Ep. 5: Living in the Near West Side (United Center) featuring Holly Smith
Holly Smith is a resident of the Near West Side (United Center) neighborhood of Chicago who moved here to pursue a career in the performing arts. In this episode we discuss her experience of Chicago, the local comedy and performing arts scene, the local craft brewery scene, building a one-woman show, and much more!
The Living in Chicago Podcast is where I, Jake Lyons, get to interview all kinds of people about the Chicago neighborhoods they live in, work in, and play in. This way, you can learn about the lifestyle pros and cons of various neighborhoods directly from the people who live there (or maybe even learn something new about your own neighborhood!)
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Note: the following transcript was generated automatically and not checked closely for spelling, grammar, or accuracy
Jake Lyons: Hello and welcome to Living in Chicago, the show where I get to interview real Chicagoans about the neighborhoods that they live, work and play in. I'm your host. My name is Jake Lyons and in this episode I interview Holly Smith, who is a local performer. She's a comedian. She's an actor. She's a director, a writer, sketch performer, all kinds of things.
Anything having to do with performing arts, she can pretty much do it, seeing, dance, everything. And also is a local brewery aficionado. That's a hard word for me to say, so I have to slow that word down a little. Brewery, you all know what I'm trying to say there.
So we get to talk about the local craft, Brucene and things like that. And she's a resident of the Near West Side, which is kind of a broad category. That's a very large area. We talk about the specific neighborhood that's kind of right around the United Center, where of course the Blackhawks and Bulls play as well as various concerts and people like that when they come through. And so that's sort of like the far west side of the Near West Side, if that makes sense. And if you don't know where this is, if you're picturing a map of Chicago, picture sort of this right in downtown Chicago, that's what it's called, the Loop. Go a little bit west of that. That's the West Loop. The West Loop is within the Near West Side, and then she's just a little bit west of that. So that's sort of the area that we are focusing on the most, but we of course bounce around and talk about all kinds of different areas and things to do and whatnot. And we'll get right into that without further ado. Let's hear what the Near West Side is like to live in in Chicago in general from Holly Smith. Here. We'll figure that out.
Holly Smith: Anyway, hey, so join here by local future comedy and performing arts legend Holly Smith. Wow, what a crowd. I'm great. How are you? It's facts.
Jake Lyons: Doing well. Thank you for taking a little bit of time here to talk to me about, you know, Chicago, what your experience has been like here and whatever else we are bound to get into. Let's, we can start with just a little bit about you. Take it away. Why, why Chicago? Where were you from originally?
Holly Smith: I say Arizona and Iowa because I have a parent in each and I was bounced a lot back and forth from, you know, the joys of divorced parents. But I was in Arizona for like high school, college, and then right when I graduated, I went to Chicago for a test year just to see what I thought of the city.
An acting professor had convinced me that I should really lean into my comedy side. So I went straight into the famous second city program and just launched myself into that. And then a test year has now led to nine and a half years because I think Chicago is the best city in the world. Anyone who says New York is better can fight me. But yeah, I just, I fell in love with Chicago and I have no intention of moving to Arizona again ever. And it would probably take a really incredible opportunity to pull me out of Chicago in general. So I'm fully in. I love it here. Nice. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: And I think, you know, as you said, second city was the big sort of the big draw that got you here. You knew that that was the specific sort of vertical of performing or so you want to go to go into that kind of sketch improv comedy scene. What was it about that that made you say that Chicago would be the right fit versus going to like an LA or New York? Yeah, good question.
Holly Smith: I also remember a life changing guest who is a casting director in Chicago. And she was a friend of my previously mentioned acting professor in college. And so he had her do just kind of like a Q &A slash info workshop with us when we were in, I think my my junior or senior year. And I was really just trying to decide what to do with my life because I actually was balancing a nursing degree and a theater degree at the same time. And it was way too much. And it was so stressful.
And then I had this fork in the road after your first two years in nursing school when all the prerequisites are done, you like actually officially go into nursing school. And then you don't have time for theater. So I was at a big fork in the road and I obviously ended up choosing theater because I decided to go for passion over paycheck.
And I didn't want any regrets. But this casting director said it's important to go somewhere where you have opportunity, but your career is not your whole life. And you want to make sure that you live somewhere that you actually enjoy. And I think that applies to any career. Your job is only one piece of you. And if you're in a city that you really don't vibe with, there's a cap.
There's a limit to your happiness. And so I was like, oh man, the very brief moments I've been in LA, it just does not feel like my style. Same with New York. The times I've been in New York, people just have this edge to them and kind of like there's just this meanness to the city that I didn't vibe with. And being born and raised in Iowa first before moving to Arizona with my mom and then going back and forth. I'm just like a Midwestern at heart. And so I was like, okay, I know there's a really good comedy scene.
There's a really good theater scene. So Chicago felt just like a happier place for my soul and a more approachable, just yeah, a more doable big city and more affordable.
Jake Lyons: That all makes sense. Yeah. So you had some, I imagine growing up partly in Phoenix, you know, there are, I don't know, this is closer to LA ish. So I don't know if there was any kind of like poll that way. And maybe I'm just actually that probably doesn't make sense because I know Phoenix actually has like this weird kinship with Chicago culture in a lot of different ways.
Holly Smith: So the only thing was like being so far from my Phoenix friends and my mom. So to that point, LA was where like, I think my mom wanted me to go.
But then I was closer to my dad and siblings in Iowa by being in Chicago. And yeah, Phoenix just the comedy scene. Maybe it's gotten better, but when I was there, it was really bad.
And the scene's decent. And then with commercial and TV, there's just not a lot. So it just felt like a little bit of a dead end. And I wanted to try something bigger and better. Yeah, the rest is history. For sure.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, New York is an interesting one. I look at New York the same way I look at Vegas. It's like a fantastic 48 to 72 hours. And after that, it's like just kind of sensory overload and you just got to get out of there. Yes, I agree.
Holly Smith: Because since I was just there, it was literally a 48 hour trip. And I was like, that was fun. But I'm so excited to go back to sweet, sweet Chicago where even the rats are like more respectful. The New York rats are like, this is our territory. We're not afraid of you. We're not going to scurry.
We're going to look you in the eye as we eat the pizza that you just dropped. But I mean, New York has its own magic and its own opportunities. I just think it, I'm not tough enough for New York. I think it would beat me down a bit.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, even if not for the sort of the, I don't know, the mass psychology of the city. And I guess it's just like, you know, the kind of just what it would take to be a New Yorker and just live that life every day.
Like have to get on, you know, a ferry and a train and a bus and a taxi this to get to where you're going every day. Like that's just so much. And yeah, I mean, like them, that kind of meanness. Like I know what you're saying. And that's definitely like the, the, the stereo, like the, whatever the stereotype, I guess they get to me. It's like an aggressive indifference that New Yorkers have that I would, that how I would explain it. It's not like overtly mean. It's just like a, there's just so many people everywhere. So it's like, why would you ever even consider like the humanity of this person next to you when there's just millions of them everywhere?
Holly Smith: Yes. I very much got the vibe of just like, stand your lane and get out of my way. But it's funny because I was talking about this with two separate people who don't even know each other. That have both lived in New York for long periods of time and they both told me, I did not bring it up. They separately told me that when they first moved from New York to Chicago, that they had elevators in the buildings they were living in and they were like, why do people keep trying to talk to me and elevators? They're trying to do friendly chit chat, leave me alone. I'm just trying to listen to my music and I just want you to stay out of my way. Yeah, that's very New York of you. I like people are friendly.
Jake Lyons: I remember going into some brunch place like in the Soho, right? That's like a neighborhood of New York that's fancy, right? Am I thinking that?
Holly Smith: I don't know. It sounds
Jake Lyons: like to me that I am a little bit of a look. I know like every, like there's like a Soho in London, there's a Soho house here. I don't know. Maybe I'm confusing things.
I'll take this out of the podcast if it's wrong and sounds dumb and I'll leave it in if not. But yeah, we were walking into some brunch place there and I held the door open for somebody as they were coming in with me. And they turned around and looked at me like, what are you doing? What is this? Why are you doing this? I was just like a very core memory of New York. That's like the encapsulation right there. That's wild.
Holly Smith: I have the most stereotypical New York moment when I'll give you the short version, but basically two guys on the streets got into an FU argument and we're just screaming FU back and forth over and over. And then it's not even more explicit from there. And I was like, wow, this is what I imagined to be like in a movie. And then people are like, okay, that's overly stereotypical. We're not caricatures, but it actually happened. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: Like what's that? There's like a gift for kind of like very short little thing that went viral where like the two guys just like keep aggressively giving each other the finger from across the street to each other. And they'll walk like 10 feet and then turn and give the finger to the other guy and the other guy.
Holly Smith: Do you know what I'm talking about? I haven't seen that, but that's
Holly Smith: literally what this was except instead of giving the finger, they're just screaming at each other. I was like, oh my God, please stop fighting. This makes me so uncomfortable.
Jake Lyons: And then you come back to this, this quaint little Midwest town that we call Chicago.
Holly Smith: I truly think it is a more approachable, more affordable, just gentler version of New York. We still have amazing food. We still have amazing comedy, endless things to do, eat and drink. But my rent is literally my apartment is almost double the square footage as the friends we were staying with. And our rent is less than half of theirs. And that was a locked in COVID deal. The actual price of their apartment, which is why they have to move now that they're getting out of their COVID contract, their two bedroom, two bathroom, I think 700 or 750 somewhere around their square footage is $6,300.
Jake Lyons: Wow. In what area?
Holly Smith: They are in a really nice area overlooking the water in Manhattan. But the permanent self to me is like, unless I'm living in a castle, like no apartment is cool enough to be $6,300 a month. It was very basic, like nothing super, there was no marble, nothing that dated that. It's just the location.
Jake Lyons: And you said half the footage of yours too. Yeah, that can't say I'm too surprised. I mean, I can't even think of too many places where you could spend $6,000 a month on a two bed in Chicago if you wanted to. Like if you wanted to move to the nicest, newest,
Holly Smith: high-rise, the most possible building whistles, you're still not.
Jake Lyons: There's probably something that you could find some of these like the new Vista Tower or something maybe, but man, I don't know what's up. Yeah.
Holly Smith: So they're actually there for a limited amount of time. The guy is an anesthesia resident. So once his residency is done, they're moving right back to Chicago and they're counting down the days because they love Chicago so much more. And they're going to be moving into the West Loop, I believe.
And so their money is going to go so much further. I mean, you tell me because I obviously haven't gotten an apartment hunting in three and a half years now, but I think we did lock in a pretty good deal during COVID. We didn't get to see this apartment and thankfully it worked out great. Like we hadn't seen it in person, but it's by far my favorite place we've lived. And so it's 1,700 square feet. So it feels like a home. And it's massive. Yeah.
And it's only a three-init walk-up. So I never hear neighbors. I'm sure they hear us and our dog. But so it's 1,700 square feet and it's gone up in price each year, but we're still only paying 2250 a month. And we have a brand new washer dryer, a one-year-old fridge, a one-year-old... No, actually, we just got our dishwasher replaced too.
We have free street parking in front. We have wood floors and an exposed brick wall in every room, which is like my favorite picture. It's so Chicago. It gives so much character. Like I'm in love with this place.
Jake Lyons: And then yeah, you go to... At least a semi-private outdoor area back there that you can hang out.
Holly Smith: Yeah, a small patio. So like we have all the things that we need and love and we're so close to so many amazing things. Sorry if I'm jumping ahead. I love the area.
Jake Lyons: No, that's perfect. And we should probably say too what the... We won't give you the audience the exact address, but you know, so you're in, I guess the... I even have trouble knowing exactly what to call the area that you're in because it's not the West Loop. It's not, you know, you're not East Garfield Park yet.
Holly Smith: Yeah, it's technically near West Side. But we are literally like a block and a half from what I think you could consider the West Loop. Like we're very close to West Loop, but just far enough, maybe it's more like three or four blocks, but we're close enough that we can be within walking distance of... Or a five minute drive of like so many of the best bars and restaurants. And we're also like a three minute walk from the United Center for the Bulls games, the Blackhawks games. We're like a three minute walk to Union Park for all the music festivals in the summer. Like we're so close to so many things, but just enough West that we get a lot more space and a lot more space for our money. So that's worked out great, but I do feel the West Loop expanding and I feel the gentrification happening in our neighborhood. So I'm sure the place we're currently in is going to be way more expensive, even three to five years from now. I'm sure.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, I would absolutely lock in that bet. That's for sure going to happen. Yeah, no doubt. That seems to be the trajectory of how things are heading. It's just kind of going West from like kind of Fulton Market, kind of true. Like when you think of the West Loop, that area that kind of like Randolph up through, I don't know, Racine kind of through there. But yeah, there's like a bunch of stuff between like you and there that's... It's like not quite that, but getting there, you know, and yeah, it's something happening that way.
Holly Smith: It's so wild that the West Loop is so expensive and like to me, it feels high-end and like the food scene is like so high quality and like it's just like definitely very modern, expensive, a little bit bougie. But then you go like, I don't know, one mile, maybe two miles West and it gets like sketchy and dangerous. And so we're kind of in between that, which has been really interesting.
And I'm not going to lie. I had a little bit of white guilt like moving into this neighborhood when we did because I felt like I was part of gentrification. But also part of me was like, well, my husband's black, so he can just cancel me out.
And our building is garden unit first floor and then we're on the second floor and there of everyone in our building. So I'm the only white person. Aaron's the only black person. And then everyone else is in like the Latinx community. But I do see more white people, more Asian people in our neighborhood.
In general, like it's still predominantly black, but it's definitely changed a lot even over the last three and a half years. And like when we first moved in, like we heard gunshots and like Aaron downloaded that app where you can see like police activity and like someone near. Yeah, someone literally got shot half a block from us and we were just like, oh boy, should we maybe not have moved in here? But now like I don't think I don't remember the last time I heard a gunshot and there is still getting activity in our area, but it feels so, we feel so removed from it.
Like we live in a bubble. So it's odd. It's really odd. I believe it's government housing, just perpendicular of us. And there are lots of people that all wear the same color from head to toe and it's definitely a gang.
Jake Lyons: But they're just supporting their sports team.
Holly Smith: Right. But it is really interesting because like I used to walk home from where I worked and I probably shouldn't have. But like they were always very friendly to me, but then, you know, sometimes I'd see like, oh, I think a fight is about to break out. I should walk quicker or maybe not go this way. So it's just a really interesting area to be by that and then by like some of the wealthiest people in the city.
Jake Lyons: So yeah, so even still now you wouldn't say that you feel, you know, particularly unsafe walking around is sort of the greater United Center area. I'll call it.
Holly Smith: I would definitely not walk by myself. I mean, the only time I'm walking by myself is with my pit bull. So thankfully, she looks pretty intimidating. That'll help. Yeah. I think I probably tend to err on the side of it's fine more than I should. Aaron, my husband for people who don't know that he has forbidden me from walking home from work at night by myself.
I have a scooter and like a scooter or bike helps because it's just a little bit faster. But once it's dark, it is a little bit weird because between where I work, which is just like a mile northwest of me, it's very odd at night because there's a lot of like warehouses and big factory like buildings that are just totally like empty and quiet at night. So then if there are these sketchy characters out, it feels weird because it's like just you and them. So I get Aaron not wanting me to walk home. So I don't do that anymore.
Jake Lyons: But if it's lots of shadows and just things to hide behind.
Holly Smith: Yeah, like you're just you're a little too like tucked away and hidden. And then, you know, sometimes there are people roaming the streets, but when there's like a United Center event, there are so many people out and about that. It doesn't feel weird at all. But if there's nothing happening, it just gets kind of strangely quiet. And I've also noticed like I feel least safe when I notice that everyone walking around is a man for me. That's just kind of like a red flag. If I'm like, I don't see like families or I don't see women like it's just dudes.
I as a woman immediately feel a little bit more on edge. So I don't ever have headphones in. Even if I'm talking on the phone with someone, I try to have speaker phones. I'm just a little bit more aware of my surroundings.
I try to have a spray, you know, just be smart. But I mean, people get like mugged and attacked in any neighborhood. Like it doesn't necessarily matter to a point. Where you just need to be safe and aware, regardless, especially unfortunately.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, I mean, those are just unfortunately just those are like fundamental, you know, behavioral things that are just like good to do anywhere in a big city. You know, be aware of your surroundings and if you're by yourself, you know, watch the headphone volume if you have them on at all and look busy. Beyond the phone if you can, you know, all these things. Put on your tough face. Yeah. Yeah, put on your New Yorker face.
Holly Smith: Yeah, there we go. Channel that don't have with me energy.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, let's not be too Midwestern when we're in those situations. Well, you lived in a few different neighborhoods though. Yeah. Yeah.
Holly Smith: Yeah. I technically first lived in Lincoln Park with my stepmom sister who I really didn't know. But she just let me live with her for a few months to get on my feet since I was straight out of college. So Lincoln Park for three months and then Ravenswood for it's a little bit blurry, but it was somewhere right around like a year and a half. Erin and I, our first place together was such a sad, tiny, dark garden unit in Ravenswood.
And we're like, wow, look at us now. We've got daylight and in-unit laundry and just all the things that we dreamed of back when we were in our early 20s. But the neighborhood was nice and it was a really affordable area to move into. And then after that we lived in Logan Square and I really loved the apartment, but our landlord was a pretty terrible person and just dealing with him was really bad.
So that was reason enough to move to where we are now. Oh my gosh, I skipped Hyde Park. We lived in Hyde Park for three years when he was going to med school at UChicago. The last year of his four years, he did commute from Logan Square because he just wanted to like switch it up and like move to a new neighborhood.
But three years in Hyde Park were great. And I think it's a really magical neighborhood because it's so diverse in like every way because you've got international students, black people who've been there for decades, white people, lots of different languages are spoken, rich, poor, very, very educated, and everything in between. And I'd never lived in a neighborhood that was so mixed up like that.
And I thought like, that would be such a cool place to raise a child, I think, where they're exposed to so many different types of people. So that to me was like one of the most magical parts of Hyde Park, but it did feel tucked away and especially when we didn't have a car, like I commuted to the West Loop by bus and train and it would take me
Jake Lyons: anywhere from
Holly Smith: 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes. But the bus ride up and down Lakeshore Drive is beautiful. So I will say that was magical like with the sunrise and sunset every day.
Jake Lyons: That's my favorite view of the city coming up from Hyde Park. There's like this one particular bend that you go around when you're coming north on Lakeshore Drive where you just see like the full panorama of it, you know, with like the lake in between you and everything is this top, top three view of the city.
Holly Smith: It truly is magical. One of the things that I love about the summertime is the beaches, especially like the beaches where you can be downtown like literally skyscrapers are less than a block from you. But then in front of you is just beautiful nature like sky water and I feel like Chicago is pretty dang good at keeping the beaches clean. Where you like despite how packed it is, you don't deal with a lot of like litter shadiness.
Holly Smith: But yeah, I love nature's beauty and man made beauty all wrapped up in one incredible city.
Holly Smith: I'm obsessed with Chicago. My favorite thing is when people are like, oh, we're coming to visit Chicago. What should we do? I'm like, tell me your interests, what you love to eat, drink. I'm like, I'll play on the whole thing for you. I could play on like 10 different vacations and there's still more to do. It's the best.
Jake Lyons: You could do you could do a different thing five times a day every day for the rest of your life here in Chicago.
Holly Smith: Yeah, Aaron and I just did a staycation for the first time ever this past week and we did not do nearly all the things I wanted to do because there's just too much. It's a great problem to have.
Jake Lyons: Time for the real estate stats corner presented by me, Jake Lyons, real estate advisor here in Chicago with app properties and my website, the Chicago home source dot com. In this, we are of course going to talk about the near west side since that's the neighborhood that we are discussing in this episode.
And for these, I'm just going to throw basically three numbers out at you just so you can get a general sense of what real estate is going for in the near west side neighborhood because you know what really is a neighborhood without real estate. Right. So I think this is important. Of course I do because I'm a real estate agent. So I might be a little bit biased, but you know, first number I'm throwing out there is the median sales price for a two bed condo in the near west side.
So the right now, which right now the most recent that I have is December of 2023, which is important to know because these numbers obviously change all the time. But as of right now, the median sales price for a condo in the near west side is $400,000 50% sold for more 50% sold for less. That is the median sales price for a two bed condo in the near west side $400,000. If you're looking for more of a house, keeping in mind that actual single family houses with three or four or more bedrooms, not super common at all in the near west side, you know, near west side is a little closer to downtown. So it's more dense, more condo heavy, more apartment heavy, but there are some houses in some areas of it. So, you know, it does.
There are there are a few out there. The median sales price for those right now is $714,250. $714,250 median sales price for a house in the near west side neighborhood. And if you just want to adjust, but if you're looking to rent a two bed apartment, the median price on that per month right now is basically $3,195.
But do keep in mind before you get too much sticker shock on that. And really with all of these, except maybe the house is that these numbers, most of these numbers are coming from places that transacted closer to downtown in the west loop and Fulton Market area, not necessarily where we are talking about in this episode. The Fulton Market west loop, those places tend to be much more expensive. So if you just go a mile or two west where we are talking about more in this in this episode, you can expect to probably pay half to two thirds of that.
So anyway, that has been the real estate stats corner for more listings or to see what's going on in these neighborhoods or the whole or the whole city really go to the Chicago home source.com, which you can find in the show notes. Definitely. What's your go to when somebody's visiting you? Let's say we can answer this in two ways, like the kind of hyper local like, you know, around where you for you live, like maybe kind of going into like West Loop, maybe a little West town, whatever, or just Chicago as a whole. You know, somebody's coming to visit you. What's like the first thing that?
Holly Smith: Oh my gosh, that's an overwhelm. Like usually I have to literally sit in silence or like scroll through notes on my phone or a Yelp or something to remind myself because there's just too many. Um, I think near us, the first thing that jumps to mind is the loyalist because it's it's like a 13 minute walk for us. And the loyalist is the lower level and the Smith is the top level. I think they just got their third Michelin star for the Smith. So I haven't been there because I think it's like $350 per person now.
But below them, all the same company is the loyalist. One of the best burgers in the city and they have that awesome burger fries, whiskey shot beer deal. Um, I think it's every weeknight.
They're open before seven. Um, and the, oh my God, the fries come with a caramelized onion, a Oli that I would put on chalk and eat because it is. So freaking good. Um, and their cocktails are amazing.
The service is great. It's got like, it's like small, but it's got like cool, sexy vibes. Um, so that's a go to in terms of like, what's walkable from here that would feel like a really cool night out and it can be pricey. But again, if you do the burger deal, I think it's like 25 bucks for all the things that I named. Um, and for it being like, in my opinion, at least top five burger in the city, definitely worth checking out. Um, it's like, I think technically.
Jake Lyons: That's a whole, that's a whole discussion in itself burgers in the city. Like we could, man. That's also one of my favorite. One of my favorite Instagram follows is this girl named, she calls herself Chicago Burger Bible.
Holly Smith: I think Erin follows her and everyone looks so good.
Jake Lyons: It's this straight up burger porn. It's so amazing, yeah. We live in a great place. And she just keeps finding these places and they all look just phenomenal, but anyway.
Holly Smith: Yeah, that's why when I travel and I have a bad burger, I'm like, dang it, I'm so spoiled in Chicago. We've got like endless amazing burgers to try. Okay, sorry, I will speed up my answer. This is so hard. So in just general, I do think Chinatown is really cool. And also it's definitely, well, I don't think it's touristy, but Ajaan Argyle is like this stretch on the North side. And there is a place called Sun Wah Barbecue that has amazing paking duck, where you literally just go like, ah, we're gonna get the duck. And then they just start bringing all these dishes and they carve the duck in front of you so fast. They use every bit of meat. And then you put it on bow buns with sauce, so good. And I love that place. It's like, it feels so authentic and like something you would never know how to make it home. And so yeah, Sun Wah Barbecue is also a great go-to.
It's really good for groups. I would say like four to eight is perfect. And from there, I could literally go on and on forever. But those are just the ones that jumped in my mind. But I mean, especially if people are like, oh, I particularly like this kind of food, or I've never tried this type of food. Cause I remember I had a cousin visiting and at the time she was living in Montana and we ended up going to get ramen and she had like never had pork belly and like didn't know what pork belly was.
Wow, she's like in Montana. Like it's just all classic American foods. So I would love anything except for that. I was like, oh boy, well, Chicago's got Ethiopian, Cuban, like everything, literally everything.
Jake Lyons: Literally everything. Sorry to bring up another, this random- Oh, do it. I can't actually remember what this guy's one is called, but I'll find it put in the show notes. But this guy is trying, his goal is to try the cuisine of every country in the world. Whoa. Without leaving the Chicago land area. Really? I think he has to go out of the city for a few of them, but not too far.
Holly Smith: That makes sense. That's really cool. Okay, we also- Yeah, what a cool thing. With the burger girl specifically Chicago as well. I don't remember. Okay, yeah. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: She might venture into some of the burbs, I'm not sure, but Chicago does. Yeah.
Holly Smith: Ugh, I love food so much.
Holly Smith: So much.
Holly Smith: If I could afford it, I would eat out every night.
Jake Lyons: I think that that's a thought that goes through my mind almost every day. Just like if I just had unlimited funds, the amount of money I would spend on just going out to eat, just carry out whatever it is, it would be obscene. Yep. That's where so much of it would go.
Holly Smith: It's so easy in Chicago to spend money on food and drink. So easy.
Jake Lyons: And you're, so yeah, I guess to begin of the drink part of it. So you're kind of a veteran of the craft brewery scene as well, yeah?
Holly Smith: I definitely would not say veteran, but I do work at it.
Jake Lyons: It's really awesome brewery. Participants and... So yeah, again, because no one knows what the near west side is, it's even confusing that that's the name of a neighborhood and you're not just describing like I'm close to the west side. It's actually the name. Well, that's... D.B. Mice, okay, can I actually like 90 seconds to mansplain this real quick?
Yes, go ahead. So there's 77, they call them community areas in Chicago. Sometimes you'll hear people say like Chicago has 77 neighborhoods. That actually has way more neighborhoods in that, but it has 77 community areas.
So like, and then there's neighborhoods like under the umbrella of these community areas. So like one of my go, like my go to example for this is the near north side. People talk about Streeterville, Gold Coast, River North, Old Town, these are all neighborhoods that exist under the umbrella of the near north side. But you never hear anybody say like, I live in the near north side.
Holly Smith: Oh my gosh, I thought near north was the neighborhood name.
Jake Lyons: I am to... I mean, some people might refer to that, but you know, typically it's like you're gonna say River North or whatever, like nobody really says like near north side really. But for some reason the near west side, and so the near west side includes like Tri Taylor, the medical district, West Loop obviously, Fulton Market.
And then that's where you live just like to the west. Basically it just like falls apart at Ashland. Like everything west of Ashland is just kind of like, it doesn't really... Yeah, what is it? Literally on Google Maps, it just says like United Center. It says the United Center neighborhood.
Holly Smith: Well, I live at the United Center.
Jake Lyons: Yeah. That's weird. So that's, yeah. So that's why it's like, it's weird that there's not sort of like a more specific, because every like corner of Chicago wants to kind of like have its own identity and like call it, it's like own neighborhood, but... Yeah. Yeah. So near west side is accurate, but it's also, you know, that's like a pretty broad like definition.
Holly Smith: I didn't realize, because I do agree our area is confusing. Wow, that's fascinating. So the brewery is even more west of me and then a little bit north. And so just north of us is West town. And so the brewery just says like, we're in West town, which technically I would say not quite, but it's so tucked away and confusing.
I get why they do it. But yeah, I love where I work. I've worked in two different restaurants and one other brewery before where I'm at. And this is by far my favorite place in the hospitality industry I've ever worked. There's just something about the people who come in on a regular basis and the people who work there is just so chill and awesome. And we're dog friendly inside. So we even have dog regulars. And I love it so much.
Jake Lyons: Mm, oh, those are our best kind. Water bowl, dog treats. If it's slow enough or if I have like a minute to just chill, I make the rounds and I go all around. I say hi to all the dogs. I ask if I can give them treats. There are dogs that like know me and right when they walk in, their tails start wagging and they're like excited to see me. I'm like, this is my job.
This is so cool. And you know, the great thing about the brewery is seen is people are there because they want to drink what they're drinking and they like it. It's not just to get wasted. So you have less drama. You have less sickness.
Like it just feels a lot more chill and a lot more mature. And our regulars have become like some really good friends of mine. Like I just went to a holiday party with people who have gotten so close to me that even though they saw my show in Chicago, they also traveled to New York to support me and go to my show there, even though it was the same show. And like I met them by serving them beer and now they're like close friends. And then other people at that party are also people that I have served who are now friends. Like two other people, we spent Thanksgiving day with them at a bar and I met them because they're regulars at Midwest Coast Brewing. That's where I work.
It's awesome. Everyone should go. And we're actually building out a second floor. It's gonna have a little bit of an outdoor rooftop space. And then one wall is completely glass and retractable so that when it's nice, it's totally open. And then when it's cold, you still have a beautiful view of the city because that is the perk of the area that they're in. There aren't high buildings. Like they're in that specific area, there's like zoning where you can't build apartments and condos if I remember correctly. So there's still a really amazing view. And yeah, that space is opening, I think in April.
So another reason everyone should check it out, Midwest Coast Brewing. I really do love where I work. I wouldn't say all of this if it wasn't true. It's a very cool vibe.
Jake Lyons: Right, they're not paying you extra to say this.
Holly Smith: They certainly are not, they don't know this is happening. But yeah, and it's, I will point out, it's bring your, excuse me, bring your own food. Sometimes we have food trucks and food pop-ups, but you can always bring your own food. So like it's such an affordable way to host a party or something. And then Midwest Coast is within a mile of like four other breweries. So when it's nice, people will just like ride bikes or walk around and just have like tasters at each and kind of create their own brewery hop.
And it's really fun. Like there's the Goose Island Fulton Market location here, or not Fulton Market, but it is on Fulton Street. And so that one's even closer to where I live. And they have a super fun block party every year. Have you ever been? It's in September every year?
Jake Lyons: It's on, where is this? It's not, hold on, where is it at?
Holly Smith: It's their Fulton Street location. So it's all around that near West side area. It's three, one, two block party and it is so fun. No, I haven't done that one.
Oh, you gotta. It's every September and it's almost always perfectly beautiful weather. And they have like a stage with music and food trucks. So yeah, that's one more thing that's within a five minute walk of us that I love to go to.
Jake Lyons: But I know there's that block party, another brewery. I can't think of them, I can't remember the name. I'm really bad at names of places.
Holly Smith: Oh, I feel bad. I can picture like, you know, intersections and what the food was there. But if it's like a trivia of what the name is, I'm just, I'm not your guy.
Holly Smith: You're like, I know the specific type of trees planted in front of the building. Like don't open me.
Jake Lyons: I know the style of construction that the building was.
Holly Smith: Honestly, I feel that though. I'm so bad at names.
Jake Lyons: I know there's that one on, it's like a race scene and Hubbard.
Holly Smith: See, and I'm terrible with directions.
Holly Smith: Okay, fair enough for this. I know those words, I know those streets, but I can't picture exactly what that cross street section is.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, it sounds like another, you know, similar to what you just described. It's like they have, they probably get together with like some other people from like the Chamber of Commerce or whatever, it's probably not just like them, but they do a little block party there. And yeah, I know that whole area there, because you know, my wife, Emma, artist, she had a studio right in that area for a couple of years and like right there in West town with all that kind of like, those like converted industrial lofts kind of spaces and stuff. A lot of those have been turned into like, yeah, like cool like artist studios, photography studios, like venue spaces and things like that.
Holly Smith: Now a lot of lettings are happening at these.
Jake Lyons: And it makes sense. You go in there and it's like, it's all the things that like, you know, millennials with money want in their Instagram photos, you know, it's all the like big wooden beams, exposed brick, you know, there's always some like, you know, ancient relic from like past times when it was some factory for something, some giant like steel door or like, you know, like a big boiler from like the 1880s that looks like a locomotive, you know, there's always like something in there.
Holly Smith: Yeah, they kept one small piece of the history.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, there's, But I know there's a pretty, I
Holly Smith: was just saying they're really cool spaces though. Yeah.
Jake Lyons: I know there's a pretty good little movement going to change that specific area over there to the brewery district. Yes. Honestly. Which I think is an awesome name.
Holly Smith: I don't know a lot about it, but I know that my manager is involved in the group that's trying to push for that and make it more of like a destination because we're not in an area that will get a lot of foot traffic. We actually do share a building with a really popular wedding venue called the Walden. And they have, I think they have weddings every Saturday, every Sunday and almost every Friday, sometimes even Thursdays. There was a Thursday wedding at 6pm and I was so confused. And most of the guests were from out of town. I was like, huh, they probably just wanted to save a lot of money.
And I'm sure they did that. But we get random people stumbling in like before weddings, but aside from that, it's not an area where you're just walking around or like there's no restaurants like or other bars within like a five minute, even 10 minute walk. So I think they're trying to make it more of like a destination that people know about and seek out for that reason. Cause it's still a really cool area, but you're not going to just stumble upon it.
Jake Lyons: Right, there's no residential really anything right there yet.
Holly Smith: Yeah, that too. That too. But I mean, Chicago has so many breweries, which like I probably should be trying more than I have. But when I drink for free at the place I work at, and I know someone who works at another brewery, so I can drink for free there, it's hard to justify venturing out very far. But yeah, there's so many of them.
Jake Lyons: And spending like $10 on a beer when, yeah.
Holly Smith: Yeah, and actually that's another thing. Midwest coast, I mean, I don't know if our prices will need to change with the upcoming year, but most of our beers, unless it's a specialty beer is $7 before tax, which is like unheard of. Especially for how close we are to the West Loop. Like a lot of other breweries, theirs are now becoming eight, even nine, 950. So yeah, for where we're at, especially I feel like it's a really pretty brewery as well.
It's not like less expensive because it's crappy by any means. It's a beautiful space. And MSR is going to go up in there soon. I'm so excited. So we do the thing for listeners, we do the thing where there's like art on the walls for, I don't know, maybe like a couple months that like features a new artist that you could purchase art from. And so Jake's wife, Emma, who he just mentioned, is our next artist and I'm so excited. It's a small world because my manager was just looking through the website of artists. And he actually was like, what do you think of this art? And I was like, oh my gosh, that looks really familiar. I'm pretty sure that's my friend's art. And so he found it on his own and it just, Oh wow.
Yeah. So I told her, I was like, that's a huge compliment to you because I didn't even know how he selects artists or like where he finds them. He just did it purely on his own. So she's that talented.
Jake Lyons: No favoritism going on.
Holly Smith: Not at all. It was just a coincidence, but I'm so happy. I love her work.
Jake Lyons: Emma's growth trajectory in that world, she's only been doing it a couple of years and just yeah, all the connections she's making, all the different just moves that have been there has been so cool to have a front row seat to it.
Holly Smith: Oh, and this reminds me, I need to buy her journal. She has like that journal that she created that's like, I think it's got like affirmations and different prompts, but also artwork, right?
Jake Lyons: Yeah. So far she has 11 different versions of it where the main difference is the art piece of hers that is on the cover of it. Okay. But then the internal contents are also kind of structured around which piece it is to varying extents. And yeah, there's all kinds of like little affirmations, little positive quotes and things from her through a little like opportunities for a little like activities, like scribble your emotions here, you know.
Holly Smith: I love that. Honestly, I'm gonna buy one for myself and probably also one for a friend. And I'm saying this out loud so that when I listen back to this podcast episode, if I haven't remembered to do it, I'm gonna do it.
Jake Lyons: Some accountability, yeah.
Holly Smith: Yes, yes.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, I have one too. I've never been a big journaler, is that a journal person who journals, but I was starting to get into it a little bit before she even told me that she was doing this. And I was like, all right, well, this would be like the perfect thing. And it's like, turns out man, like spending just five to 10 minutes a day just journaling like what did you do today? Cause I don't know, it's so easy to go through life and just like what did I even do yesterday? What did I do last week? Yeah, you're like, I don't remember what I had for breakfast.
Holly Smith: I have no idea.
Jake Lyons: Yeah, it's like, that doesn't seem like the most optimal way to just go through life, like just numb to everything. Yeah, I think it's good to have like a routine of reflecting on things.
Holly Smith: Yeah, and also I think a lot of journaling is meant to lead to gratitude. And there have been lots of cities show that gratitude and like the active practice of like listing things you're grateful for or out loud talking about things you're grateful for on a daily basis, like helps immensely with depression and anxiety and just overall stress management. So basically she could be like saving lives through these journals. Who knows?
Jake Lyons: You never know. You never know. Yeah. For sure. Let's see, affirmation gratitude that leads me to think about the word prayer, which is gonna be kind of an awkward segment into wanting to talk about your awesome one woman show.
Holly Smith: Oh, for a second, I don't know why. I thought you were to be like, which is my awkward segment to close us out with prayer. And I was about to be like, oh, okay. Maybe, I mean. If we must.
Jake Lyons: It wouldn't be opposed to it necessarily. I haven't done that in any of the other episodes.
Holly Smith: I'm like, okay, sure. Let's do it.
Holly Smith: Yeah. No, thanks for bringing it up. Thanks for always coming to my shows. You and Emma are so supportive. I think I'm gonna do one more performance in Phoenix in January. And then I think I'm done with this show, which like is kind of very sad for me because it's been so important to me. But I have more ideas and I also wanna like get new projects going.
This is the first one woman show I've ever been in or created and it's gone really well. Yeah, I don't know. What did you want me to say about it?
Jake Lyons: Yeah, I mean just, well, first of all, I guess what, how would you describe it? Or I guess do you even want to since it's, if you're, if you're- Oh, I don't mind.
Holly Smith: Yeah, honestly.
Jake Lyons: Are you gonna post it? Are you gonna post it in this entirety? Or do you know that- It's just so much better live.
Holly Smith: Like it's just meant live, especially when there's like the scene where I'm like interacting with the audience, playing that improv game where I'm also educating people on Volvo Denia. But the, what the heck was your question? I'm so sorry. I just distracted myself.
Jake Lyons: Oh, about what it's about. Yeah, what's just, how would you describe it?
Holly Smith: So basically in 2020, when I was trapped inside with nothing but my thoughts for so long, I think I was like forced to address a lot of things that I'd been pushing down in regards to my own anxiety, just generally like having an anxiety disorder and not really realizing it. And then a lot of stress surrounding the really intense Pentecostal faith I was raised in.
And it was such a part of my identity, but there were so many problems and questions and like big topics that I wouldn't let myself dwell on because it stressed me out. And I just kind of forced myself to. And then I was like, well, I love comedic relief. So I just was in this class where she was like, I want you to write a one woman show. And I was like, I think I will be very bad at that. But she was like, just start with one scene.
And I was like, okay. And so I decided as my prompt for myself, I would take a hard topic and say, if I had to talk about this in front of an audience, how could I talk about it while also making them laugh? And it was the most therapeutic thing I've ever done for myself. And so it's very personal. And it does address a lot of serious things, but I would say like, you know, there might be a few parts in the show where you get teared up, but most of the time it's silly, it's lighthearted and it's fun, but there is like a lot of personal vulnerability and just depth and whatnot. And it's fun because it's the side of me that people are often shocked to see. I think I present one way in my day-to-day life. And then on stage, I'm just like insane. So I play all these crazy characters.
I have my video sketches that are, you know, obviously prerecorded and edited that go up on a screen. I usually have at least one song and I love it. I love if people can relate to me and like get something deep out of it, awesome.
If not, I hope I can at least entertain them. And that's also awesome. So it's gone over really well. And then the most recent performance in New York, I actually just found out I won an award for it. So that was super for me. Cause I was like, oh, wow, these are unbiased people that like don't know me. So it's really nice that strangers could be so impacted. Is that it?
Jake Lyons: Yeah. I mean, that was certainly my takeaway was like, I mean, obviously, you know, even if it wasn't a fraction as good as it was, I still would have seen it cause you're my friend and I'll support you. But it was just like, afterwards it was just like, yeah, like completely non-biased, anything opinion like that was awesome. Like, wow, she killed that. I was just so thoughtful and just firing on every possible cylinder and the fact, like how much you had to do for that. I mean, you were the producer, the writer, the main performer, the booking agent, the, you know, you have to have learned so much from it.
Holly Smith: I appreciate that so much. I often see like, especially when people are seeing me perform for the first time, if it's a friend or like, or even a regular at my, at the brewery or something, I see like the relief afterwards when they're like, yeah, I was really nervous that this would be super bad.
And then I'd have to like lie to you or awkwardly leave before I talk to you. They're like, but thankfully it was really good. And I'm like, I feel that I've been to shows where I'm like, ooh, this is not what I expected, but I'm still going to be here to support them. But no, yeah, I appreciate all of that. And I'm so glad, I'm so glad you liked it.
Jake Lyons: Absolutely loved it. And yeah, it was very relatable. And yeah, I look forward to seeing whatever, whatever comes next for you in that way, whatever you, however you can like parlay the experience that you got from this into, whatever your next ideas are.
Yeah. I guess taking it, bringing it back a little bit to even like the reason you came to Chicago was to do stuff like this, and kind of like follow like the dreams over potential money, all that kind of stuff that you were talking about earlier. So I mean, what, I guess just kind of explore that idea a little bit, if you could. I don't know, I have like this exact question, but like, you know, how much did the Chicago comedy scene coming up in that second city where, you know, people you met there, whatever other classes you might have taken, you know, like how did it all kind of like lead up to that? And did that kind of feel like, like, all right, this is what I'm, what I came here for. Yeah.
Holly Smith: I'll try not to give too long of an answer because there's so many things running through my head. When I first moved here and got an agent, things felt like they were moving pretty quickly. And I was so excited. Like I was in a few Hulu commercials and I did a couple onion videos, which for anyone who doesn't know the onion is like a comedic fake news thing, news that are just in the mind. And then I was in an episode of Chicago Justice, which is a Dick Wolf show that only lasted one season. But still, like I had a speaking role on an episode.
And like all of that was happening over like eight months while I was taking improv classes, while I was doing other acting workshops, I was like building my network and community of friends and everything felt so awesome. And then my agent moved to LA and the agency just like fell apart. Now the same agency is thriving because someone new purchased it. But it just sucked cause like they were trying to hire a new agent.
And then that person would only be there for like two months and then I'd have a new agent and I wouldn't even know. And it was just like such a mess. So I wasn't getting any auditions. And like I didn't know my agent, they didn't know me.
And then it just literally switched like 10 times before I was like, you know, I'm not gonna renew my contract. And then COVID hit and it honestly in some ways, I mean, obviously the pandemic overall, I would never wish again on anyone. I know a lot of people were hurting, but in this specific aspect, it was a gift that I got so much time to write and create this show that is now like the thing I'm most proud of that I've ever done. But I would say like the Second City Conservatory taught me how to write comedically. Also one of my good friends, Dustin, he and I did a lot of two-person sketch comedy shows that we would create together. And he was always a stronger writer than me.
So I learned a lot from him. And then the pandemic was like this great time where I just was like writing a lot more and preparing to do things outside of my comfort zone. But a lot of people moved and a lot of people stopped acting. And now I almost feel like I'm starting from scratch in terms of my community. Like I don't have a lot of actor friends or a lot of filmmaker friends.
I have a few and thankfully like the people that I do have are so talented and hardworking. And like we have all these video ideas that we're about to start creating. I just need to again write down the ideas in my head and actually like move forward. But it's kind of tough to like start over after the pandemic and be like, okay, I've like now all the auditions you record yourself, which in some ways is great.
But in other ways, when you have two cats and a dog and like sirens outside and you don't have professional lighting, like there are a lot more challenges. Right now I don't have an agent, but I am going to apply to all the agencies. And I really want to lead with the information of like, hey, just so you know how like hardworking and serious I am, I just wrote this show and like booked it myself in three different cities, now about to be four. And then I won this award at this festival in New York City where I was up against like hundreds of shows. And there were like six awards, I think, maybe eight.
And some of them didn't even apply to me, like the best one man show or the best drama or whatever. So I want to lead with that to be like, I'm serious, hire me, I will work so hard, I promise. But we are in the era of you have to wear all the hats. You cannot just be an actor, you have to do other things. And you have to create for yourself, you have to create opportunities and projects for yourself because there are too many people trying to do the same thing and just not enough things to be cast in. And also like, to what I was saying before, I think I present very differently in my life than I am on stage and no one knows that but me. So like who's gonna write better for me than me? And so that was something I really had to grapple with because it is so much more work to be like, oh, I have to do all the marketing.
Like I'm not particularly great at social media but I need to learn how to get better. And like I need to figure out how like tickets work and make sure I price them so that I don't lose a ton of money on this. Like I at least want to break even and like I have to like to your point, like book the space and talk to all the people involved. I have to hire a stage manager and a director and do all the things but then the gift is like I'm doing a show that is more me than anything I've ever been in and I'm in charge of how many shows there are, where it's at and the other great thing about Chicago is there are so many small spaces that will let you host your show there. And like this last space was BYOB and it was like, they were so easy to work with and so great and I'm like, man, I love that about Chicago that like you don't have to be this huge, wealthy production company to put up shows. You can be literally a one random person who works at a brewery who's trying to follow her dreams on the side.
But yeah, so right now I'm in kind of a weird middle space where I have a lot of new ideas and I think it's time to just focus on the new stuff and not hold onto this show for too long. And then I need to apply to all the agencies. It's just overwhelming because it's like, where do you begin when there are so many different things you can do, but I just need to do it. Like starting is the hardest part and then once I get rolling, before I know it, I'll have like 10 scripts and then I'll be like, all right, friends, who's in? But I'm excited, I'm excited for the new year and I'm ready to bust my butt. Right on.
Jake Lyons: Is there anything that you would like to promote any kind of like, you know, I guess either about yourself and or things in Chicago?
Holly Smith: I mean, for me, just follow me on Instagram at Holly in the Windy City. And when I have shows, I will always promote them on Instagram first and foremost. Hopefully I'll have a new show in the spring or early summer. And then I'm also gonna create some videos and stuff that I'll be posting.
So yeah, just follow me on Instagram. And then in terms of Chicago, I love the Chicago shelters. Chicago shelters are so wonderful with cats and dogs. Please adopt, don't shop. You can find any type of dog, puppy, old, full bread, mixed mutt, anything. DTR Foundation is a great one to follow, one tail at a time, pause.
There are so many, but those are the first ones that jumped mine. So people should please, please follow them. And another organization that's really great that I'm involved in that's like a two minute drive for me is called Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly. In my opinion, not the best name. It is so long and a little bit clunky, but they do wonderful things for lonely elderly people. And it's really easy to get involved, even if you just wanna like deliver birthday gifts once a month, which is what I do. It's like so easy and it brightens people's day. They also have an Instagram.
But those are the first ones that jumped to mind. Again, I could go on forever because I love this city. I love where I live. If anyone ever wants food, drink, comedy, show, music venue, like any recommendations, message me on Instagram, cause it's my favorite thing to talk about.
Jake Lyons: Excellent, excellent stuff. Thank you, Holly. Anything, any other final thoughts on the area or the city or anything that I should have asked?
Holly Smith: I don't think so. I feel like I talked a lot. So if people made it this far, that's great.
Jake Lyons: Nah, you delivered lots of quality content here. I appreciate that. It was fun. I always appreciate the guests that can just, that can just roll with it and, you know, you coming from your, the improv performing background. Like, I had a good feeling about this one. You totally delivered. Awesome.
Holly Smith: Yeah. If anything, my problem is talking too much, but that's what editing is for anyway. Indeed. Indeed.
Jake Lyons: All right. Well, I never really know how to, how to say bye on these. I'm going to figure that out eventually. There's probably going to be some, some goodbye music overlapping us at this point, but other than that, you know, thank you so much for coming on.
Holly Smith: Awesome. Great to talk to you, Jake. Say hey to Emma for me. Will do. Bye.
