Andersonville Deli Back Open, 'Not Going Anywhere'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A renowned Swedish deli in Andersonville is back open for business after being closed during the summer, and says it is not going anywhere.
Back in August, a handwritten sign appeared in the window at Erickson's Delicatessen, 5250 N. Clark St., reading, "Closed until further notice." The sign drew concerns from neighbors, and the Edgeville Buzz published an article wondering whether the deli was "closed for good, or just temporarily."
But Erickson's is back open now, and in a recorded message, a representative makes it clear that the deli will be around for the long haul.
"To make it very clear, we are not closing," the woman says in the recorded message. "We have been closed over the summer due to illness, but we are now open for business and will continue in the future. This business is not going anywhere."
Erickson's has been an institution in Andersonville since 1925, and is cited in the City of Chicago's own 2010 "Eat, Play, Love Our Neighborhoods" guide as one of the few hangers-on from the era when Andersonville was known mostly as a Swedish community.
The deli is known for its traditional Swedish food items, including herring, havarti cheese, lingonberries, Knäckebröd crisp bread, and Swedish sausage and meatballs. The neighborhood guide points out that around Christmastime, locals and people from distant states alike line up out the door to stock up.
"It's one of the last in the neighborhood," the guide quotes Ann Nilsson, whose mother, Ann Mari Nilsson is the owner of the deli.
