The last Frunchroom

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Scott Smith

After ten years and more than 120 storytellers, The Frunchroom will come to a close with its next show. We hope you’ll join us for one last visit.

The final Frunchroom show will be this Tuesday, September 30th, starting at 7:30pm at Beverly Arts Center (111th and Western, Chicago).

Our lineup includes:

Tara Betts, poet (“Refuse to Disappear”)
Carol Flynn, historian
Jaime Nesbitt Golden, reporter at Block Club Chicago
Ruth Guerra, actress/writer (“Ruth on the Rocks”)
Megan Quigley, writer/painter/Beverly Bakery coffee slinger

The Frunchroom began at O’Rourke’s Office in April 2015, moved to Beverly Woods in 2016, and to its current home at the Beverly Arts Center in 2017.

The unique mix of art, cocktails, and stories is presented in partnership with The Beverly Area Arts Alliance, the organization responsible for local arts events like the Backyard Music Series, the Uprising Market and the annual neighborhood-wide Beverly Art Walk.

Previous readers include local residents and business owners; radio and podcast hosts, teachers, poets, politicians, authors and artists. In addition, the show has featured reporters and anchors from the Chicago Tribune, South Side Weekly, Bloomberg News, WBEZ-FM and WGN-TV.

Read more about our storytellers below:

Tara Betts is the author of Refuse to Disappear, Break the Habit, and Arc & Hue. She is a professor in the Peace, Conflict Studies, and Social Justice program at DePaul University and part of the faculty at the Solstice MFA program at Lasell University. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including This is the Honey and The Overturning. Her short stories and essays have also appeared in numerous publications, including Octavia’s Brood, Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories, and The Breakbeat Poets.

Carol Flynn grew up in South Shore and she has lived all over the city of Chicago. Her great-grandparents were early settlers in Morgan Park. Carol’s original background was in health care. She was the Assistant Director of Nutrition and Food Service for the University of Illinois Hospital and later the head of the Division of Education, Practice, and Research for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She holds an M.B.A. in Human Resources. About 20 years ago, Carol discovered a new career in historical research and journalism and now enjoys authoring the Beverly-Morgan Park History page on Facebook and writing feature stories for the Beverly Review, the 19th Ward newsletter, Patch, and, previously, the Chicago Tribune. She also enjoys giving presentations on local history topics.

Jamie Nesbitt Golden is an award-winning reporter for Block Club Chicago. Her story about the country’s oldest Black tennis club was included in “The Year’s Best Sportswriting 2025.” She still loves Buffy, Black coffee and sleep.

Ruth Guerra (she/her/ella) is an actor, comedian, storyteller and a native of Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. She honed her comedic skills at The Second City and performed with Teatro Americano, Free Street Theater and the underground radical sketch group, the Southside Ignoramus Quartet (SIQ). She was a storyteller and facilitator for Hood Moms Storytelling workshop series. Her solo show, Ruth on the Rocks, earned her the Chicago Reader’s Best Stage Actor award. Ruth is currently developing a web series and continues to create new theatrical work.

Megan Quigley is an artist, coffee roaster and lover of live music. She is a Beverly native that bought her own house at 25 a whole 2 blocks from her parents. Megan loves attending neighborhood events and being a part of the Beverly Art Walk with her Abstract Acrylic paintings. A graduate from University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) with a business degree in Entrepreneurship, she proudly minored in Gender and Women Studies. Lately she has been spending much of her time painting to prepare for this year’s Beverly Art Walk as well as making posters for, and going to, many protests.

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The Frunchroom returns to the Beverly Arts Center

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Scott Smith
(Clockwise from top left:
Karen Clanton, Larry McClellan, Sahar Mustafah, Jessi Roti)

The Frunchroom, the original live storytelling series about the South Side of Chicago that has entered its 10th year, returns with its first show of 2025 with two returning storytellers and two first-time performers.

Host and co-producer Scott Smith welcomes attorney Karen Clanton, historian Larry McClelland, fiction writer Sahar Mustafah and journalist Jessi Roti this Thursday, July 24th, at 730pm at the Beverly Arts Center (2407 W. 111th St., Chicago).

Produced in partnership with the Beverly Area Arts Alliance, The Frunchroom began in 2015 within the bars and banquet halls of the Morgan Park neighborhood; the show has called the Beverly Arts Center (BAC) its home since 2017. A $5 donation is requested at The Frunchroom which funds programming for both the Arts Alliance and BAC.

Enjoy cocktails served in the lobby and settle into the seats at the BAC’s Baffes Theatre for great South Side storytelling.

In the Frunchroom for this show:

Karen Clanton is an attorney and writer.  She has led corporate communications and internal communications in the legal and financial sectors.  Originally from Western New York, Karen has been a south side (and now south suburban) resident for 20 years.

Larry A. McClellan is the author of Onward to Chicago: Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Illinois, published by Southern Illinois University Press in 2023. After graduate work at the University of Chicago, Larry was a founding faculty member of Governors State University in 1970 and served there for 30 years. He remains Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Community Studies. In the mid-70s, he was also mayor of University Park (then Park Forest South). His consulting, research and writing focus on freedom seekers and the Underground Railroad, and on African American and regional history south of Chicago. For ten years, he wrote a monthly regional history column for The Southtown/Star newspapers. He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Chicago and co-author of To the River, The Remarkable Journey of Caroline Quarlls, a Freedom Seeker on the Underground Railroad in 2019. His book Onward to Chicago received the national 2023 Memorial Prize for the Advancement of Knowledge from the Underground Railroad Free Press. In 2022, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society for his contributions to Illinois history. In 2024, he served on the Illinois Underground Railroad Task Force reporting to the state legislature and he is currently the President of the Midwest Underground Railroad Network (MURN). Some of his work can be found at illinoisundergroundrailroad.info.

Sahar Mustafah is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, an inheritance she explores in her fiction. Her debut novel The Beauty of Your Face was named a 2020 Notable Book and Editor’s Choice by New York Times Book Review and one of Marie Claire Magazine’s 2020 Best Fiction by Women. It was long-listed for the Center for Fiction 2020 First Novel Prize, and was a finalist for the Palestine Book Awards. Her short story “Star of Bethlehem” was awarded the Lawrence Prize for Best Fiction in 2022, and “Tree of Life” won the 2023 Robert J. DeMott Prize. Her recent fiction is featured in Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction and “The View from Gaza,” published in The Massachusetts Review. She was awarded a 2023 Jack Hazard Fellowship from New Literary Project and an Illinois Arts Council Grant. Her second novel, The Slightest Green, is forthcoming from Interlink Books in 2025. Born on the South Side of Chicago, Mustafah now writes and teaches outside of the city.

Jessi Roti is a culture journalist exploring music and food in Chicago and the Midwest at-large. In 2021, Roti was named a fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Center and has been published in Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, Thrillist, Eater and Bon Appetit, amongst others. Recently, she launched a newsletter called ‘It’s a Little Bit Funny,’ commenting on the absurd, wild, “omg is that true?!” bits at the intersection of popular culture and this thing called life. She has also begun working on her first book. When not writing, she manages “the Cheers of pet supply shops” in Bridgeport and hangs out with her pup Rasco.

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Celebrate Beverly Art Walk Week with two Frunchroom shows

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Scott Smith
Clockwise from top left:
Adrienne Brown, Adrian Matejka, Raych Jackson, Dr. Carla Carter, Jennon Bell Hoffman

The Frunchroom, the original live storytelling series about the South Side of Chicago, celebrates Beverly Art Walk Week with two shows in Beverly and Morgan Park.

The first all-new show will be at 730pm on Tuesday, September 24th at Beverly Arts Center (2407 W 111th St, Chicago). The Frunchroom is presented in partnership with The Alliance, the organization responsible for local arts events like The Beverly Art Walk, the Backyard Music Series and the Uprising Market. 

Storytellers scheduled to appear at the Beverly Arts Center are Jennon Bell Hoffman (host, Funny Ha-Ha), Adrienne Brown (author, The Residential is Racial: A Perceptual History of Mass Homeownership), Dr. Carla Carter (executive director, Beverly Arts Center), Raych Jackson (host, Big Kid Show), and Adrian Matejka (editor, Poetry magazine).

A $5 donation to benefit The Beverly Area Arts Alliance is requested. Beer, wine, and cocktails will be served at a cash bar.

In a unique twist, a second Frunchroom show will take place at Bookie’s Chicago (10324 S. Western Ave, Chicago) on Saturday, September 28th to coincide with The Beverly Art Walk. Former Frunchroom readers will perform at 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm with two readers performing at the top of each hour.

Scheduled to appear at Bookie’s are Tina Jenkins Bell, Elaine Hegwood Bowen, Sheila Maloney, Evan Moore, Bill Savage, and Angel Simmons.

Clockwise from top left:
Bill Savage, Tina Jenkins Bell, Evan Moore, Elaine Hegwood Bowen, Angel Simmons, Sheila Maloney

“Bookie’s represents the same independent spirit that is present at each Frunchroom show,” said Scott Smith, host of The Frunchroom. “Without the Art Walk, there wouldn’t be a Frunchroom. I’m glad to have the opportunity to bring all of these forces together. 

“As a bookseller and educator, I have an obligation to promote literacy and the arts in the community,” said Keith Lewis, owner of Bookie’s. “This includes providing a space for people to come together and meet authors, storytellers, and other book lovers.”

The Frunchroom has played to packed houses since it began in April 2015 and has called the Beverly Arts Center home since October 2017. Bookie’s has specialized in diverse new and used books for the South Side of Chicago since 1989.

Previous Frunchroom readers include local residents and business owners; radio and podcast hosts, teachers, poets, politicians and artists. In addition, the show has featured reporters and anchors from the Chicago Tribune, South Side Weekly, Bloomberg News, WBEZ-FM and WGN-TV.

About The Frunchroom: The Frunchroom is a quarterly live storytelling series of, by, and about the South Side, produced by Morgan Park resident Scott Smith in partnership with The Beverly Area Arts Alliance. More information can be found at thefrunchroom.com or at beverlyarts.org.

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The Frunchoom celebrates its 9th anniversary

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Scott Smith
Clockwise from top left: Maggie Winters, Adrian Matejka, Britt Julious, James Gordon, Tim Samuelson

It’s the original South Side storytelling series, The Frunchroom, co-produced by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance and hosted by Scott Smith.

The next show will be at 730pm on Thursday, April 18th at Beverly Arts Center (2407 W 111th St, Chicago). A $5 donation to benefit the Beverly Area Arts Alliance is requested. 

Now in its 9th year and making its home at the Beverly Arts Center, The Frunchroom features original stories, poems, reporting, performances, and … YOU! (You just sit in the seats. Everyone else is onstage.)

Our lineup:

James Gordon (poet / storyteller / actor)
Britt Julious (writer / Chicago Tribune music critic)
Adrian Matejka (editor, POETRY magazine)
Tim Samuelson (Chicago’s cultural historian)
Maggie Winters (actress / comedian)

For our ninth anniversary, we wanted to bring out people who take Chicago and the South Side beyond the city limits through their work. Their writing, curation, and performances are influencing culture on a national level.

The Frunchroom has played to packed houses since it began in April 2015 and has called the Beverly Arts Center home since October 2017.

Enjoy a cocktail (or two) and listen to the best storytellers on the Far South Side at The Frunchroom.

More on our storytellers:

James Gordon is an award-winning actor, author, and poet, as well as champion Storyteller (you may have seen him winning The Moth). He can be seen on episodes of The G, Background Extras, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Quick 2Judge. 

Britt Julious is a writer, editor, essayist, and storyteller focusing on subjects that intersect the worlds of art, culture, race, feminism and politics. A firm believer in the underground, the avant-garde and the underdog, Britt currently serves as the music critic for the Chicago Tribune. As a freelance journalist, she has written for Pitchfork, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, The Cut, the New York Times and many others. In 2023, Britt was an inaugural fellow of the University of Chicago’s Critic’s Table. She is also a recipient of the Studs Terkel award in journalism for her work spotlighting underserved communities. She is currently working on a book project and a podcast.

Adrian Matejka was born in Germany as part of a military family. He grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington and the MFA program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is the author of The Devil’s Garden (Alice James Books, 2003) which won the New York / New England Award and Mixology (Penguin, 2009), a winner of the 2008 National Poetry Series. His third collection, The Big Smoke (Penguin, 2013), was awarded the 2014 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. The Big Smoke was also a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize in poetry. His next collection, Map to the Stars, was published by Penguin in 2017. His mixed media collaboration with Nicholas Galanin and Kevin Neireiter inspired by Funkadelic, Standing on the Verge & Maggot Brain (Third Man Books), was published in 2021. His most recent collection of poems, Somebody Else Sold the World (Penguin, 2021), was a finalist for the UNT 2022 Rilke Prize and the 2022 Indiana Authors Award. His first graphic novel Last On His Feet:Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century was published in February 2023 by Liveright. He served as Poet Laureate of the state of Indiana in 2018-19. He currently lives in Chicago and is Editor of Poetry magazine.

Tim Samuelson is an authority on the cultural history of Chicago. He is one of Chicago’s leading architectural preservationists and experts on Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Samuelson served as curator of Architecture at Chicago Historical Society, and on the staff of the Landmarks division of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. At the Chicago Cultural Center, he has organized numerous exhibitions on architecture and American visual culture, includingMecca Flat Blues, 2014 and Love for Sale: the Graphic Art of Valmor Products, 2015.    

Maggie Winters is a Chicago-fried comedian turned internet personality best known under the moniker @saggiesplinters. With training through both Second City and iO Chicago, Maggie quickly transitioned her talents from the stage to online where she immediately amassed thousands of followers through her unique online characters. In the live space, Maggie is credited with performing with the likes of Colin Jost, Meg Stalter, Hannah Einbinder, Matt Rogers, and Paul F Tompkins. In 2023, Maggie was named as a Stand-Up New Face at the 2023 Just for Laughs Festival, and made her TV debut recurring on Season 3 of THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES (HBO) opposite Adam Devine. She then concluded the year by being included as one of Vulture’s Comedians You Should & Will Know 2023.

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In the Frunchroom: Jahmal Cole

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Scott Smith


One of our scheduled readers cannot join us tomorrow due to a family emergency. In moments like this we turn to our past roster of guests. Tomorrow night we’ll be joined by Jahmal Cole.

Jahmal last took the stage at The Frunchroom in April 2017 as part of our two-night second anniversary shows at Beverly Woods.

A champion of social justice, Jahmal Cole’s mission is to build a more interconnected Chicago on the pillars of service and education. As the founder and CEO of the city’s fastest-growing social impact organization, My Block My Hood My City, he is the creator of an exposure-based education program for teens and a network of volunteer initiatives that serve Chicago communities year-round.

A Chicago native, Jahmal received an honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities and Philanthropy from Adler University in 2022 and has been named best activist by the Chicago Reader and Activist of the Year by Chicago magazine. Jahmal was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Chicagoans by Crain’s Chicago Business and has been awarded the 2020 American Red Cross Community Impact Hero Award.

In 2019, Jahmal Cole was named to Crain’s 40 under 40. He’s also the recipient of the 2019 Champion of Freedom Award and the 2018 Chicago Defender Men of Excellence Honoree. He was also named one of the “20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans” by Streetwise Magazine.

Formerly of Chatham, he now resides in Beverly. And he’ll join us at The Frunchroom tomorrow night at 730pm at the Beverly Arts Center. Brought to you by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance. A $5 donation is requested at the door, which benefits the Alliance and the BAC.

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In the Frunchroom: Nora Flanagan

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Scott Smith

We have a few storyteller archetypes at The Frunchroom. The South Sider who moved to the North Side and takes the stage to tell us how that happened? That’s one of our favorites.

Nora Flanagan taught high school English in Chicago for 25 years and has researched and organized against racism for longer than that.

Her recent efforts have included speaking to government agencies, teachers unions, faculties and administrations, community organizations, faith groups, and media outlets about the intersection of bigotry and youth culture. She co-authored Confronting White Nationalism in Schools, a toolkit designed to help schools thoughtfully and effectively respond to incidents of racial hostility and proactively strengthen school communities.

Last month, she joined the staff of the Chicago Teachers Union as a Project Organizer, focused on developing anti-racist policy and professional development. Nora is an amateur vegetable gardener, retired roller derby player, and fervent horror fan.

A fourth-generation South Sider, she grew up on 107th Place – “No, not Street; that’s the next one over” – and now lives in West Ridge with her husband, a Chicago firefighter; their two sons; and a quirky but good-hearted rescue pit bull.

Join Nora at the Beverly Arts Center at 730pm on Thursday, January 18th. Brought to you by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance. A $5 donation is requested at the door, which benefits the Alliance and the BAC.

Read more about this edition of The Frunchroom here.

RSVP on Facebook here.

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In the Frunchroom: Nate Otto

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Scott Smith

You’ve undoubtedly seen Nate Otto’s work around Beverly – his mural at the corner of 103rd and Wood on the brick wall of Ohana is his most visible effort. Next week he joins us at The Frunchroom.

Nate lives in Beverly with his wife and young kids. He became a full-time artist in 2012 following an undistinguished career in an unrelated field. 

In the years since he has had eight solo art shows and painted over fifty murals in addition to several projects for notable companies.  Nate tries to focus as much as possible on creating art and currently makes over two hundred paintings each year. 

No one has ever seen him and it is not known what he looks like.

But you can solve the mystery by joining Nate and four other readers at The Frunchroom on Thursday, January 18th at 730pm at Beverly Arts Center. Brought to you by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance. A $5 donation is requested at the door, which benefits the Alliance and the BAC.

Read more about this edition of The Frunchroom here.

RSVP on Facebook here.

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In the Frunchroom: Angel Simmons

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Scott Smith

For a long time, the rule for Frunchroom speakers was “no repeats.” Exceptions were made for reunion shows, our summer Zoom series, and last-minute fill-ins.

But in the eight-plus years of this show, we’ve had too many talented people to not bring them back on occasion.

One of our earliest storytellers at The Frunchroom was Angel Simmons and we are so happy to bring her back.

Angel Simmons is a multi-talented artist from the south side of Chicago. She is an author, advocate, actress, coach, columnist, editor, mentor, runway and print model, speaker and storyteller. Angel has been featured in books, magazines, the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, in Christian music, and as a guest on radio and television. She was the 2018 Ms. Northern Illinois Royalty, and the 2019 Ms. Illinois Elite. She now serves on the Miss Royalty International Pageant staff as a Coordinator and head Coach.

Angel is the author of both “Love’s Great Design: Uncovering the Power and Purpose of Human Relationship”, and “TARGET of LOVE: Surviving Narcissistic Abuse”. She is the host and producer of the Verses, Vibes & Visions Live Lit Series and the co-host of the Do Not Submit Storytelling Open Mic show in Englewood. Angel’s message and captivating stories have graced the stages of Bad Poetry Night, Homewood Stories, Is This a Thing?, Loose Chicks, Miss Spoken, Story Club North and South Side, The Frunchroom, This Much Is True, Tuesday Funk, and a number of conferences and events throughout the country.

Angel’s screen credits to date include eight films, sixteen television series, one commercial, and an educational training video for the Florida Council Against Sexual Assault. She is also the lead actress in the “My Last Party” Stage Production for suicide prevention.

Angel’s credentials include over 100 professional certifications in Mental Health, Trauma Informed Care, and much more. Her company, The Message, Inc., provides Grief & Loss Coaching, Relationship Coaching, Inspirational Merchandise, Keynotes & Workshops, and Wellness Support Groups.

Hear Angel at the Beverly Arts Center at 730pm on Thursday, January 18th. Brought to you by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance. A $5 donation is requested at the door, which benefits the Alliance and the BAC.

Read more about this edition of The Frunchroom here.

RSVP on Facebook here.

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In the Frunchroom: Mario Smith

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Scott Smith

The Frunchroom started in the back room of a bar on Western Avenue. In keeping with the tradition of third places, we created something where average folks, poets, performers, politicians, and media personalities would come together in conversation.

Mario Smith was one of the early Frunchroom guests and just happens to be a poet, performer, and media personality as well as an educator.

Mario is the host/Executive Producer of News From the Service Entrance with Mario Smith on WLPN-LP Lumpen Radio in Chicago and the host of the Silverroom’s Randomly Selected podcast and the co-host of the podcast Who You Got with Mike & Mario.

He was featured in the Chicago Reader’s The People Issue in 2022. His poetry appears in the books Power Lines: A Decade Of Poetry from Chicago’s Guild Complex and The Break Beat Poets published by Haymarket Press.

See Mario along with four other storytellers at the Beverly Arts Center at 730pm on Thursday, January 18th. Brought to you by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance. A $5 donation is requested at the door, which benefits the Alliance and the BAC.

Read more about this edition of The Frunchroom here.

RSVP on Facebook here.

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The Frunchroom, Volume 25: The silver edition

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Scott Smith

The Frunchroom, the original live storytelling series about the South Side of Chicago that makes its home in Beverly/Morgan Park, kicks off Beverly Art Walk week this month.

Its 25th show will be at 730pm on Thursday, January 18th at Beverly Arts Center (2407 W 111th St, Chicago). A $5 donation to benefit the Beverly Area Arts Alliance is requested. 

Scheduled to appear at The Frunchroom are writer, editor and Funny Ha-Ha host Jennon Bell Hoffman, teacher and organizer Nora Flanagan, artist / painter Nate Otto, author and speaker Angel Simmons, and poet / radio host / dive bar enthusiast Mario Smith.

(clockwise from top left) Angel Simmons, Nate Otto, Nora Flanagan, Jennon Bell Hoffman, Mario Smith)

“With eight years of shows behind us, it’s the right time to bring back some past storytellers to mix in with new voices,” said Scott Smith, host of The Frunchroom. “Angel and Mario go back to our days at O’Rourke’s Office while Nora, Nate, and Jennon are experienced artists and storytellers appearing for the first time.”

The unique mix of art, cocktails, and stories is presented in partnership with The Beverly Area Arts Alliance, the organization responsible for local arts events like the Backyard Music Series and the Uprising Market. 

This edition of The Frunchroom coincides with the 10th Anniversary of the Beverly Art Walk, which will be held on Saturday, September 23rd from noon to 5pm. Featuring more than 200 artists at more than 40 venues throughout Beverly and Morgan Park, this year’s Walk will feature live music, artist demos, a craft market, and family-friendly events. 

The Frunchroom has played to packed houses since it began in April 2015 and has called the Beverly Arts Center home since October 2017.

Previous readers include local residents and business owners; radio and podcast hosts, teachers, poets, politicians and artists. In addition, the show has featured reporters and anchors from the Chicago Tribune, South Side Weekly, Bloomberg News, WBEZ-FM and WGN-TV.

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