Enrich the vibrancy of West Side communities by investing in people and local businesses.
Due to the current and historical effects of racial discrimination such as redlining, predatory lending practices, and restrictive covenants, West Side residents have not had the same access to economic advancement as other Chicago residents. A lack of local jobs and opportunities for economic advancement have inhibited residents from retaining money in their local communities. Despite these challenges, West Side neighborhoods also have a strong and vital small business presence, demonstrating great opportunity for economic vitality in the area. Many locally-founded non-profit and community-based organizations work to fill these economic gaps as well. Because we know that economic stability and positive health outcomes are inextricably linked, many of our initiatives focus on the economic wellbeing of the west side.
WSU promotes economic vitality through strengthening local hiring, purchasing, and investments in West Side workers and businesses.
- A & L Environmental LLC
- Alborada Brides, Inc.
- Anyssa Catering Boutique LLC
- Box Lunch Cafe
- Browns Restaurant LLC
- Chicago Champs Inc
- Chifresh Kitchen
- Cleanology Crew Corporation
- D & G Sales Inc.
- D's Air & Heating, Inc.
- Elevate Services, Inc.
- False Hope Brand Co.
- Flor Del Monte Inc
- Food Hero L3C
- Garfield Produce Company
- Gone Again Travel & Tours, Inc
- Iconic Hair Extensions LLC
- Juice Vibe Bar
- K&B Discount
- La Michoacana de Jenny
- Maria Sees the World, Inc.
- Medfirst Enterprise Inc
- Mestiza, LLC
- Mohop Fablab
- Momentum Transportation Inc
- Nch Family Holding Dba Ida's Artisan Ice Cream and Treats
- Nice & Clean Maids Service Inc.
- Polar Ice Co.
- Pressedgarments.Com, LLC
- Refugio Velasco Landscaping LLC
- Rid Alert Inc
- S.A.M.S Cleaning & Janitorial Services, LLC
- San Miguel, Inc.
- Semillas Plant Studio
- Smart Cleaning Solution
- Smh2 Manufacturing LLC
- Snow Pushers Chicago
- Soju Bbq
- Stitch Me
- The Corner Store Deli, LLC
- Thee Chef Maria LLC
- Tono Tacos Inc.
- Urban Pilon
- Vegan World Cafe Catering LLC
- West Town Bikes
- Wholeman Enterprise Co.
Trouble viewing the data table? Click to view on the Tableau website.
WSU tracks the progress of our initiatives; we also track changes in community-level data to monitor progress towards our overarching goals and inform our actions and projects on the ground. We selected 3 Economic metrics from our comprehensive measurement framework to highlight key areas of focus. For more information about our comprehensive framework, please click here.
In our metrics dashboard, we are tracking:

Sanita Lewis

Mariah Van Ermen
To learn more about supporting economic vitality in our 10 communities, please email WSU at: mvanermen@westsideunited.org