At almost 77, Paul Rinaldi of Chiarugi Hardware in Chicago’s Little Italy thinks about retirement every day. It is a reasonable idea after 56 years in business and a cancer diagnosis two years ago. Yet six times a week, with his wife, Carole, who has her own health challenges, the couple still drives up to two hours every day from their home in suburban Mount Prospect to their store at 1412 West Taylor St.

“I’d like to leave, but I just can't. My heart is here. These people rely on me,” Rinaldi said. Chiarugi Hardware, once a bustling-with-life prime destination for paint, nails-by-the-pound and winemaking supplies on mostly Italian Taylor Street, is not so busy these days.