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Galewoodstock to return Aug. 27 PAGE 3
FREE Vol. 36 No. 31
August 3, 2022
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Also serving Garfield Park
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austinweeklynews.com
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Entrepreneurs remember James Cole, page 7
New 24th Ward alderman introduces herself to constituents
Meet Chicago’s footworking BBQ grill master West Side native James Gurley, nicknamed ‘Beynze,’ recently launched his own catering service
Ald. Monique Scott urges residents to take active role in community, buy lots
STORY ON PAGE 8
By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter
on the post, cheering Gurley on as he repped the city’s iconic dance. The video garnered more than 100,000 views. That groundswell of attention came as Gurley, nicknamed “Beynze,” launched his own catering service, 10 Thirteen Cuisine. Gurley’s footworking skills are good — but once more people get a taste of his
Throughout the July 28 community meeting held at the Douglass Park fieldhouse, 1401 S. Sacramento Dr., there was one theme the recently appointed 24th Ward Ald. Monique Scott kept returning to: She can’t do anything alone and residents have to be the ones to take charge of North Lawndale’s destiny. Around 70 to 80 residents attended the first 24th Ward meeting since Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed Scott to replace her brother, Ald. Michael Scott. While the new alderperson had some opening remarks, she spent much of the roughly 90-minute meeting answering questions from constituents. Much of the conversation revolved around vacant lots, quality of life issues, gentrification and the effects Riot Fest and other largescale events have on Douglass Park and the surrounding neighborhood.
See GRILL MASTER on page 8
See MONIQUE SCOTT on page 5
COLIN BOYLE/Block Club Chicago
James ‘Beynze’ Gurley grills hundreds of pieces of meat for his friends and family at his Westchester, Ill. home as they dance and dine on July 21, 2022. By ATAVIA REED Block Club Chicago
James Gurley used to hate barbecue. Gurley learned to cook as an adult, but he didn’t take to the grill until he got his first taste of decent barbecue in 2014, enjoying smoked meats that were moist and flavorful instead of dry and bland. As the Austin native perfected his skills behind the grill, he incorporated
his lightning-fast dance moves mastered through his years of making waves in the West Side footworking scene. Thus, the “FootWerkn Grill Master” was born. Gurley went viral this summer when a video of him footworking holding a pair of tongs while chicken sizzled on a low fire blew up on the Chicago Media Takeout Instagram page. Chicago names like actor Jason Weaver began commenting
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