Perl doesn’t just remember customers’ names. Lawrence Ave., bartender Michelle Vitale. Joe stops for a photo with L&P Liquors & Bar, 4001 W. It’s like a breath of fresh air when I come in. “This business pays the bills and does me justice, so I ride with it. While inflation, takeout and food delivery apps continue to take a bite out the market, Perl said he scrapes by using “throwback” tactics he’s mastered in almost 50 years of business. Joes’ out there, but I’m the only one who can say they’re a real meat man,” Perl said. Some bar patrons applaud when Perl walks in. A lover of “people and crazy women,” Perl said he has 14 kids and many mouths to feed. The Army veteran said he hits up about 20 bars a night and works over 100 hours a week. Perl is one of the last of a breed of traveling sausage salesmen still working his way through late-night crowds, offering tastings to tempt patrons and bar owners alike to purchase by the pound. Joe sample platter that’s been prepared for bar patrons throughout the Midwest. ![]() Credit: Mack Liederman/Block Club Chicago A typical G.I. Joe preps some of his beloved bar-napkin samples. “That’s what makes someone a legend.” Credit: Mack Liederman/Block Club Chicago G.I. He’s there and then he’s gone,” Soriano said. “I’ve been drinking for 37 years and have seen G.I. ![]() ![]() Later, Soriano bowed as Perl’s white truck peeled out. Pulaski Road after his shift to throw a few back with coworkers, snapped a picture with Perl. Garbage man Jeremy Soriano, who had stopped by the bar at 3513 N. On the menu: over 80 meat products, all stocked in Perl’s pickup truck out front, from salami rolls and steak to “combat-ready” beef jerky and “Bite Me Harder” horseradish.Īs Perl began slicing sausages into bar-napkin charcuterie, the bar’s beyond-buzzed drinkers buzzed with new life. He carried his usual tools of the trade: a stack of yellow paper menus, a silver bucket of sausage links, a knife and a smile. Joe”, stepped inside the Teddy Bear Lounge in Avondale on a recent Thursday night, wearing his white butcher’s coat over military fatigues. CHICAGO - Joe Perl, better known as “G.I.
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