Chicago Loop Alliance reposted this
There are signs for hope and optimism for restaurants in Chicago's downtown. Quite a few establishments see guest and revenue numbers back to 2019 or even higher. A combination of increased workers returning to their offices, more visitors coming to Chicago, more favorable lease terms, and modified operations with a focus on more profitable days and hours is helping the restaurants to perform better. The numbers confirm the positive momentum: The amount of space occupied by downtown restaurants ticked up slightly to 1.27 million, with especially the Fulton Market neighborhood being a growth engine with increasing its space devoted to food and beverage to 515,000 square feet, up from 430,000 two years earlier. Additionally, downtown foot traffic is up 8% over the last 12 months, and downtown's resident population reached 46,000 in 2023, an increase of almost 9% since 2020. Thank you to all the outstanding organizations supporting this positive momentum for Chicago's downtown, including the Chicago Loop Alliance, The Magnificent Mile® Association, the Illinois Restaurant Association, the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, World Business Chicago, Choose Chicago, and many more.