Karl Klockars

Look, I’m no economist.

But from my little ground-level outlook, what’s easier to take care of?  Where will my money go further towards maintaining someone’s job, their lifestyle, their entire way of life?  I mean, I’m pretty broke myself so it’s not like I’m much help anyways.  But every little bit comes in handy, I’d imagine.  Every few bucks in someone elses pocket keeps our pathetic economy limping along.

So I’ve decided that my own personal stimulus plan pretty much consists of just buying lunch.  But they’re very specific lunches.  And it’s a lunchplan aimed to put my stimulus dollars in the places that really could use just a small cash infusion of anywhere from $5 to $10 bucks.

I’m not going to save GM by buying a valve stem from the Sears Auto Center down the street.  (I probably could save some people in line over there a few bucks by offering to change their batteries and install their windshield wipers for ‘em.  What a bunch of auto-useless cityfolk.)  And I’m not going to save the banks by taking out my cash at a different ATM, $2 service fee at a time.

But what I can do is go buy a half-dozen tacos from the place down the street that I’ve never been to.  I can pick up some hummus and falafel from that lebanese bakery joint a couple El stops away that I haven’t ever been to.  I can go buy a hamburger from that greasy-looking joint at Damen and Lawrence that seems like it might have potential.

The people that run the tiny little restaurants that don’t get much press, that don’t have a PR department, that don’t even have any ground-level critical acclaim out there on the internets and on the Yelps and all that jazz – they are the ones that can really use my money the best.  All that cash is going right to keeping their business open, and keeping themselves (and very likely their families) employed.

My $7 bucks could sit in my account and I’ll go spend a few nickels on a cucumber and an avocado and other such super-cheap produce.  You know what – I’m going to do that anyways.  (I’m making sushi tonight and need those for my california rolls regardless.)  But will putting my $7 for a hot dog, a bag of chips and a soda going to save a small business owner?  No, of course not.  But, baby steps.

If everyone bought a lunch once a week, from a different place, that they’d never been to, that they’ve maybe wanted to try, and pumped just a handful of bucks into small, local, family run businesses…well, it’s not going to save the world but it might have the best effect.

I’m not really worried about the high-end joints with the huge ticket prices.  I’m worried about the dozens of places that could serve 50 people on the menu prices of one of the super-fancy expensive joints.  I’m worried about the places that will pack up and disappear over night and there’s no one to replace that job.

The argument is, of course, that places that make cheap food will thrive during recessions because spending on food decreases, ergo you go to the cheaper places.  I don’t know about that.  It’s great that a side effect of being broke is that more people are starting to cook again.  But on the whole, if I weren’t planning on Lunch Stimulus 2k9, would I go get steak tacos when I could buy the flank steak and tortillas for less?  Probably not.  Is it more likely that I’ll nibble my $1 Clif bar from Trader Joe’s and just wish I had those tacos instead of the Blueberry Buckle Fiber-stick?  There’s your winner.

And the mainstream-cheap places don’t need my help either.  Does Kuma’s need my $10 for a burger?  Hell no.  Do any Potbelly stores need my $4 for a Wreck on wheat?  Not really, no.  Not desperately.  Does Garcia’s need my $2 for a spinach quesadilla?  Another no – the masses will continue to flock there for bad margaritas and super-greasy tortas regardless.  But does a place like Latitudes on Lincoln want my $5 for a Dogfishead draft when their back room is vacant, there’s only a couple people at tables and a few at the bar?  Sure they do!

The legions of nothing-special and average-to-decent places across the city that don’t qualify as destination dining are closing up shop daily.  Folding their tents and hitting the road.   It’s a part of the city that no one much thinks about, but every Old Style sign is sacred.  Every Vienna Beef poster on the wall of some joint deserves notice.  And that’s a slice of Chicago that we can experience and hopefully keep alive long enough to get the regular foot traffic back to keep them limping along as they always do.

I don’t know if anyone else feels like this.  I’m probably the only dumbass that thinks he’s going to take care of the world by buying lunch at joint I’ve never been to.  But if I can keep Max’s in the loop open a little longer because I bought a sandwich from there, isn’t it the same either way?  If that “deep fried lobster” joint in the South Loop that I went to for chicken wings 2 years ago sticks around for another week and keeps someone out of the unemployment line, isn’t that a good thing?

I should go get a beer at the Sky Ride Tap and think about it.  Then have a piece of pizza from one of the Bacci places and some take-out indian from that joint over on Wells.  And take that coupon up to that beef place on Western and spend more than I usually would.  And so on.  It ain’t much, but think globally, act foodily.