Back on Aug. 28, 1990, a tornado ripped through Will County and left a trail of destruction and death in Plainfield.
The next day, insurance adjusters hit town. They walked through the rubble, making estimates of what it would cost for homeowners and business folks to rebuild and recover from the horrific damages. The adjusters were quick to write checks and help Plainfield get back on its feet.
That’s the job of insurance companies — helping people who pay their premiums get back on their feet.
We sure hope that Travelers Insurance quickly settles Kecia Perkins’ claim for Taurus Flavors, the Avalon Park sandwich shop that’s been in her family for decades.
We’d like to see Perkins get back to fulfilling her family’s legacy: Selling as many as 1,000 Hoagy Supreme and Hoagy Supreme Steak sandwiches every day, from inside a refurbished shop.
Not selling a “BACK DOOR SPECIAL” prepared on a flat-top grill, in a kitchen hastily cleared of rubble.
Which is what Perkins had been doing since her shop was severely damaged by a car that crashed through the front door and windows back in May. Luckily, no one was hurt.
But late last week, the city Building Department shut down Taurus Flavors for the second time since the crash, citing concerns about sanitation and the building’s structural soundness.
We’re rooting for Perkins. We wish her the best in working things out with the city, getting that insurance claim and restoring Taurus Flavors to its hard-earned stature as one of those small cultural touchstones that give a big city character.
Perkins’ mother and father opened the place, now at 8534 S. Stony Island Ave., at a location a couple of miles to the northeast in 1966, and it’s been her whole life.
“Two weeks after I was born they put me in a bassinet and put me next to the pop cooler,” she told the Sun-Times.
That’s Chicago for you.
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