We’re kicking off 2021 with a new series where we bring you Good News from Ravenswood. Going forward, we’ll be using our blog to share positive stories from around the neighborhood; things that will brighten your day, make you smile, or (hopefully) inspire you in some way.
In this post, we’ll highlight Ravenswood small businesses that rose to the challenges of 2020. Have some good news you’d like to share? Email us at info@ravenswoodchicago.org with “Good News” in the subject.
All Hands on Deck: Local Businesses Respond to a Global Crisis
It’s difficult to overstate how hard 2020 was on small businesses. At a time when our favorite places were fighting for their existence, many were working tirelessly to support social causes and neighbors in need. Those that have survived the impacts of the pandemic have done so thanks to the unwavering support of our community. “Greater Together,” the kinda-corny tagline of the Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce (GRCC), has never felt more true.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent Stay-At-Home order upended our economy, local businesses were forced to pivot and innovate. Some adapted to survive, and others shifted focus to areas where they could be most helpful.
The KOVAL Sanitizer Project
For example, early in Chicago’s pandemic response KOVAL Distillery (4241 N Ravenswood Ave) contacted government officials to offer their services in making desperately needed sanitizer. They’d ordered the necessary ingredients in anticipation of the need, even though they couldn’t legally begin production. Until last March, it was a federal crime for distilleries that produce alcohol for consumption to make hand sanitizer.
With those restrictions lifted, the distillery stopped making whiskey and began making nothing but W.H.O.-recipe hand sanitizer. Over the following months, KOVAL focused efforts on providing sanitizer in bulk to the medical community, retirement homes, and those on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.
We’ve turned our business upside down. For us this is a kind of war effort. We’re luckily in a position to have a distillery that can manufacture something really needed for those fighting on the front line.
Dr. Sonat Birnecker Hart
Co-Founder, KOVAL Distillery
By the close of 2020, KOVAL donated over 6,000 gallons of sanitizer to hospitals, nursing homes, and first responders. Their efforts were aided by donations from the community and product from Chicago breweries, including Begyle Brewing (1800 W Cuyler Ave) and Urban Brew Labs (5121 N Ravenswood Ave).
“Look For the Helpers”
As quickly as the world turned upside down, GRCC member businesses stepped up. Christopher Zwirn of In Sight Sign Company (3910 W Grand Ave) and Adam Smith of Luckyprints (2023 W Carroll Ave) both have deep Ravenswood ties, even though their HQs are outside the neighborhood. Both were also among the first to contact the chamber with offers to help. In Sight supplied free delivery and takeout signage to dozens of restaurants, and Luckyprints helped set up merch and online shops for those needing to raise emergency funds.
In April, SERVPRO of Ravenswood (5401 N Wolcott Ave) disinfected over 20 vehicles for local first responders at no charge. The feedback was as overwhelmingly positive and the need just as stark. After that first day, SERVPRO began offering free weekly disinfecting services to an expanded list of city districts.
All Together Now
The Greater Ravenswood Chamber is a non-profit organization that relies heavily on special events to fund its work supporting small businesses. When festivals like Ravenswood On Tap and Ravenswood ArtWalk were cancelled, the chamber lost vital revenue. With more work to do than ever, the hit couldn’t have come at a worse time. Enter the brewers of Malt Row. The group, last together for a collaborative brew day in March, devised a plan to help.
They took a beer brewed for Ravenswood On Tap, bottled it, and released it to raise funds for the chamber. Appropriately, the beer was called All Together Now; a farmhouse ale aged in KOVAL Gin barrels. Bubbling with anticipation, a line stretched down the block on release day at Empirical Brewery (1801 W Foster Ave). Jacob Huston, COO & Head Brewer at Empirical and a coordinator of the collab brew day, happily reported that the beer sold in 12 hours.
Black Lives Matter: Ravenswood Leaders Call for Racial Justice
Throughout the summer of 2020, Ravenswood businesses responded to the country’s civil unrest with calls for racial equity and justice. We heard demands for progress from owners of art galleries, clothing stores, breweries, and other small businesses. We also heard commitments and calls-to-action from community leaders like Jackie Taylor, founder of Black Ensemble Theater (4450 N Clark St), and Mark Ishaug, CEO of Thresholds (4101 N Ravenswood Ave).
The human spirit and need for justice, fairness, and equality will never die, no matter how long you continue to keep your knee embedded in its neck. You cannot kill the human spirit. The human spirit will rebel. It will fight. It will rise up and it will, eventually, win.
Jackie Taylor
Founder & CEO, Black Ensemble Theater
Learning, Organizing, and Fundraising
In mind-June, Leigh Hardy of Indigo and Violet Studio (1411 W Irving Park Rd) and brand designer Andi Mints used their Sunnyside Chats series to host a roundtable for businesses interested in anti-racism. Nearly two-dozen participants participated, charged with examining their businesses through a lens of racial equity and inspired to make an impact in our community. Tickets for that event, and every other Sunnyside Chat in 2020, were donated to My Block My Hood My City.
Throughout the summer and fall, some of Ravenswood’s favorite small businesses found ways to support causes they believe in. Over the summer, Spoken Cafe (1812 W Montrose Ave) hosted a day of fundraising for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Recently returned to Lincoln Square, Neighborly (4710 N Lincoln Ave) directed sales of various goods to organizations like Black Lives Matter and Circles and Ciphers.
We are fighting for changes that will lead to equity for Black communities, including investment in early treatment and services, police accountability and reform, innovative youth programs, ending criminalization of mental illness and substance use that lead to overincarceration of Black individuals, and investment in affordable housing and employment opportunities.
Mark Ishaug
CEO, Thresholds
“Healing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint.”
In September, Feast Fitness + Nutrition (4510 N Ravenswood Ave) sponsored the Anti-Racism 100, a charity run along the lakefront and surrounding neighborhoods. Feast Coach Ryan Heywood ran 100 miles to raise money for, and awareness of, the Chicago Torture Justice Center. Each 10 mile section of the course was dedicated to a victim of police violence in the United States. Before the run, Feast also organized a moderated discussion with survivors of police brutality.
In total, the Anti-Racism 100 raised over $6,000 for the Justice Center. Add that to previous efforts benefiting My Block My Hood My City and Feast had a truly remarkable year of giving.
To end the year, River Valley Farmers Table (1820 W Wilson Ave) hosted a successful donation drive for Assata’s Daughters. The farm-to-table grocer coordinated with neighbors to collect and deliver infant and children’s clothing, school supplies, and household goods.
Allies on Malt Row
Malt Row’s largest brewery, Half Acre Beer Co. (2050 W Balmoral Ave), participated in last summer’s People Power Beer project. They brewed an IPA to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union, with the release party doubling as a voter registration event.
Malt Row’s nerdiest brewery, Empirical, debuted a “community fundraising lager” in 2020. Initially split with Lakeview Pantry, all proceeds of subsequent batches of “New Style” were donated exclusively to Brave Space Alliance. Empirical also collected donations to the Brave Space Pantry and sponsored events for the group throughout the year.
Gnome Brew (2026 W Montrose Ave) helped homebrewers hobby-for-a-cause, offering Black Is Beautiful stout recipe kits. The kits tied into a nationwide effort by craft breweries to “raise awareness for the injustices people of color face daily and raise funds for police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged.” Gnome Brew donated proceeds to Crossroads Fund, a foundation that supports groups working on issues of racial, social and economic justice.
Moving Forward
There is so much work and healing to be done that we risk being overwhelmed. We urge you not to succumb to inaction. To quote Dr. King, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take that first step.”
Greg Robbins
Co-Founder, Feast Fitness + Nutrition
Beyond raising funds and awareness, local business owners are looking for ways to continue growing, increase their impact, and be better allies. Some, like Dovetail Brewery (1800 W Belle Plaine Ave), have formed committees charged with identifying causes and organizations to support.
To empower businesses as they continue this journey, GRCC partnered with experts in the social justice field to host Creating Cultures of Racial Equity. Taking place in January 2021, the program was offered free to chamber members. More than 20 businesses signed up for this introductory workshop, with over 30 total participants registered. We look forward to helping provide our businesses with the tools to engage in this critical work.
More Good News Coming in 2021 (We Promise!)
We also look forward to bringing you more Good News from Ravenswood features throughout the year. As difficult as 2020 was, we were continually uplifted and inspired by how our community responded. We hope that creating a regular place to share those stories with you will have the same effect.
OTHER POSTS YOU MAY LIKE:
- Ravenswood Holiday Gift Guide 2020
- Ravenswood-Inspired Puzzles from Local Artists
- All Together Now: Malt Row Breweries Release First Collab Beer to Support Local Chamber
For the latest from around Ravenswood, check out our blog and sign up for our weekly newsletter.
