ENTRY DESCRIPTION
The place of home, where anyone who came in was family, and the coffee was served hot. George followed in has fathers’ footsteps taking over the family restaurant and running it with love. Known for feeding the city, Lil Joe’s operated for 72 years until George’s untimely passing in 2020.

AUTHOR
William Mark Sommer (b. 1990) is a film photographer residing in Sacramento, California. Mark has earned his BFA in Photography from Arizona State University and he has exhibited over the United States and Internationally. In 2020, Mark was chosen by Alex Prager for Life Framer's "Open Call" First Place Award. Mark also has self-published 10 zines and has been featured in publications like Stay Wild, Float, Aint Bad, Booooooom, Analog Mag, The Modern-Day Explorer, among others. Within Mark’s series he utilizes a long-term documentary mode of storytelling to explore themes of human nature, preservation and empathy. He photographs to further his understanding of a diversity of human experiences, exploring what we hold dear and how our actions shape our environments. He looks for his work to challenge stereotypes by showing the unseen and giving a voice to the misunderstood.

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