Ravenswood: Creative Industry & Proactive Support
The Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) is a non-profit organization that provides resources for entrepreneurs in Ravenswood and its surrounding communities. We collaborate with the City of Chicago through a variety of strategic partnerships and programs. Since 2017, we have participated in the Department of Planning and Development’s Local Industrial Retention Initiative by providing enhanced services for manufacturers located in the Ravenswood Industrial Corridor and across Chicago’s north east sector.
Defining our neighborhood since the late nineteenth-century, Ravenswood’s Industrial Corridor is one of the few remaining manufacturing corridors on Chicago’s Northside. Along Ravenswood Avenue, you’ll find talented people making motors, transformers, truck locks and hinges, clothes, snacks, and lots of beer. We work to keep it that way by offering specialized services to local manufacturers, makers, and industrial businesses.
How GRCC Supports Manufacturers:
- We help businesses to expand or relocate to the Ravenswood Industrial Corridor by providing information about the corridor, the neighborhood, and/or particular industries.
- We offer marketing assistance for new small businesses.
- We provide guidance on City-related issues and City of Chicago Economic Development Incentives.
- We connect businesses to financial and educational tools.
- We assist with hiring and accessing resources for workforce.
- We consulting on land-use planning, infrastructure, and zoning.
- We specialize in support for craft beverage producers, artists/artisans, and light manufacturing.
Local Industrial Retention Initiative (LIRI)
Spearheaded by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, the LIRI program provides assistance to not-for-profit organizations that offer economic development services to companies located in and around designated industrial corridors. As a partner in this program, we work toward job retention and creation, find solutions for individual business needs, and make connections between businesses, their communities, and City services.
As a part of the LIRI program, we deliver services to businesses in the Ravenswood Industrial Corridor and to Chicago manufacturers located north of Addison St and east of Lincoln Ave.
Hiring Assistance
Finding and retaining quality employees is key to the long-term success of any small business. To assist businesses in filling open positions with local talent, we maintain an online Community Job Board. There is no cost for local manufacturing companies to list and promote open positions.
Learning & Networking Opportunities
Throughout the year, we host a variety of business networking and educational events designed to strengthen our local manufacturing community. We work with industry leaders and partner organizations to create professional development programs that prepare you for success.
Corridor Infrastructure Assessments
Several times a year, GRCC’s staff surveys the Ravenswood Industrial Corridor to identify infrastucture needs and issues. Each spring and fall, we share these updates to our partners at the City, including the Department of Planning and Development and Department of Transportation.
Manufacturing Space Referrals
We actively maintain an Industrial Vacancy Database, including information about available M-zoned space in Ravenswood. We routinely assist companies in finding appropriately zoned space to grow their businesses in Ravenswood.
Chicagoland Industrial Rentention Network
Established by Manufacturing Renaissance, the Chicagoland Industrial Retention Network (CIRN) is a diverse, thoughtfully assembled coalition of industry specialists, technical assistance providers, and community stakeholders offering support for local manufacturing companies. Our goal is to provide resources to keep viable job providers in Chicago and to grow the role of manufacturing as a means for econmic development in our communities.
Through our participation in CIRN, we assist businesses with issues related to succssion planning, workforce development, sales/mergers, and viability assessments.
Malt Row: Chicago’s Craft Beer Destination
In 2017, GRCC established Malt Row– a neighborhood branding and tourism initiative designed to support the growing craft beverage industry that has become a defining feature of Ravenswood.
Through creative collaborations, special events, and marketing campaigns, we have been able to raise the profile of local manufacturers. Malt Row has become a destination for regional tourism and gained local, national, and international attention. Most recently, GRCC’s work developing Malt Row was recognized by the Illinois Governor’s office with a 2024 Illinois Excellence in Tourism Award.
The Malt Row Committee
To further understand the needs of this industry, we formed a Malt Row Committee that gathers quarterly. Comprised of industry leaders and stake holders, we meet to discuss opportunities for collaborations, industry-specific challenges, marketing initiatives, and available resources.
Committee Projects Include
- Hosting the annual Malt Row Media Tour
- Organizing the Ravenswood On Tap Craft Beer and Music Fest
- Organizing the Malt Row on Damen Beer Tasting Stroll
- Organizing Malt Row Hoppy Hour events
- Publishing the Malt Row Brewery Guide
- Organizing collaborative brew days, releases, and other events
Malt Row Media Tour & Brewery Guide
To promote our robust craft brewing and distilling hub and surrounding community, GRCC organizes an annual spring Malt Row Media Tour. At this invite-only event, roughly 50 media members and influencers are treated to a curated evening of behind-the-scenes tours, tastings, and interviews.
Each year, this tour results in a range of local, regional, national, and international coverage, including print and digital media spotlights, television appearances, and more.
For Illinois Craft Beer Week, we publish 10,000 copies of our Malt Row Brewery guidebook, a vital tool in increasing neighborhood tourism in Ravenswood.
Current Committees & Workgroups
Industrial & Manufacturing Business Committee
- Kevin Cary, Begyle Brewing
- Hagen Dost, Dovetail Brewing
- Lucy Minturn, FosterWorks
- David Brown, Harrington Brown LLC
- Elizabeth Fiersten, Manifold
- Gene Wagendorf III, GRCC
- Christina Pecce, GRCC
Malt Row Committee
- Brett Knickerbocker, Begyle Brewing
- Jenny Pfäfflin, Dovetail Brewery
- Brian Krajack, Forbidden Root
- Gus Villatoro, Half Acre
- Mike Schallau, Is/Was Brewing
- Ashley McCarron, KOVAL Distillery
- Chris Schroeder, Spiteful Brewing
- Gene Wagendorf III, GRCC
- Amy Czarkowski, GRCC
To learn more about our programming and support for local manufacturers, please complete this form or call the GRCC office at (773) 975-2088.
Ravenswood Industrial Corridor: Planning for the Future
The City of Chicago has worked with community development organizations and chambers like ours to develop a strategic retention plan for manufacturing communities. In 2017, as part of former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s industrial corridor modernization initiative, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) conducted a comprehensive study of the Ravenswood Corridor.
That same year, the GRCC received the Local Industrial Retention Initiative (LIRI) grant in order to address the issues facing our industrial community. Through the grant, we sought to create a viable industrial corridor through the promotion of land-use stability, increased public and private investment, job retention/growth, and improved industry-neighborhood relations.
The Ravenswood Industrial Corridor Framework
The Ravenswood Framework Plan offers recommendations on land use, employment, transportation, sustainability, and even design-guidelines. The framework also provides information on land-use changes over time, employment trends, and real estate.
As a critical partner of the businesses in Ravenswood, the GRCC and SSA 31 play a key role in the implementation of the Ravenswood Framework.
Ravenswood Framework Highlights
Existing Land Use
Over the past 28 years, industrial land use percentages in the entire RIC have declined, while commercial land use has increased. Institutional and residential uses have remained constant.
Zoning
The north section of the corridor is zoned to primarily support industrial activity Limited Manufacturing (M1) and Light Industry (M2). Some Commercial (C) buffers industrial uses from adjacent residential neighborhoods. Most of the south part of the RIC is currently zoned Limited Manufacturing (M1), which allows limited manufacturing, office and business services activities, and commercial uses, with retail activity permitted as an accessory to core manufacturing or office operations.
Transportation in the Corridor
The industrial corridor benefits from a robust transit network. The area is served by both the CTA Brown Line and Metra Union Pacific North Line. Local stations for both transit agencies have experienced increased ridership in recent years. East-west CTA bus routes supplement and connect to the rail lines. Most commuters are willing to walk about a half-mile (or around 10 minutes) to and from a transit station and their destination.
Additional Resources and Information
- Check out our compiled list of Business Resources.
- Jane Addams Resource Corporation
- Manufacturing Renaissance
- Chicago Manufacturing Awards
- IMEC – Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center
- Chicago Women in Trades
- Illinois Manufacturers Association
- LoopNet: Available Industrial Spaces
- Manufacturing Day
- mHub Chicago
- Urban Manufacturing Alliance
Our Partners
