Newspaper Page Text
/
\
REMEMBERING RUSSO
News that Bob Russo had killed himself in Atlanta amid a swarm
of SWAT teams and police negotiators reverberated through down
town Athens last week. Like him or hate him. Bob left his mark here,
and in Atlanta. His son, Rudy, was quoted as saying that Bob was
dying of cancer and was about to lose his business, Rocky's Brick
Oven Pizzeria on Peachtree Street. Bob was not the kind likely to kill
himself, but if he did, he was likely to do it in dramatic fashion.
I first met Russo when he was hanging from the back of a
garbage truck, just down from New York. Soon he had opened Gyro
Wrap, on Broad Street, a concept in food none of us had ever heard
of, but a good one.
One day after work some of us were gathered at The Globe when
word came from Bob to come to Gyro Wrap immediately if we
wanted to see something we wouldn't believe.
When I got there, four police cars with blue lights flashing had
Gyro Wrap covered. Bob had moved a table and chairs out onto the
sidewalk, and his brother (I think his name was Rudy), sat next to
them in an easy chair, incredulous. Bob had tired of trying to get
permission for a sidewalk cafe and, typically, had just done it. Rudy
told me, "You have to kill at least three people in New York to get
this many police:"
Eventually Bob won out, and Athens' famous sidewalk cafes were
launched. Bob sold Gyro Wrap and moved down the street to open
The Grill, for which, free of charge, I provided the motto:
"Hamburgers the way they used to be." The Grill subsequently moved
to its present place, and Bob next bought the old Tony's Restaurant
location and tried his boldest concept yet: Chow Goldstein, a
Chinese-Jewish delicatessen. It just didn't work, and Bob realized he
had to do something else. This time he really got creative.
The story is that Bob's father Rocky came down from Brooklyn to
continue the family pizza tradition. Bob confided in me that Rocky
was a sanitation worker and a boxer in the City. Bob went over to
Covington or Conyers and worked with an Italian family there,
learning the business. He came back and opened Rocky's Pizza. Old
family tradition or not, he made a helluva pizza and stromboli and
all the rest. Rocky's was a triumph, and Bob gloried in it. When the
crew was here shooting scenes for the "Breaking Away" TV series, he
made Rocky's their headquarters and even named a pizza for Vincent
Gardenia, the character actor from Brooklyn.
Bob could be pushy, too. His new neighbors on Clayton didn't like
the idea of sidewalk cafes, and he even came to blows with one of
them. He also had an interesting New York way of parking. He would
just pull his Cadillac up behind whatever cars were parked in front of
Rocky's and leave it then, while he was in the restaurant. A parked
driver who was ready to leave had to inquire around as to whose
Cadillac that was. Of course everybody in the surrounding shops and
restaurants knew, and soon Bob would come sauntering out, back up
his car and then pull into the newly vacated space. Chutzpah!
Then there was the time that Bob took his family to New York on
the train. He arrived with his wife, Barbara, and their son and
daughter, Rudy and Regina, to be met in Grand Central Station and
taken off the train by an army of NYPD blue, guns drawn. They were
acting on a tip that Bob was transporting a large amount of drugs,
but all they found was a few marijuana seeds in one of Bob's bags.
He did go to jail anyway, however, because there was an open war
rant out on one Angel Rodrigues, which apparently was Bob, and he
had evaded some minor rap involving possession of a weapon when
he came to Athens. Coincidentally, I was in New York at the time,
and when Bob got out of jail I got an exclusive interview, after
which he took me to his favorite Little Italy shop and loaded me up
with cheese and sausage made in Italian heaven.
Next Bob was off to conquer Atlanta, and soon Rocky's Brick
Oven Pizzeria was a fixture on Peachtree. I ate there from time to
time, and the food was always incredible, and Bob always the
beaming host, always happy to have his Athens friends drop in and
making new friends in Atlanta all the time.
Few, I suspect, are heroes to their accountants, but this is what
Angela Meltzer wrote about Bob: " I knew Bob for many years as his
accountant and friend, and shared in confidence with him his many
triumphs and failures. He was a fearless and complicated man, who
was generous, soft and tough, and caring. But most of all, he
always seemed driven by a strong desire to "make a difference..."
Bob Russo did make a difference. He was an entrepreneur, a
restaurateur, a promoter and a showman. He combined the best of
all those pursuits by making sure that his businesses were at the
center of what's happening: raising money for disaster relief, taking
over movie crews, cultivating politicians and sometimes liking to
give the impression that he knew the mob.
Bob was a vital source of energy and sometimes outrage. It's
hard to believe he's gone. He continually pushed up against life and
made it flow a little more his way. He came into Athens on the back
of a garbage truck and left in his Cadillac for a larger arena. At his
death, attention was paid.
Pete McCommons, editor@Ragpole.com
THE ATHENS AREA HVNANE SOCIETY
399 Beaverdam Rd. • 353-1187 • www.athenshumanesodety.com
What big beautiful eyes he
hast NIKKO is a sleek
strawberry blonde beauty.
He is very loving, gives
gentle head butts, and will
chirp to you contentedly.
He doesn’t mind dogs
either.
BRIGGS is a BIG girl. Pure
white with shockingly orange
eyes. A real beauty! And
there’s a lot of her to love
(she made a few New Year’s
weight control resolutions-do
you need a dieting partner!).
Very playful and sweetl
MUSHU was referred to as
the “Buddha kitty.” He sits
serenely and purveys all. He
is a very mellow, kindly
orange tabby who has lived
peacefully with dogs and a
1-year old. Way cod people-
lovin’ cat..
This is SISTA and she’s got a
silly look on her face due to
some serious cuddling action
that was going on. She is a
young and gentle calico, that
has lived with other cats,
though she obviously thrives
on personal attention.
r
SO/LSAWTHi
Trailer foRTHt
HULK
AtovrE SUNDAY
NIGKT DURING*
1Ut SOPER Bowl—-
ffcTRx CU-PtArJ
'WoVA'!T>I(?Y ov /SEE
lOCk&>
Gfe/trf-rngfwruiE
LwkoF TflE HULK
Down! hot damn.'
the PaKTof-wt trailer
WHERE the HUlkTHRoWS
the tank looks Uk?rr
came Right ovr of the
Gds TALE'S Tb/\STotJl£H
STORIES! ANP WES EVEM
v/earihg Purple pants;
LASLO
bullet
PRIVATE EYE
AAANJH1S HUlk McWIE
ItSGoHWARockll J\)$T
'HOPEtHE STORY'S fiOOP.
Because the effects look'
Awso/vvt! TT Looks TuST •
ft**** way ®ck KlRBTJ
VSEp-ro DRAW HIM I
So YoOTHlNkTHAT 1 /THERe'sTHE phone
HARem sots crazy] call! well see v/Hat
Enough To SHdW VP lAKlND cFSajty Sol I? 1
/rrtHEcuJB tonight?
iWDW/ffcH
THETRAllERRfcTRS Hulkl
^VLE | YgAL) .XT RoCVCEP!
THE Part wherethe Hulk
THREW the T/HJk KicKeP
ASS'.THATWaS AWSo/HE.'
STREET ADDRESS: 112 South Foundry Street, Athens, GA 30601
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O.B. 1027, Athens, GA 30603 • mail@flagpole.com
TEL: 706-549-9523 • ADS: 706-549-0301 • FAX: 706-548-8981
VOICE MAIL: 706-549-2360 • WEB SITE: www.flagpole.com
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pete McCommons ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
l PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING EDITOR Margaret Moore EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brad Aaron
NEWS + CULTURE
LETTERS
ADVERTISING SALES Maggie Anderson. D.J. Hammond. Anita Pinto
SPECIAL AGENT Cindy Jerrell ACTING MUSIC EDITOR Sarah Lee
CLASSIFIEDS, DISTRIBUTION l OFFICE MANAGER Jill Buchanan
SPECIAL SCRIBE William Orten Carlton CARTOONIST Patrick Dean
ADOPT ME Cindy Jerrell SENIOR MUSIC WRITER Ballard Lesemann
ABC Chris McKay WRITERS Mike Andrews, Tom Bavis, Emerson
Dameron, Patrick Franklin. Will Goss, Sam Gunn, Erik Hinds, Eric
Holder, Gene Hyde, Sara Kim. John Knight, Gordon Lamb, Ballard
Lesemann, Chris McKay, Heather Muse, Steve Scarborough, Alan
Sculley, JoE Silva, Matt Thompson, Leah Weinberg, Jim Winders,
Elizabeth Zeeuw CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, Chris Brewton.
Chase Johnston, David Lasley, Micah Sherman WEBFOOLS Ron
Balthazor, Horace Grant EDITORIAL INTERN Sasha Sarene Morgan
MUSIC INTERN Sam Gunn ADVERTISING INTERNS Libby Burgess,
Laura Pelli PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Brian Causey PRODUCTION
INTERN Erich Ohrenschail COVER DESIGN Cindy Jerrell, featuring a
photograph by Jason Thrasher; see page 8
CITY DOPE
COMMENT
DC PROTEST
EDITOR'S NOTES
SKATEPARK
MENTAL HEALTH BENEFIT
ACTIVE IN THE YARD. . .
REALITY CHECK
LISTINGS
MOVIE DOPE
OUT THERE!
ABC
CLASSIFIEDS
MUSIC
. 4
• 5 BRUCE HAMPTON 23
. 6
. 6
WOMEN IN MUSIC. 25
. 8
11 COMING UP 26
31
34 LIVE REVIEWS 27
12 RECORD REVIEWS 28
14
18 THREATS & PROMISES 29
32
VOLUME 17
ISSUE NUMBER 4
Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes
18,000 copies free at over 250 locations around Athens, GA.
Subscriptions cost $55 a year, $35 for six months.
IfjVERIFIED @®Q
A m AUDIT CIRCULATION
JANUARY 29, 2003 • FLAGPOLE.COM 3
