Harold’s Chicken Shack No. 87 is wedged in a concrete strip mall in the South Shore. Bulletproof glass wraps around the counter, metal bars stripe the windows and three vending machines stand in for a soda fountain. Customers wait on … Continue reading
Andy Zimmerman sells a lot of speakers in 14½ hours a week. He’s kept Saturday Audio Exchange, his Lakeview high-fidelity equipment shop, open no more than three short days a week for 31 years. “The strange hours are very simple … Continue reading
Ben Minkoff knows the exact day he started running Berghoff Beer. “Feb. 7, 2011,” he says with pride. Now Minkoff is ready to launch seven new Berghoff beers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. And he’s about to find out … Continue reading
Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd. tries to cajole its employees into biking to work — then loads them up with safety gear: company-provided helmets, reflective clothing and blinkers. “We try to equip everybody so they’re lit up like a Christmas … Continue reading
The fifth annual TBS Just for Laughs Chicago — the nation’s largest comedy festival — kicks off Tuesday, but some club owners are finding it hard to get in the spirit. Mark Geary’s Lincoln Lodge is among venues that have … Continue reading
There’s a methodical approach to building a new factory: Find the right neighborhood, in the right TIF district, with the right alderman. Then there’s the Upton’s way. Next month, Upton’s Naturals will begin producing its faux meats in a brand-new … Continue reading
Wardrobes have an unfortunate habit of outlasting tastes and outgrowing closets. That overflow has given rise to plenty of used clothing shops around the city—more than a half-dozen in Lincoln Park alone. But as Marine Soussan-Gouachon and Fanny Chéreau have … Continue reading
Kellan Cartledge, a 23-year-old architect, walks into Pete’s Barbershop in Avondale. His hair’s slicked back, looking a little like Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jay Gatsby. “This guy’s my makeover of the year!” Pete Huels, the shop’s owner, shouts. “I got some nice … Continue reading
Stephen Coleman needed more than his two decades of experience to find a job. The former waiter battled drug addiction and had no address, no ID, no birth certificate. Through Inspiration, a Chicago-based workforce development program, Coleman found a job … Continue reading
Long-suffering WNBA franchise Chicago Sky has scored its first long-term broadcast television contract. In a five-season deal, Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co. will air the women’s basketball games on local stations WCIU and The U Too. Weigel will broadcast 24 Sky … Continue reading