Flossmoor resident Juanita “Nita” Tribo, 86, who died Sept. 20, is being remembered as a tenacious businesswoman who left a lasting legacy in her community satisfying sweet-tooth cravings for generations of customers at her CarmelCorn Shop in Chicago Heights.
Tribo’s family members described her as a phenomenal cook and devoted caregiver who is famous for her hand-written notes often scribbled on various scraps of paper, according to her daughter, Lisa Hallberg.
“We’re looking at a note now that says, ‘Take your pills before coffee,'” Hallberg said, referring to a reminder she wrote for her husband, Enzo Tribo, who is now 92.
Nita Tribo ran CarmelCorn while her husband operated Enzo’s, an Italian beef establishment that had been serving the community since 1946. Eventually the two beloved businesses merged to become Enzo’s and CarmelCorn.
Before the restaurant closed in March, Enzo’s and CarmelCorn was among the last remaining landmarks from downtown Chicago Heights.
“It was like the last man standing in the Heights, the last last good place to go,” said Pamela Sebastian Ridge, Tribo’s younger sister.
After the once vibrant Chicago Heights downtown area began to decline in the 1970s — driven by a changing retail landscape, reduced manufacturing and a failed redevelopment project —Hallberg said her mother refused to give up on her business.
Tribo launched a wholesale pop-up business, packaging and selling bags of caramel corn mixed with cheese corn under the label “Mrs. CarmelCorn,” a nickname she later adopted for herself.
“She went out knocking on doors of the hospital gift shops, grocery stores, gas stations, anywhere she could get her foot in the door and put a stand with all the popcorn,” Hallberg said.
At one point, Tribo also embarked on a successful real estate career, Hallberg said.
Hallberg remembers her mother’s response when asked about her success in sales: “I’m not a salesperson. I listen to them and help them get what they want, what they need.”
Hallberg and Sebastian Ridge said Tribo’s success showcased her natural ability to connect with people.
“She listened to people, whether they were the customers or anybody in her family, or she talked to people,” Sebastian Ridge said. “If you went out with Nita, anywhere shopping or anything, you’re going to be there for a while because she stopped to talk to people.”
While Tribo had many different roles throughout her life, she took the most pride in her ability to cook, Hallberg said.
During her time in the hospital this summer following an infection after her heart valve replacement, Hallberg said doctors asked Tribo what she did for work. Her first response was simply “retired.” When they inquired about her previous work, Hallberg recounted, she simply said, “cook.”
“I thought she was going to say entrepreneur, or restaurant owner, or Mrs. CarmelCorn or something. And she just said, cook,” Hallberg recalled. “That’s how she thought of herself, as a cook, a very good cook.”
However, after her son, John Tribo, suffered a motorcycle accident that ultimately led to a brain aneurysm that took his life in 2003, her time as a businesswoman gradually came to a close.
In 2011, Hallberg and her son, Kyle, took over the family business with the goal of preserving the landmark storefront. While Enzo’s remained unchanged, the CarmelCorn space was converted into a gaming lounge to boost revenue, with popcorn still made in the back and sold up front.
Tribo continued to work at the storefront part-time until she was 80-years-old, Hallberg said. Then, she embraced her passion for taking care of those around her, and became her husband’s primary caregiver.
“Enzo is from Italy, and he expects a home cooked meal every single day,” Hallberg said. “A full-on chicken piccata pasta, everything, at 11 o’clock in the morning.”
Hallberg and Sebastian Ridge fondly remembered butting heads with the family matriarch when they’d share duties in the kitchen. While endlessly kind, Hallberg said her mother was a “force of nature” who said anything that came to her mind because she was very upfront and honest.”
“If you tried to cook anything for her while she was in the kitchen, she had a very hard time with that,” Sebastian Ridge said. “She wanted to help you. She was going to fix whatever it is that you were making.”
In her earlier years, Tribo worked at a drugstore in Chicago Heights called Barwig’s, where she met Enzo while still in high school.
The two were married for 63 years and had four children together. Tribo also leaves behind nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, her three siblings and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial gathering was held on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 27, at Kerr-Parzygnot Funeral Home, 540 Dixie Highway in Chicago Heights.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com