Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
In today’s newsletter, we’re looking into a new study from the Chicago Loop Alliance that points to an increase in weekend foot traffic downtown — an improvement that reportedly doesn’t carry over into the weekdays.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on the abrupt closure of Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market, new eateries adding to Chicago’s growing Filipino food scene and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Loop’s weekend foot traffic beats pre-pandemic level, but retail vacancy still record high
Reporting by Amy Yee
Back outside: The Loop is showing some signs of a revival, as the average weekend foot traffic exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter, the Chicago Loop Alliance said Tuesday. But the group’s report said weekday activity still lags.
The numbers: The average weekend pedestrian activity on State Street was 107% of 2019 levels. During the workweek from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., foot traffic was about 91% of pre-pandemic activity.
Vacant storefronts persist: Downtowns across the U.S. have been struggling with vacant storefronts, and even empty offices, as employees work remotely and companies shift operations. The retail vacancy rate in the Loop was a record-high of 30%, according to the Chicago Loop Alliance. Yet there are promising initiatives to increase traffic and residents, including the city’s recent announcement of plans to convert four La Salle Street office buildings to residential.
Key quote: Chicagoans and visitors are returning to the Loop “but we have to give them a reason to stay,” said Michael Edwards, president and CEO of the Chicago Loop Alliance. “The Loop needs more investors to bet big on our district right now,” he said, citing wins from Google and JPMorgan Chase for their plans to open or refurbish offices downtown.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- High-end grocers shutter: Specialty grocers Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market announced Tuesday the immediate closure of all their stores in Chicago and beyond, less than six months after the two companies shared plans to merge.
- Teen charged with murder: A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder in a fatal shooting during a large gathering of teens last month in South Loop, police said.
- The Obamas’ new neighbors: A three-story yellow brick house next door to former President Barack Obama’s home is nearing completion — and it sits on a lot linked to convicted political fixer Tony Rezko.
- Bears ready draft plan: The NFL Draft kicks off Thursday — and the Bears are expected to make the most of having the No. 1 pick, with all signs pointing to the team selecting USC’s Caleb Williams as its quarterback.
- 3.5 stars for ‘Hamlet’: Eddie Izzard delivers a one-person, straightforward take on the tragedy with the range and directness of a stand-up comedian, writes Steven Oxman in a review for the Sun-Times.
SUN-TIMES BOOK CLUB 📖
A new book argues that Black Chicago has set the pace for pop culture for decades
Reporting by Sasha-Ann Simons and Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis | WBEZ
“Soul Train.” The Chicago Bulls Three-Peats. Black silent films. Fashion Fair cosmetics.
These are just a handful of Black Chicago’s contributions to the world. This rich history is laid out in detail in “We Are The Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything” (Chicago Review Press), a new book by Chicago writer Arionne Nettles.
In the book, Nettles explains how the city has led pop culture in America for decades and gives insight into the ways culture spreads and shapes our lives.
Early chapters touch on the creation of the Chicago Defender newspaper and the Chicago Conservator — and the stories of leading Black journalists of that time, like Ida B. Wells, Ferdinand L. Barnett and Robert Sengstacke Abbott.
Elsewhere, Nettles writes of her experience of being a homesick college student in Florida in 2003 and seeing Kanye West’s music video for “Through the Wire” on national television, showcasing Chicago culture.
“If you remember that video, it had shots throughout the city. It had shots of the Harold’s on 103rd and Houston, shots of people footworking at the Halsted Mall,” Nettles told WBEZ’s Reset during a recent interview. “I had actually just joined that dance team; we had just started a chapter of it at FAMU. We’re trying to break through and show Chicago culture down here in Florida. And I look up, and it’s on the TV, and all those homesick nerves flew away.”
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Two new Filipino eateries open in Chicago, adding to wave of restaurants offering fun spins on ube and longanisa
Reporting by Dorothy Hernandez
Kathy Vega Hardy, the chef behind A Taste of the Philippines, decided to shutter her food stall at Chicago French Market last year.
The commute amid the construction on the Kennedy was taking its toll on her, and it was harder to be with her family. But like many times over the 12 years she’s run her small business, when one era ended, another began.
The buzz she built and connections she made at the farmers market laid the groundwork for her new cozy and homey 28-seat restaurant in Portage Park, which just opened.
She shares some of the same values with the husband-and-wife team of Robert and Kissel Fagaragan, who are welcoming customers to their newly-opened Umaga Bakehouse, their large and sunny bakery in Mayfair. (Umaga means morning in Tagalog.)
A Taste of the Philippines and Umaga Bakehouse are the latest in a wave of new Filipino restaurants to open in the city in recent years, joining longtime establishments like Ruby’s Fast Food in Albany Park and Uncle Mike’s Place in West Town.
While Hardy and the Fagaragans took different paths to their respective businesses, they share a common goal — being their own bosses.
“We worked for other companies, and we were working so hard, but at the end of the day that’s not ours,” Kissel Fagaragan said. Umaga has 15 employees.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
How do you feel about the sudden closing of Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market?
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
