Project 77: Pandemic Update
As the pandemic began to surge throughout the country, I was 23 neighborhoods away from completing my quest to visit all 77 of Chicago’s neighborhoods. I was most recently aiming to hit my goal by my 30th birthday on May 15th. Unsurprisingly, things have been put on hold.
It’s overwhelming in many ways to think about the impact that COVID-19 will have on Chicago, and particularly, the hospitality community. It also adds an devastating layer to what this tour around Chicago will mean. This project was always going to capture a specific moment in time and a reflection on both long-run institutions and new businesses that stand as pillars of gentrification. Now, it seems this could be a race against time, an unintentional fair well tour of the very character of each of our neighborhoods.
A majority of the businesses that remain on my list are scattered throughout Chicago’s mid-south and far-west sides. They may be last on my list, but not for the reasons you might assume. I was holding out to visit Garifuna Flava, ideally with friends that I spent a week in Belize with a few years back. I’ve been anxiously awaiting Yassa African to do a side by side comparison of the saka saka that I had at Gorée Cuisine back in December, my favorite meal of the project so far. I had visions of closing out the project sharing an original rainbow cone with friends in the peak heat of the summer.
May of these restaurants/neighborhoods are now at the center of Chicago’s battle with COVID-19. Nearly all of the businesses left on my list are minority, family-run restaurants. As we’ve witnessed in Chicago, and on a national scale, Black and Hispanic communities are infected and dying at a significantly higher rate than others. Not only are the health risks disproportionately affecting these communities, but the likelihood that POC-owned businesses are able to survive the pandemic is significantly less likely than their white-owned counter parts.
All of this is an of the moment reflection of the systematic racism that infiltrates every corner of day to day life in the United States.
To read more about the impacts of COVID-19 on small businesses, particularly in hospitality, I encourage you to read this article.
Ultimately, I’m sharing this update to encourage purchasing from POC-owned small businesses with your take-out and delivery orders. It matters today, and should be an essential consideration as you day dream about shared meals out with friends and family when it’s safe to do so again.