IG: @therealsaintjon
In Episode 002 of irRegular People, I’m joined by John Roman Saint-Jon, a hospitality professional living and working in the city of Chicago. John tells us about growing up on both the South and North sides of the city, about coming out as gay to his mother, and about the evolution of their relationship. We talk about his experience in the hospitality industry both before and during the age of Covid19, and about how much passion matters to John and to the world of food and beverage at large.
John is Black, and tells the story of the end of his last relationship with a white man. The breakup happened during the pandemic and during the first week of the protests and riots surrounding the death of George Floyd, Brionna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many other Black citizens who have died at the hands of police.
John and I met while both of us were working at bars and restaurants around Chicago. We’ve always gotten along; we consider ourselves friends, or at least friendly colleagues. But it’s amazing how comfortable you can be around someone without knowing much about them at all. It’s almost like some distant cousin to our ability to hate someone we know nothing about as, well.
I asked John to come onto the show and tell us the story of the end of his last relationship. One of the things that he told me that kept ringing in my head was, “Loving a Black person doesn’t mean fighting for their rights.” John found that out – first hand.
We’ve all gone through a lot over the past six months – some of it has been the same for all of us but a lot of us have had very different experiences. I truly appreciate John coming onto the show and telling us about his.
John Roman Saint-Jon was born on the Southside of the city of Chicago. When he was around the age of seven, his mother moved him to the Northside neighborhood of Rogers Park. John moved from the all-Black environment of Southside housing project Stateway Gardens to an area populated mostly by white and LatinX residents. He was one of the only Black students at a private high school in the Portage Park neighborhood.
John has spent his professional life in the hospitality industry in Chicago. He’s been a busboy, a server, and a general manager – just to name a few of the positions he’s held. He’s worked for small, family-run establishments and high-volume behemoths run by large restaurant groups. John has worked with Rick Bayless, at one point traveling to Mexico City with him.
John has a love of performance and theatre and hopes to work his way into the world of acting.
IG: @therealsaintjon
Episode 002 Credits:
Produced, edited, engineered and hosted by Calvin Marty.
Music: Calvin Marty
References in Episode 002:
4:23 – https://chicagoagentmagazine.com/current-issue/vol-13-2016/century-change-chicagos-demographics/