Obama-Mania: Tourism Business Booming in Obama's Chicago

By GottaLaff

(M. Spencer Green/AP Photo)

Every city has its tourist attractions...

But this year, they are hitting some newly ascendant Windy City hotspots -- including Hyde Park Hair Salon & Barber Shop, Manny's Deli, 57th Street Books, Valois Cafeteria and Medici on 57th -- all allegedly frequented by hometown boy Barack Obama, who was elected president three weeks ago.

The signs are everywhere: Obama-mania is here.[...]

From delis to barber shops and business offices to bookstores, visitors have been seeking out the Illinois lawmaker's favorite Chicago stomping grounds, sending business spiking throughout town.

There he goes, affecting the economy again before he even takes office.

Chicago's official tourism Web site lures travelers to "Presidential Chicago: Experience the city the Obamas enjoy." The Illinois Bureau of Tourism has launched a three-day tour of the "President-elect Obama Trail," taking visitors to 14 attractions from the state capital of Springfield, where Obama launched his presidential campaign, to his Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago.

Don't forget the "do":

"We have a lot of Europeans and people from different countries coming in just to get their hair cut by Barack's barber or in Barack's barber shop," Coye said, citing a "big spike" since Election Day, with about five people a day coming in, as well as numerous others driving by to take pictures.

"We try to get it as close as possible," said Coye, on duplicating the Obama 'do'.

Vendors drop by the barber shop trying to make a buck, too:

[O]ne man [was] seen walking into Coye's barber shop recently selling wood carvings engraved with the words, "Barack Obama and the Book," accompanied by a picture of the president-elect and the Holy Bible.

Wait. Isn't Obama a Muslim? Strike that. A terrorist Muslim? That whole Bible thing must be a mistake, a ploy, just to make a working stiff a few dollars. Da noive...

Meanwhile, our president-elect better start watching his cholesterol. Bacon's full of the stuff. Yum, bacon. Mmmmm:

Business also is booming at Obama's favorite neighborhood eateries, including the historic Valois Cafeteria. [...] Visitors to Valois frequently ask for "The Obama Special" -- egg whites, bacon and hash browns -- which Obama still eats about five times a week, sending in an aide to pick up his breakfast at about 7:30 most mornings, according to Chronopoulos.[...]

"A lot of people don't eat egg whites," he noted. "I remember one time he came in, just ordered his lunch, sat by himself, said 'hi' to people," Chronopoulos recalled about an Obama visit three years ago. "He seemed like a normal guy, just a regular Joe."

An autographed photo of the president-elect, along with a business card from his Senate office, now hangs on the back wall at the cafeteria.

"To Valois, Thanks for the great eats!" Obama signed it.

Down the block, at another restaurant, we get a chance to see more high-fat faves and wish we all had Obama's metabolism:

One of his favorites, along with the breakfast omelettes and bacon cheddar burgers, is the "Garbage Pizza," complete with pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, ground beef, green peppers, mushrooms and onions. [...]

"If it's good enough for Michelle Obama, it's good enough for my wife," said Sibery, who naturally asked for -- what else? -- the "Garbage Pizza."

"Pan or thin crust," asked his waitress, wearing, of course, an "Obama Eats Here" t-shirt.

"What does Obama have?" responded Sibery.

"He has the pan," came the server's reply.

"So that's what I had," he said. "It was wonderful. A little pricey, but very good."

And very big, too.

"I had the small and it was huge," Sibery noted. "I don't know how he stays that thin."

And what is sure to be a popular attraction:

Obama's daughter Malia has also left her mark on the eatery. In green crayon, she followed a restaurant tradition of scrawling her signature onto an upstairs wall.

Meanwhile, back at Manny's Deli:

One patron asked this reporter if Obama was coming back into the deli, but sadly, it was just a writer hungry to try the famous corned beef. However, key Obama aides, such as incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and senior adviser David Axelrod, are regular customers.

There are a lot more little vignettes in the article. Fun read. And filling.