Merchants Fearful in Edgewater, Rogers Park

UPDATED 01/27/08

"This will be a dangerous year," the merchant on Morse Avenue told The Bench this morning. "There will be more crime. People have been driven from their homes by Joe Moore. There aren't enough jobs in Rogers Park."

The Morse Avenue merchant, who asked to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, was reflecting on yesterday's shooting murder of convenience store owner Kaycee Fadiya. "KC," as he was know to customers and neighbors, was shot at 11:00 a.m. in his Edgewater Mini Mart store at 1215 W. Devon Avenue yesterday. KC staggered to the sidewalk. Earlier reports said that he died shortly after being taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. However, The Bench has learned that he was died at the scene of the shooting.

KC Fadiya was a resident of Des Plaines.

Edgewater Mini Mart is located just a few steps west of the busy intersection where N. Broadway becomes N. Sheridan as you move north across W. Devon, in police beat 2433. Many Loyola University students live and shop in the immediate area. Across the street is a towering retirement home.

The next CAPS meeting for Beat 2433 is on February 7 at the Edgewater Library, 1210 W. Elmdale (just west of N. Broadway).

As of 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, there is no update online from 40th Ward Alderman Patrick O'Connor nor from the 2433 CAPS Beat. However, Loyola's director of campus safety, Bernard Ward, sent an email with an update:

The lone offender is described as follows: male, approximately 5'10" - 6' tall, wearing a green hooded sweatshirt covered by a black leather jacket, gray pants, and tan work boots. If you see an individual fitting this description, please call 911 immediately, as this person is armed and dangerous. (Full text here)

RELATED:
Police Investigate Fatal Shooting Near Loyola
abc7chicago.com: Owner shot dead at Edgewater store 1/25/08

R.I.P., KC - Slain Merchant Remembered by Neighbors

A little makeshift memorial marks the scene where northside merchant Kaycee Fadiya was fatally shot in front of his humble retail store. Chicago police are still looking for the shooter.

Police on Friday were investigating the shooting death of a convenience store owner near Loyola University on Chicago's North Side.

Kaycee Fadiya, 44, was shot shortly after 11 a.m. Friday at the Edgewater Mini Mart in the 1200 block of West Devon Avenue, police said.

The gunman entered the store and chased the owner around before shooting him two or three times, Rogers Park District Capt. Michael Wick said. The owner then was chased out of the store and collapsed on the street, Wick said. FULL STORY at CHICAGO TRIBUNE...

My Big Fat Indian Lunch

Hunger befell me while biking along W. Devon Avenue in West Rogers Park, Chicago today. I went into one of the many Indian-Pakistani restaurants, but that one creeped me out, to be honest, so I went looking for another.

I was happy to find King Sweets at 2308 W. Devon, a small storefront restaurant with a big assortment of great items. I won't pretend to be any kind of expert on Indian food, but the rich smell of curry and rostiseried chicken, along with a happy looking mix of customers, told me I made a good choice.

King Sweets, as the name implies, specializes in desserts. They make all of their wonderful sweets on the premises. The sweets alone are worth the trip. I sampled the halwa, a dense form of carrot cake with a creamy frosting. Halwa without frosting is also available. I also had a balushai, very sugary and syrupy. Excellent.

For those watching their sugar intake, King Sweets has a good variety of desserts that are made with sugar substitutes: Kalakand, Gulab Jamun, Balushai and Dal Pinya are available without sugar.

The sweets were very good but I needed protein. An order of the channa chicken filled me up. It's several pieces of stewed chicken (bone in) settled into a nice brown gravy, with chick peas. A side of nan (a flat bread to die for) made for a substantial lunch. I will definitely go back for more.

King Sweets serves all Zabiha meat. They do catering and ship all over the U.S. and Canada. Credit cards accepted with $10.00 minimum.

King Sweets
2308 W. Devon Avenue, Chicago, IL 60659
Telephone: 773-262-8001
Web: http://www.kingsweets.net