SOUTH CHICAGO — When Hammond-based artist Casey King heard about the November fire that ravaged Calumet Fisheries, “I just hoped that it would be back,” he said.
King, an independent visual artist, has “been going there since I was a child.” Visits to the Maxwell Street Market or the Whiting Community Center pool would end at the seafood shack at the 95th Street bridge for some smoked chub or whitefish. Office Lobby Signage
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Bummed by the news, King immediately offered to help.
“I’d seen what had happened on Facebook,” King said. “I reached out to the owner of Calumet Fisheries and asked if they needed any signage or mural work potentially for their reopening, and [owner Mark Kotlick] got back to me right away.”
No one was hurt in the fire, which occurred just days after the beloved seafood shack, 3259 E. 95th St., reopened after a failed health inspection. Management said it could take a few months to reopen, and it could relaunch by spring.
Exterior renovations have brought it back into form. Now, King is recreating some of its “unique touches” that were lost in the fire.
King is using his graphic design skills to simulate Calumet Fisheries’ vacuum-formed menu boards from the mid-20th century and iconic, simple exterior signage. The outdoor sign was produced at his father’s business, Region Signs in Whiting, Indiana.
“This would be the first time I’ve done a project like this,” King said. “I’m happy to help Mark bring back his restaurant and keep some of the touches the same as what they were. I think his restaurant is simple in its design and all, and I think his customers really value that.”
With a short turnaround before the expected reopening, the “cleaner” recreations can’t replace all the history behind the old signs, but King is doing his best to produce “one-to-one” copies, he said.
“It’ll be printed signage, but in order to create it, I’ve had to gather various Internet photos and files from Mark,” said King, whose great-grandparents owned the defunct Chapski’s Grocery in South Chicago. “I’m piecing them together, digitizing them and trying to create those menus.”
The restoration is somewhat of a shift for King, who primarily works in pen and ink illustration and has recently taken on more projects featuring “an environmental tone with nature and more colorful images,” he said.
King created an educational booklet, “Fill Your Town with Fields of Sunflowers,” with Miller Beach artist Corey Hagelberg. The booklet touts the benefits of native pollinators like the sunflower, and includes a packet of locally harvested giant sunflower seeds.
King is also a muralist with works across The Region, including ones at 10th Planet Comics in Schererville, The Sweet Tooth ice cream and candy shop in Munster and furniture at Marquette Park in Gary.
The fire that forced Calumet Fisheries to close engulfed the roof of the restaurant.
Management hoped to repair the damage and reopen in a few months, though they were “not sure” whether the building could be saved in the fire’s immediate aftermath, assistant manager Ivan Huerta said at the time.
Despite those initial concerns, crews have made major progress to finish the exterior, plumbing and some electrical work, Kotlick told Block Club last month. The owner hopes to finish all repairs by early April, he said.
Kotlick’s family took over the restaurant near the 95th Street Bridge over the Calumet River in 1948. It has long attracted celebrities and tourists to the Far South Side, like Vice President Kamala Harris and late chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain.
In 2010, Calumet Fisheries won an America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation, long considered the gatekeeper of American culinary excellence.
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Block Club Chicago is celebrating six years of neighborhood news. We’re asking you to help us reach our goal of 600 supporters to keep us going.
As a thank-you, when you subscribe, donate, upgrade your subscription or gift a subscription during Block Club’s birthday week, we’ll send you a special coupon to pick out a free T-shirt, hat, tote or print from our merch store! Choose from over 15 of our most popular items by Chicago artists, including our lovebirds, Gator Watch and Chicago-style pizza merch.
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