I just learned today that Ronny’s Steak House just closed its one and only downtown location in the State of Illinois building. At one time, Ronny’s had six locations in Chicago, scattered strategically downtown. Ronny’s was what one might call a steakateria, a place that you took a tray and silverware and grabbed a place in line to place your order, while food was being dished out to you from staff behind the counter.
Ronny’s opened in 1963, the year that I began my studies at Roosevelt University. I ate there a lot then, and for many years afterwards, as I studied and worked downtown. Ronny’s was a cheap place to eat. In 1963, you could get a steak, baked potato, and a piece of garlic bread for a buck and quarter. In truth, it wasn’t much of a steak. It was thin, overcooked, and fatty, but still it was steak.
Ronny’s fulfilled one aspect of the American Dream, where steak would be affordable for all the people. Office workers, students, tourists, and even panhandlers on a good day would mingle in line, striking up conversations while waiting for our steaks. Ronny’s represented the democratization of the steak for Americans regardless of income, national origin, or color of skin.
Now, during the pandemic, the office workers, students, and tourists are absent from downtown. There are still plenty of panhandlers, but times are so bad for them that they can’t even beg enough to afford a meal at a cheap a steak house. Ronny’s knew that the time had arrived to close its doors for good.
aliteraryreeder 