Almost 77 years old, Paul Rinaldi of Chiargi Hardware in Chicago’s Little Italy thinks about retirement every day. This makes sense, considering he’s been in business for 56 years and was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
Still, six days a week, the couple and his wife, Carol, who has health issues of her own, drive up to two hours each day from their home in suburban Mount Prospect to the store at 1412 West Taylor Street. ing.
“I want to quit, but I just can’t. My heart is here. These people are counting on me,” Rinaldi said.
Chiarge Hardware, located primarily on Italian Taylor Street, was once a vibrant, prime destination for paint, nails, and winemaking supplies, but these days it’s less busy. Chiargi has been a part of Taylor Street for at least 100 years, and its anniversary has passed without much fanfare amidst the big box stores and fast-food restaurants popular with local University of Illinois at Chicago students .
Two young brothers, Olinto Chiarji and Ermelindo Chiarji, opened the store in 1924, according to city resolutions and archive photos. They came to the United States from Italy in 1910. “Ollie” first worked as a bartender and Ermelindo was a painter, said Nancy Hill Chiargi, wife of Ollie’s grandson. By 1930, Chiargi Brothers’ first store at 1022 West Taylor Street was listed in the local Italian directory as “Fruit Press.”
A wine press is on display in the original location of the 1920s Chiargi Brothers store at 1022 W. Taylor St. in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood.
Dominic Candeloro/Casa Italia Library
Rinaldi remembers the original Chiarusi iron and wood grape crusher. Nowadays, they are sometimes sold on eBay and at vintage auctions. Rinaldi said winemaking supplies have always been a staple in the store, until it became too expensive and time-consuming for “young kids to make their own wine.”
He also remembers the bicycles and motorcycles that were sold when he first started helping out at the store in the 1960s, when he was still a teenager. Rinaldi’s father, Erardo Rinaldi, was also an Italian immigrant who took a job with the Chiarzi brothers after returning from World War II. He then bought out his elderly brothers and became the new owners.
The ’60s were a tumultuous time in Chicago’s Little Italy, with new highways, urban renewal, and the construction of the UIC campus displacing many businesses and families. Chiargi had to move a few blocks west to 1449 W. Taylor St.
Despite the changes in the neighborhood, the business flourished.
Chiarugi Hardware co-owners Paul and Carol Rinaldi are pictured in the store they have owned and operated for more than half a century in Chicago’s Little Italy (later University Village) neighborhood.
“The store was packed,” recalls Pat Iannino, a local real estate agent who worked for Chiargi during his high school and college years in the late ’60s and early ’70s. “We sold pipes, paint, electrical and plumbing, as well as wine barrels, pasta makers and Italian tableware. Neighbors would come in for tools and hardware. People from outside the neighborhood and even from Italy. Many people came looking for imported products.”
In 1968, at the age of 21, Rinaldi returned from the Army to his father’s shop.
“And I got stuck,” he laughed. “But I couldn’t leave his father. He taught me everything. His whole life was Taylor Street.”
A second location in the 1990s, the Chiarugi Hardware store at 1449 W. Taylor Street.
Provided by Carol Rinaldi
As he aged, Rinaldi became a regular in the neighborhood. He sharpened children’s skates for free, translated letters from the city, repaired appliances for residents of the project, and helped remove graffiti from the Columbus statue in nearby Arrigo Park.
“He was the nicest guy in the world,” Iannino said of his first boss. “Friendly, knowledgeable, and intelligent in finding solutions to various problems.”
Mr. Rinaldi took over the business after his father retired. His wife Carol initially helped out on weekends, but then she joined him full-time. A big change came in 2009, when the building that housed the store was sold. The Rinaldi family soon had to move the store across the street to its current address. The store area has been cut in half. There was no space to cut glass, store paint, or set up a large winemaking section.
Chiargi Hardware’s key-making station in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood.
Currently, the store carries a limited selection of tools and household items, and also offers key cutting. Rinaldi can still order winemaking supplies, but he admits his customer base has shrunk. What hasn’t changed is the owner’s commitment to the community, the store’s welcoming atmosphere, and the one-on-one support.
Dave Bonomi moved to the neighborhood in 2009 “penniless and clueless.” He went to Chiargi to copy the keys to his first apartment.
“They’re like the welcoming committee on Taylor Street. They remind me of my older relatives and draw you in with their warmth. You can’t help but love them,” says Peanuts nearby. – said Bonomi, co-owner of Park Trattoria.
He’s trying to buy light bulbs and furnace filters in Chiargi, but he’s also one of the many locals who stop by the store “just to say hello” or to ask about a leaky sink or a disconnected pipe. Yes, he said.
Another loyal customer is Kathy Catrambone, an author and journalist who lives on Taylor Street.
“The idea is, ‘Oh, I don’t know, let’s ask Paul,'” Catrambone said. “If he can’t help you with what you’re looking for, he’ll give you a million dollars worth of guidance. It’s so amazing they’re still here. They’re considered gems. It dispenses much more than a nail.”
Photo of Chiarugi Hardware, 1022 W. Taylor Street, 1954.
Just before the pandemic, the store held a special reunion. During the Little Italy Festa, Anthony Chiarzi, the son of the company’s founder “Olie”, and his three sons visited with their families.
“Dad was very happy,” Don Chiargi said of the reunion. Since his father, Anthony, passed away in 2022, he said he has been coming from the western suburbs every year to visit Rinaldi.
“They’re family,” Rinaldi said.
Paul Rinaldi, wearing glasses and a hoarse voice, leans forward a little, looks out the window with Carol by his side, and talks fondly about his father and the past. Not only does he talk all about Taylor Street, but he also talks about “that evil Putin,” “those poor immigrants,” and how much he misses the Columbus statue that was removed by the city from Arrigo Park in 2020. I talk. But that’s only until the next customer or friend comes in.
“Hello! How are you? What can I do for you?” he says with a big smile.
Chiargi Hardware still uses an old machine that shakes buckets of paint.
Paul Rinaldi, co-owner of Chiarugi Hardware, shows off the pipes he threads in his store. This is one of the many services still available at this 100-year-old store.