Shelter Deli

HighBeam Research

Title: Eunice 'Kelly' Hamner; owned Shelter Lounge in Chatham Date: March 12, 2002 Publication: Chicago Sun-Times Author: Janet Rausa Fuller At the Shelter Lounge and neighboring Shelter Deli on 87th Street, Chatham residents gather often for corned beef sandwiches and casual chatter. That's exactly the scene owner Eunice "Kelly" Hamner had in mind, but it took years of work and determination on her part to make it so. Mrs. Hamner, 76, a petite woman who was a permanent fixture behind the deli counter, training new employees or slipping candy to students on their way to and from school, died Thursday of lung cancer in her Chicago home. Mrs. Hamner was born in 1926 in Chicago and reared in the Bronzeville neighborhood. She attended Wendell Phillips High School and studied business administration at Roosevelt University. She worked as a bookkeeper for several companies, including Evans furs, Allied Electronics and South Central Music Co. But what she really wanted to do was start her own business, her son, Theodore Evans, said. Mrs. Hamner envisioned a neighborhood tavern where professionals like herself could gather to unwind. Mrs. Hamner opened the Shelter Lounge in 1966 with her third husband, Lee Hamner, who was a well-known bartender in the area. The lounge was not a showy place with music or dancing, but it caught on with locals and, gradually, with politicians, prominent black business and community leaders and entertainers. In the 1980s, the Hamners expanded with the opening of the Shelter Deli. When her son joined the business 12 years ago, she reminded him it would be hard work. "She said that you have to have the personality or the fortitude to drink muddy water and sleep in a hollow log in order to go into business for yourself," Evans said. Other survivors are her daughter, Shirley Fay Kelly, and two grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 5:30 p.m. today at Hartzell Memorial United Methodist Church, 3330 S. King Dr.

Copyright 2002 Chicago Sun-Times This document provided by HighBeam Research at http://www.highbeam.com