Awardees
After reviewing nearly 700 applications for the first round of Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grants, Mayor Emanuel is excited to announce the 32 businesses that have been selected for the inaugural class of grant recipients.
| Project | Address | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 345 Art Gallery | 345 N. Kedzie Ave. | Acquisition of two lots adjacent to the visual arts gallery and venue to allow for expansion |
| Ambassador Floral | 11045 S. Halsted St. | Complete renovation of the property, including expansion of the garden center |
| Brown Sugar Bakery | 4800 W. Chicago Ave. | Rehab of commercial space to house a new location of the bakery and catering business currently operating at two other locations |
| California Smoke House | 2800 W. Madison St. | Rehab of the building to develop a new restaurant to replace the closed Wallace's Catfish Corner |
| Carniceria la Hacienda | 5159 S. Kedzie Ave. | Update to the fourth location of the family grocery business, including improvements to the interior, façade, parking lot, and roof |
| Creators By Nature Arts Center | 149 W. 111th St. | Acquisition and Build-out of an art gallery and theater space with four artists lofts on the second floor |
| Damenzo's | 11226 S. Halsted St. | Rehab of the local pizza restaurant including roofing, parking lot, and fencing repairs, and an upgrade to the HVAC system |
| Digital Factory Technologies | 7400 S. Stony Island Ave. | Establishment of a new office for the mobile-media tech marketing company. |
| Gallery Guichard | 446 E. 47th St. | Expansion of the gallery with the addition of an outdoor sculpture garden that will house rotating exhibits |
| Garifuna Flava Caribbean Restaurant | 2516 W. 63rd St. | Improvements to the façade, rehab of the dining room and expansion of the kitchen to keep up with demand |
| Homan Grown | 1554 S. Trumbull Ave. | Addition of new component of the MLK Blooms Initiative that wholesales and retails perennials to Chicago-based landscaping firms |
| Ivory Dental Specialists | 8344 S. Halsted St. | Property acquisition and Build-out of a second location of this dental practice and space for Afro Joe's café |
| Iyanze Bronze | 308 E. 51st St. | Build-out for a second location of the Nigerian restaurant in the Bronzeville Cookin' building |
| Karla's Kitchen of Chicago | 801 S. Pulaski Rd. | Property acquisition and rehab for the relocation and expansion of this soul food restaurant |
| Lawndale Christian Development Center | 3804 W. 16th St. | Build-out of the ground floor of the MLK Legacy Apartment building to house the second location of Turkey Chop |
| Ma Dear's Down Home Kitchen | 2136 S. Pulaski Rd. | Expansion of the soul food restaurant to the adjacent space to Build-out the dining room |
| MacArthurs | 5412 W. Madison St. | Repairs to the roof system for the Southern and soul food restaurant |
| Majestic Florist | 8145 S. Cottage Grove Ave. | Complete renovation of the local floral shop |
| Mikkey's Retro Grill | 8126 S. Stony Island Ave. | Building rehab to open a second location of the restaurant |
| Nut'n'Egg Bakery and Catering | 900 E. 47th St. | Establishment of a brick and mortar location of the 20-plus year old bakery and catering business |
| Original Soul Vegetarian | 203 E. 75th St. | Property acquisition and rehab to expand existing restaurant and streamline the space |
| Shawn Michelle's Churned Homemade | 56 E. 47th St. | Build-out for a new ice cream parlor and warm pie pantry |
| Shuga Rush | 5904 W. Madison St. | Rehab storefront space to support the start-up of a sweet shop that will offer a variety of candy, pastries, beverages and free Wi-Fi |
| Sip & Savor | 78 E. 47th St. | New location of Sip and Savor coffee shop in the recently revitalized Rosenwald building |
| Sisters in Cinema | 2310 E. 75th St. | Property acquisition and rehab to house a nonprofit that pays homage to African American storytellers and educates and trains the next generation of storytellers |
| Skyler Dees Catering Company | 3806 W. 16th St. | Build-out of the commercial kitchen for the catering company in the MLK Legacy Apartment building |
| South Shore Brew | 1745 E. 71st St. | Build-out of a coffee shop that will offer Southern fare, grab-and-go pastries, and coffee from Bridgeport Coffee featuring African beans |
| The Honeycomb | 2547 W. 71st St. | Renovations to reopen the sports bar that closed in 2012 due to a fire |
| The New Look Restaurant | 2546 E. 83rd St. | Renovations to the existing restaurant, including construction of a backyard dining patio with a garden, a new store front system, MEP updates and roofing |
| The Quarry Event Center | 2423 E. 75th St. | Development of a new café space to incubate micro food businesses in the shared commercial kitchen space |
| Uncle Remus Restaurant | 5611 W. Madison St. | Rehab of the restaurant including floor repairs, façade improvements, new roofing and new fencing |
| West Austin Development Center | 4920 W. Madison St. | Reconfigure part of the ground floor of a three-story childcare facility for a cultural presentation theater |
Interested in applying? The next application round for the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund will open this Fall.