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Jamil “Jimmy” Ayesh owned a grocery store that helped all of the neighbors in the Back of the Yards community. In honor of his legacy, Chicago will install an honorary sign recognizing his humanity. The street sign placement will be dedicated on Saturday, April 25, 2026, as a part of Arab American Heritage Month. The street sign placement was sponsored by 15th Ward Alderman Ray Lopez.
By Ray Hanania
Jamil “Jimmy” Ayesh came to Chicago in 1973, a year after his father, Abed, arrived from their hometown in Palestine, El Bireh.
They bought a building in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and opened a grocery store, “Jamil’s Grocery Store” on the 4400 block of Hermitage.
Jamil worked at Helene Curtis Industries, owned by businessman Ron Gidwitz, on Chicago. Jamil worked at the southside factory for five years until it closed. He then joined his father and family in running the grocery store.
Jamil, his father Abed and his siblings, sisters Sandy and Amany, and Raead and Odieh, opened two more grocery stores in the Back of the Yards neighborhood within a mile of the Hermitage grocery store location.
And while they prospered as a hard-working family, they also were very generous to the neighborhood, his son Abed Ayesh said.
“He came here, worked at a beauty products factory, Helen Curtis for about five years. My mom, Bahieh, would be in the store while my dad was in the factory. We lived on top of the store actually with his my two sisters and two brothers,” said Abed the eldest son.
“Education was a big thing with my dad. One of my sisters and I finished college and the others worked in the store and then got jobs at Midway Airport.”
All the children attended grammar school together at Seward Elementary School.
“My dad was laid-off from the factory and then he started running the Hermitage store. He then opened two other stores in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, within a mile radius. That’s how the entire neighborhood got to know him. Everyone knew my dad,” Abed said.
Abed said his father was beloved by the neighborhood because he had a big heart and was always very generous.
“My Grandfather, my father and everyone in our family worked hard. But my dad always shared that success with the people who came to the store,” Abed said
“When people came by who couldn’t afford groceries, my dad would give them anything they wanted. He wanted to be helpful. Whether they paid later or they didn’t pay him. He even fed the pets that roamed the neighborhood, the cats, the dogs and even the birds. He would sit out in front of the store on Hermitage smoking and talking with everyone who came by, from the police, community leaders, the neighbors, the customers, and even those that always got themselves in trouble.”
Abed said his father always told the gangbangers that they had talent to be successful and they should find something good to do and not get involved in trouble.
“My dad would tell those kids they should play sports. Stay in school. Be kind,” Abed said.
“My father took on a lot. He came here when he was 17 years old. My grandpa died when he was 23 years old. My dad brought all seven of his brothers and sisters to Chicago from Palestine. He helped them get settled and to open businesses and find jobs.’”
Abed said he was fortunate to have a father than everyone in the neighborhood loved.
“My dad was a true gentleman. Kind. He made everybody laugh. He loved to joke. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. One time, he was barbecuing in front of this store. A guy came up and asked for some food. I said no. But my dad got upset with me and told me that anyone who needs food, you must give it to them. It was the right thing to do,” Abed recalled.
“If the local schools needed anything, he would sponsor them, paying for the pizza’s and donating food.”
When a young girl in the neighborhood was murdered, Abed said his father paid for the funeral for the family.
“He could have lived anywhere he wanted but he chose to stay there and live there in the Back of the Yards. He died with that address in his heart,” Abed said.
Jamil “Jimmy” Ayesh returned to his homeland for a visit in July 2024 but suffered a heart attack there on Oct. 20, 2024. He was only 68 years old when he died.
The street sign placement will be dedicated on Saturday, April 25, 2026, as a part of Arab American Heritage Month. The street sign placement was sponsored by 15th Ward Alderman Ray Lopez.
Abed said his brother Odieh, the youngest, continues his father’s legacy today running the store.
“My dad’s proudest moment was when my first son was born in August 2020 and I named him after my father, Jamil,” Abed said, noting he also has two daughters.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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