It was during his junior year in high school that Norman Bolden was first introduced to the magic world of radio. Norman was one of the lucky kids who landed an internship at WGCI-107.5, which at that time was one of the hottest Black-owned radio stations in Chicago. The station had a special promotion going called the WGCI Card of Gold – a card that would allow consumers to receive discounts at retail outlets. As an intern, Norman’s job was to receive the mail-in applications and mail back the cards. When the program ended, after a little more than a year, Norman was preparing to go to college at Clark University in Atlanta, but fate had other ideas. Marv Dyson, who was the Station Manager at WGCI offered Norman the opportunity to continue to work for the station as the mailroom guy and messenger, and as Norman says, “my parents accepted the opportunity.”
His college pursuits were not lost. In fact, the station paid for his college education at Northeastern Illinois University. After a few years in the mailroom, the opportunity arose to work with Riley Davis, the station’s marketing manager, as a junior sales representative. The rest is history. Norman was promoted to senior sales representative and nominated and awarded the distinction of Account Executive of the Year, not just for WGCI, but all of Gannett media throughout the country. Norman told me that he excelled and made a great deal of money, yet he had a dream. He says, “I had committed to myself that at the age of thirty-five, I was going back to 43rd Street and develop it and live my dream.” Chicago’s 43rd Street was not only where Bolden had grown up, but it was also where his father had a flourishing business in the early 60’s, Royal Flush TV
Although Bolden’s 35th birthday came and went without his dream coming true, it didn’t stop that dream. And as he approached his 40th year, he vowed that he would not turn forty years old in a corporate position. He was going to turn 40 in December, and in October, two months before his birthday, he made a decision to go back to 43rd street and develop the property, which he already owned from his father’s TV repair and record shop. Room 43 was born.
Thus began the entrepreneurial phase of the life of Norman Bolden. Room 43 became the family room of Chicago’s Black community, hosting birthday parties and party-parties, weddings and proms, homegoing’s and memorials, in 2008, hundreds gathered in Room 43 to watch a young Black senator debate a veteran senator in his quest to become the first Black president of the United States. Every Wednesday, the Rat Pack, one of Chicago’s oldest Black social clubs, holds a weekly evening of entertainment at Room 43.
A few years after opening Room 43, Norman acquired the abandoned building down the street at 1001- 1013 East 43rd Street. Norman felt it was the perfect place for a bistro- a vision that had grown out of his years of national and international travel. When he visited the bistros in Europe, particularly Paris, France, he became determined to build a bistro in the Bronzeville area of his own beloved hometown of Chicago. “I went on a mission to make it happen, and it came with a great deal of turbulence and political opposition,” he explained.
Political opposition to a resident or community member wishing to build in a Chicago neighborhood is nothing new. Many of Chicago’s aldermen
prefer to work with developers as opposed to members of their own communities. In Bolden’s Bronzeville neighborhood, the reality of that opposition was the price he had to pay, and so against many odds and obstacles, he hung in there, when his liquor license was questioned for no legitimate reason, when police were sent on a nightly mission of disruption and intimidation, he stood his ground and eventually Norman’s Bistro was open for business in 2010.
These two venues served not only the Bronzeville community, but also the South Side of Chicago. Yet maybe just two were not enough. Room 43 was in such great demand that bookings were often made months in advance. Businessman, Norman Bolden, saw the growing need for another entertainment venue on Chicago’s South Side, and in 2018, he opened the Haven Entertainment Center at 932 East 43rd Street. This full-service concert venue is available for party events, with an occupancy of 300. Its 5-star rating lists it as having a great atmosphere, great location and a great bar.
Norman makes no secret of the fact that his community endeavors are very intentional in trying to ensure
the continued presence of “us” within the community, because as he says, “There is currently a wave of gentrification that is occurring, not only in the Kenwood-Oakland
community, but throughout the southeast side of the city
of Chicago, and throughout Chicago.” “We have to be very intentional in land ownership,” he says, “and we have
to work toward being true stakeholders.
There is no question that thus far, Norman has practice what he preaches, having had a very successful journey as an entrepreneur and stakeholder. And he is committed to
assuring that he stays, and we stay, “Not only for me,” he says, “but for the greater community and for the legacy of our parents.”
Norman recalled when he was in his very early 20’s, standing in front of the Royal Flush TV Repair and Record
Shop, and hearing his father say, “Norman, the city’s going to change, I won’t see it, but you will. And don’t resale.” “So, when the powers that be came for me,” Norman recalled, “all I could stand on were my father’s words – and those words empowered me to do the necessary battle.” Back in those days, Norman had many options for selling. “I was in a decent position,” he says, “but it wasn’t about my position, it was about my commitment to my community and to my parents’ legacy.
Opportunities continue to arise. Norman was recently offered the opportunity to be the exclusive concessionaire at Chicago’s Rainbow Beach. This includes building out a deck. As he flushes out the logistics, he plans for the beach to be ready for the 2023 season.
“We want to be able to provide an atmosphere at Rainbow Beach where families, adults as well as children, can come out and have positive experiences.” Norman said, adding that he can’t do it alone. “With the assistance of the Chicago Park District, the city, and the Planning Department in particular, I think we can create a great beach experience for the South Shore community, but representatives from those departments must show up at the table and be prepared to deliver at a high level.” Norman emphasizes the need for cooperation and assistance from those entities. “I want to assure that when people come to Rainbow Beach in 2023 that it’s going to be pleasant, the parking lot is going to be what it needs to be, the beach is going to be clean as it needs to be, and the experience is going to be very positive.” Norman is also hopeful that the organizations in South Shore can reach out to the Park District and make demands. “Tell them to treat Rainbow Beach in the same manner that they attend to North Avenue and other beaches along the Lake Front, because that’s what our community deserves
