Loss can wear the greatest rock into the thinnest nub. When someone leaves our life, we can forget who we are, but Rochelle Brown carries on thanks to the fun had with her son and family.
The retiring medical professional with experience in behavioral health owns and operates Chicago Stylez. The eatery on the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point’s Marathon County campus is open to the public. It serves Chicago-style culinary creations and soul food like collard greens and cabbage.
Chicago Stylex opened its doors in June. While the flow has been steady and everyone who comes in favors the food, at first, Brown did not have pep in her step.
“My son Anthony who was in college and graduating this year passed away,” she says. “This was discouraging, I was not excited about doing this anymore but I went on and did it all anyway.”
Brown learned how to cook from her mother, grandmother, and aunts and passed this knowledge on to her son and his siblings. Had Anthony Brown not died in May, he would have handled the business management portion of the project, and as he shared the dream of operating a restaurant with his mother, this was fuel for her fire to go on. Now, Brown adds he is watching with pride.
“He is super excited [about where we are now],” Brown says. “We are going to come up with a meal he liked to cook and have this as a tribute to him. It was a special cake he liked to make.”
Other ideas on the horizon besides Anthony Brown’s legacy cake include getting Chicago Stylez products into stores, prisons, and vending machines. Brown’s sister April is helping their mother carry on alongside one of Rochelle Brown’s grandchildren when she is in Wausau, and, if reviews are anything to go on, Anthony will carry on in the hearts and minds of many for years.
“Stopped in tonight for the first time,” Keegan J. Wolfgram of Weston writes in an August Facebook post. “Small lowkey establishment, very clean inside, and nice friendly employees. We tried the Vienna dogs and they were very good by far the best hotdogs in Wausau. Also tried the Italian beef (get it dipped) with the hot peppers. Super good also 10/10. Highly recommend.”
Chicago Stylez is open 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. It is closed on Saturdays and open from 11 a.m. through 4 p.m. Sundays. More information about them can be found on their Facebook page and to access their site in building 101, Brown recommends coming around to its back and looking for the Vienna Beef umbrella and then parking in the nearby Marathon Park.
Evan J. Pretzer is a freelance contributor to City Pages. He can be reached at evanjpretzer.com or [email protected].
