The Polish Store
The Polish Store is a four-store emporium of everything, you guessed it, Polish. Besides giant flags on the windows and the roof, the aisles of the Polish store are filled with hats, coats, clocks, sweatshirts, bags, key chains, watches, socks, t-shirts, shorts, towels and even a thong adorned with the Polish flag, a giant red eagle on a white background. Beyond flags, there is culture, as one of the four sections sells Polish-language DVDs, Polish rock, rap, folk and classical CDs, as well as books ranging from cookbooks to biographies of Hillary Clinton, Sylvia Plath and Pope John Paul II, translated into Polish. Another section of the store deals with Polish phone cards and gadgets for switching Polish electronics from the European high-voltage round plugs to the American squares receptacles. The Polish Store is also in the heart of Chicago’s Belmont and Milwaukee Avenue Polish enclave—within two blocks are The Red Apple, Stanley’s Sausage, Andy’s Deli, The Star Polska Restaurant and a red-and-white neon sign advertising The Podalskie Club, a bar that must have been frozen in time from the days of Nelson Algren.
3063 North Milwaukee
(773) 478-0752
Best of Chicago 2009
