- The Greater Chatham Initiative

Culture, Corridors, and Community:
How Food Entrepreneurship Strengthens Local Economies

Co-hosted with the National Middle Neighborhoods Initiative

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Time: 12pm EST / 9am PST

How can food entrepreneurs fuel economic growth and strengthen community identity?

Join AEO for the next session in our Data-to-Dialogue series, co-hosted with the National Middle Neighborhoods Initiative, to explore how Chicago’s ethnic restaurant corridors—from Greater Chatham to Chinatown to Little Village—are celebrating cultural heritage, attracting investment, and building local wealth while supporting small business owners.

At the center of the conversation is FoodLab Chicago, created and led by the Greater Chatham Initiative (GCI) to strengthen Black-owned restaurants, anchor local corridors, and elevate cultural identity on Chicago’s South Side. As GCI’s evaluation partner, AEO will share new findings from its five-year impact study, alongside new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on neighborhood restaurant corridor trends.

Community leaders from Greater Chatham, Little Village, and Chinatown, along with the Chicago Community Trust, will discuss what these findings mean in practice—how tailored business support, cultural assets, and strategic investment can help food entrepreneurs thrive and ensure that neighborhood growth benefits residents, businesses, and the broader community.

Who should attend:
Business support organizations, funders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, food systems leaders, and anyone working to build a more inclusive economy.