 2 A M
N O FOOD, J UST HARMON I CA -I N G
Eddie comes into the Golden Apple a few mornings a week. He plays the harmonica. No one really minds or makes a fuss when he parades through the restaurant. Eddie is a regular.
Scott 5 :1 9 A M
C O F F E E & THREE SCRA MB L ED EG G S
Eight years ago, Scott turned 30, got a divorce, quit his job, and bought a bar. So now he’s in the bar business and comes to the Golden Apple in the wee hours each morning after he gets off work.
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Joe 5 :28 AM
COFFEE & HAM OM ELET
Joe comes in every morning between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. He ends all his stories with “and uh, that’s it.” Joe ran a construction and remodeling business that his father gave to him. Now that he’s 78 and retired, he’s passed the company on to his sons. Joe’s friend Bob is also at the diner, but Bob’s sitting in a booth behind him. Just because you’re awake at 5:30 a.m. with your buddies doesn’t mean you have to socialize with them.
John 6 : 34 A M
C O F FEE WI TH TOAST & B A CON
In 1979, John was the youngest butcher in the whole state of Illinois. In fact, John cut his first piece of meat when he was only 12. It was a pork chop. Now John is the meat supplier for the Golden Apple.
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Alice 7: 5 3 A M
TWO EG G S OVER EASY W ITH THREE S AUS AGES & BLACK COFFEE
Alice sits in a two-person booth smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee. She works at a purification center where they have a sauna and sell medications and herbs. It’s all part of a program designed to rid the body of toxins and radiation.
Alice has done the program before, even though she is still smoking and drinking coffee and is about to eat some sausage. “I’m trying to wake up,” she explains. Sometimes you need a dose of toxins to get your day started.
The Regulars 6:03 AM
ORA N G E J UI CE & B A CON
10:11 AM
HAS HBROW NS W ITH S AUS AGE
7:12 AM
COFFEE WI TH TWO CREAMS
12 :4 5 PM
HAMBURGER, NO CHEESE & COKE
7 : 2 6 A M
B ELG I A N WA FFLE
12:4 5 PM
BLT W ITH FRIES
9 : 0 0 A M
B LACK COFFEE
4 :34 PM
COFFEE, DIET COKE & CHILI
9 : 37 A M & 4 P M
HOT WATER & LEMON
Nick says probably 3/4 of their customers are regulars. Many of them stay for hours. Some come in two or three times a day. The diner is a comfortable place to stay and no one makes you feel rushed.
Manuel 11 :58 P M
P HI L A D ELPHI A STEAK SA N DWI CH
Manuel is a retired carpenter who immigrated from Mexico in 1965. He came to the U.S. to work on the construction of the Sears Tower. He quit when building started on the 105th floor because it got too windy.
Allison, Ian, & Madeline 12:4 3 PM
TW O M ICK EY M OUS E PANCAK E S & ONE M US HROOM BURGER
Allison sits in the Golden Apple’s outdoor seating area with her two kids, Ian and Madeline (ages 7 and 4, respectively). They wear bike helmets as they eat their Mickey Mouse pancakes. Allison’s family comes to the Golden Apple so often that she tells Ian and Madeline that if they are ever lost, they should find a police officer and ask them to bring them to the diner instead of taking them home.
Daniel & Sylvia 1 : 35 P M
VEG G I E WRA P & CHI CKEN B REAS T S ANDW ICH W ITH POTATO S ALAD
Daniel and Sylvia came into the diner to get lunch and catch up. They used to date but broke up three years ago. Now Sylvia is seeing someone else and she’s ready to settle down. Daniel is happy for her, but says he won’t come to the wedding. He’ll still send a toaster, though. Sylvia gets exasperated with Daniel for being unable to commit to any women in his life – not to the girl he met at Supercuts, not to the girl he flirted with at the pool in Las Vegas, not even the girl he has taken on over a dozen dates. And most importantly not to Sylvia…which is why they broke up.
Daniel and Sylvia started out talking about Sylvia’s new boyfriend, but ended up talking about each other. When you talk about your ex’s new relationships are you really just talking about the two of you?
Kay a . k . a . Katie 2 : 15 PM
CHI CKEN FI N G ERS & S IDE S ALAD
Katie, whose real name is Kay, is at the Golden Apple to get something to eat before she goes to the funeral home across the street. She has to pay her respects to a recently deceased friend.
Her neighborhood has been changing over the past 15 years of gentrification. Now Katie’s neighbors are a gay couple — which she and her husband were wary about.
Katie has lived within walking distance of this spot her entire life. There was a pharmacy here when she was a teenager and she would come with her friends after mass for the soda fountain.
Since they moved in, Katie has changed her mind, “gay or not gay, they’re nice people. They swayed a lot of old-time people into different thinking.”
4 T he n i gh towls
Danielle & Allison 1 2 : 4 4 AM
TWO CHEESEB URG ERS W ITH EXTRA S PECIAL S AUCE & TW O DR. PEPPERS
Danielle and Allison are best friends. They’re 17 and 18 years old, respectively. Recently, Danielle moved in with Allison’s family because of problems at home. They come to the Golden Apple to hang out and meet friends, but mainly to run into Jeff, who Allison has a crush on and comes in often.
Living together has brought to light their personality differences. But despite the new tension between them, the two spend nearly four hours at the diner talking and calling friends. They leave amicably.
Clark & Norman 2 : 5 7 A M
TWO B L A CK COFFEES & TOAS T
Clark and Norman are police officers working the 1922 beat in the neighborhood for the night. On weekdays, nothing much happens in this district they say, but on the weekends Clark and Norman get plenty of calls for narcotics, guns,
and fights. Just tonight they made four arrests in a fight between a Cubs fan and a Sox fan. The Cubs fan took a beer stein to the face. Norman and Clark have worked together for a long time. They’re partners and friends.
Kim, Beth, & Oscar 3 :1 5 A M
D O U BLE ORD ER OF FRI ES, ON E CHOCOLATE S HAKE & ONION RINGS
Kim, Beth, and Oscar came in from the premiere party of the Star Wars exhibit at the Field Museum. They’re drunk.
Kim and Beth just met Oscar at a premiere party for an exhibit at the Field Museum. He bought them some drinks and then hopped in their cab, and now they are at the Golden Apple.
Just after Tom says that to Scott, the Hawaiian Shirt Stranger walks by. He thought Tom said “lawyer” instead of “employer.”
Tom, Scott, & the Hawaiian Shirt Stranger 3 :3 1 A M
F R I ES & ON E B UD L I G HT
Tom and Scott have come in to the diner because Scott just got off work. He bartends at a nearby Chinese restaurant. Scott spent a majority of the night slipping free drinks and food to Tom on the sly, who is now drunk and surprisingly ungrateful.
Nancy 4 :02 AM
ONE S HORT S TACK & THAT'S A L L
Nancy says in her past life she was a cowboy. In another lifetime she was crushed. Probably by a large building. She’s still working on the time. Nancy ordered a short stack, “and that’s all.”
End Notes This book was written and illustrated by me, Delaney Lundquist, for the senior capstone project at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis in the Spring of 2014. It is set in Scala Sans 10/13 point type with some Sentinel and Multicolore for variety and quirk. It was printed on Boise Bright White 70 lb paper and hand-bound by yours truly. There were a few papercuts along the way, but it was worth it.
I would be remiss not to thank the professors who have helped guide me between the fields of illustration and design, John Hendrix and Heather Corcoran. It is also important to thank Ira Glass for giving life to a radio program that is an unwavering source of cultural education and delight .
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