Food icon: Mario DiPaolo Jr. of Mario’s Italian Lemonade, where summer starts and ends in Chicago

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Mario DiPaolo Jr. of Mario’s Italian Lemonade has a thing about names.

DiPaolo goes by Skip, and he calls what they make lemonade. And that’s for all the flavors, from the original lemon to the coveted peach. So it’s lemon lemonade, or peach lemonade, and the latter has sold out for the season, by the way, because they only use fresh, ripe fruit. That’s just how it’s been on his stretch of Taylor Street in the neighborhood still best known as Little Italy.

Mario’s, the stand, will close for the season this year on Sept. 13. The date changes annually for a reason. His father, the namesake who literally built the business by hand, died at 64 on Sept. 15, 1984, so they always close on the Sunday closest to that day in his memory.

The stand reopens officially on May 1 every year, even if there’s still snow on the ground, to mark the unofficial start of summer in the city.

The following interview, my latest in our Chicago food icon series, was conducted with assistance from Skip’s wife, Maria DiPaolo, and has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: What is your full name?

A: “Mario George DiPaolo Jr., but people who know me well call me Skip or Skippy.”

His father, Mario Giorgio DiPaolo Sr., was an immigrant, born in Italy.

Q: When were you born?

A: “1947.”

His mother, Dorothy Florence DiPaolo, started the stand with her husband in 1954. But she was already an ice professional. The former Dorothy Palcer was once a professional figure skater who traveled with the Ice Capades. She later worked behind the counter every day during the season until she was 75 or so. She died at 80 in 2007.

Q: Where were you born?

A: “I was born in Chicago, and have lived on Taylor Street my entire life.”

Q: What was your first job?

A: “Helping my father at Mario’s General Store at about 5 years old. I’d sweep up and arrange the soda bottles by the soda company. They were empty and needed to be recycled and had to be sent back to the soda companies.”

His father opened the store next to the family home on Taylor Street in 1951. It closed in 1963.

Q: When did you start working at Mario’s?

A: “I started in 1954 when I was 7 years old.”

Skip told me previously that he was even younger.

“That’s the first year we actually went outside,” said DiPaolo in 2023. “For a year or two, we sold it inside my dad’s store. But then, to keep me busy when I was 6 years old, they got me a pushcart with a machine that you turned by hand.”

The machine has changed, but not the original recipe.

“It’s just a mixture of sugar, lemons and water, made in a machine with lots of love,” he added then.

Q: What is your bestselling item?

A: “Lemon lemonade. Lemon was the first flavor we ever made, and for years it was the only flavor. We’ve added plenty since, but lemon is still the one flavor people come for the most.”

They transform liquid lemonade into silky ice with bits of rind and an occasional slippery seed if you’re lucky. Every cup melts faster than you can spoon into a sippable taste of summer.

Q: What is your title?

A: “We never bothered with titles. Everybody did a bit of everything. Whoever was closest to the machine ran the machine. Whoever saw a mess would clean it up. That’s just how a family business works. Everybody pitches in and does what needs to be done.”

Skip and his wife operate the family-run business with help from employees, some new every year, who train during the secret soft opening days before their baptism by ice at the start of the season.

Q: What is your most memorable moment?

A: “There have been countless memorable moments over the years. We’ve served celebrities, professional athletes, politicians and generations of Chicago families. I’ve been fortunate to meet so many wonderful people. But one of the moments that has always stayed with me was something very simple. A customer named Mr. Marquez once handed me $5 for a 2-cent lemonade, and told me to keep the change. At the time, that was an enormous tip. I never forgot his generosity or the way it made me feel. Of all the remarkable people and moments I’ve encountered over the years, that simple act of kindness and generosity is still one of the things I remember most.”

That was during the stand’s first summer in 1954 or possibly their second in 1955. Marquez’s extended family still comes for lemonade.

Q: As a Chicago food icon, what are a few words of wisdom you could share with the next generation?

A: “Work hard, surround yourself with people you love and trust, and never underestimate the value of family. I grew up working alongside my own parents and sister, so from a very young age I learned what it meant for a family to build something together.”

Skip’s sister Donna grew up working in the stand too.

“Later I was fortunate to continue that tradition with my wife and all three of our children, two sons and a daughter,” he added. “Some of my greatest memories are of working side by side with family. When a family can work well together, support one another and share a common purpose, everyone prospers. Those relationships and those years together are worth far more than any business success.”

He and his wife have been married since 1984.

“I’ve also been very fortunate to have Maria by my side through all of these years,” said Skip. “Mario’s is as successful as it is today in large part due to our loyal customers who come with their families throughout the years, but also in part to my wife, because of her hard work, dedication and everything she has poured into our family and the business. We’ve continued to grow the business together, and I’m proud to see our children carrying it forward in their own ways, while holding on to the values Maria and I worked hard to instill in them.”

Sons Mario and Marco now run the stand, with guidance from their father.

“My sons have shown me and my wife that they can handle the day-to-day business on their own, while also pursuing their own interests and passions during the off-season. My daughter has built a career of her own while continuing to stay involved and support the family business.”

Daughter Davina, a lawyer who focuses her practice on employees’ rights, just had a baby, David Mario.

“If I could give the next generation one piece of advice, it would be to be dependable, stay humble and appreciate the people who helped you along the way,” said Skip, a first-time grandfather. “Learn from your family, your co-workers and the people who came before you, but also take responsibility for what you bring to the table. No one succeeds entirely alone. The strongest families and businesses are built when everyone does their part, supports one another and carries those values forward.”

“Finally, the best thing you can teach your children is how to live without you.”

Mario’s Italian Lemonade, 1068 W. Taylor St., marioslemonade.com

lchu@chicagotribune.com

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