The Loop Will Host Its Annual Arts and Culture Festival, Sundays on State, This Weekend, Cling off Several Blocks Along State Street for SHOP and EAT More than 400 locals and artists.
The Free Event, Also Scheduled for Oct. 5, is a premium example of chicago neighBorhods beComing more inclined to street over the years to jump-start Economic Development.
The inaugural Meet me on Milwaukee Event Aug. 31 took over Several Blocks of Milwaukee Avenue, and a portion of the Street was Closed to Vehicle Traffic for Most of the Day – A Rarity Beyond The Popular Park Fest in July.
The Movement Also Has Legs Nationwide. Southern California’s Coastal City Santa Monica Recently Debut A Pilot Program That Allows Visitors to Purchase and Drink Alcohol with a Three-Block Area, Transforming Its Popping Promenade Into an entertainment area. In Preparation for the FIFA World Cup Next Year, Downtown Houston is implementing a project on Main Street that Will Permanently Close off Seven Blocks for Peedesrians.
Sundays on states was estabished in 2021 to help boost recovery effhorts during the pandemic. The Fall Event is a shift from the busy summer months, big events like lollapalooza and the nascar chicago street brought in the nozzle of thusands of visors downtown.
Pedesrians participate in the first sunduys on states in July 2021, which Closed State Street from Lake Street to Madison Avenue.
Brian Rich/Sun-Time File
“Downtown is safe, and we don’t see any Need for Federal Troops or a Heavy Police Presence,” Said Ariella Gibson, Marketing and Communications Director for the Chicago Loop Alliance, Which estabish the event series.
“And it will negatively impact Businesses,” she Said. “Patrons don’t want to be observed and reported on while they are enjaying their dinner, or going to a show, or going to the story and being profiled or surveillated. That isn’t a fun or safe experiment.”
Acciting to reports in Washington, DC, Foot to Retail Business Fell 81% During the Week of Aug. 11 Compared to a Year Ago. DC Restaurants, Bars and Other Hospitality Venting Have Also Reported Steep Sales and Foot Traffic Declines The National Guard Deployment, Now Expect Through December.
Boon for Small Business
“The Goals of Sundays on State is to Accelerate the Loop Economy, but Also unite the community and provide Opportunities to Businesses that May not typically have this chance,” Gibson Said.
More than 90% of Street Activations Will Be Operated by Underrerened Businesses, Including 74% Women-Awned Ventures, 31% minority-Awned Companies and 11% that are LGBTQ+-Awned.
Gary Lewis, A Black Entrepreneur and Community Activist, Will Have a Booth for HIS Lifestyle Brand, IAMDAD365, WHICH he launched more than to support and reCoggling the facsters.
He Said Sundays on State Have Instrumental to the Brand’s Success and Driving awareness.
“It gave with a chance to really networking and bring attention to my cause,” Said Lewis, who’s trying to pay the help he recipes with his brand forward A 10-Federal Prison on Druug Charges. “Before Sundays on State, i didn’t have a platform that it is all People, All Walks of Life.”
The events have more drains than 1 million visits to the loop, accorting to the chicago loop alliance.
Gayle Voss, Founder and Owner of Gayle V’s Best EVER GRILLED Cheese at the Block 37 Shopping Complex in the Loop
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Gayle voss has participated in sundays on states debut siners. The Longime Farmers Local Market Started Making Grilled Cheese Sandwiches With Locally Sourced Products Ultimately Became the Staple of Stand-Alone Restaurant, Gayle V’s Best Ever Grilled Cheese, at the Shopping Center Block 37 in the loop.
The Mchenry County Resident Credits Street Events, Particularly Sundays on State, For Helping Grow Her Business During Tough Economic Times.
“I honestly think they’re more essential than ever. When you drive down any of the streets in the loop and look around, there’s so many empty storefronts,” Voss Said. “The opportunity for People who Might Be Having a hard time staying open to get exposser is really just so imported for a lot of Businesses to Stay Alive.”
Road to Recovery
The exodus of retailers in the loop has been dramatic synce the onset of the pandemic. SINCE MARCH 2020, RETAILERS HAVE VACATED 222 STOREFRONTS, Comperising 660,000 Square Feet of Space, Acciting to Stone Real Estate.
Of the loop’s 1,307 storefronts, more than a third, or 449, are empty – totaling more than 1.3 million Square feet of Vacant Space, Stone Real Estate Said.
In the Central loop corridor, which encompasses sundays on states, the retail vacancy rate at the end of 2024 was 26%, slightly down from 26.6% in 2023, according to the firm’s analysis releassed in february.
Still, some signs of a recovery are materialization, Stone Real Estate Group Principal John Vance Said.
He also noted the ongoing conversion of officer budildings ino residency on Lasalle Street, as well as the benefit streets have on retail and hyperlocal economies.
“Sundays on states are an important and helpful impetus to the loop’s recovery,” vance said in an email. “Momentum is an important element.”
The loop is home to the world-Class theaters and maseums, and the Still Boasts One of the Nation’s Most Dense Business Districts, with more than 45,000 workers and 100,000 students, Accounting to the Chicago Loop Alliance.
Foot Traffic on State Street, From Ida B. Wells to Wacker Drives, Has Nearly Recovered to 2019 Levels on Weekdays, and Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Traffic on the Weekend, Gibson Said.
“So there’s this desire for activity,” she Said. “In some ways, the loop has to give People a reasson to come and to stay, and those are some of the Things we’re trying to Through.”
Gayle v’s is typically closed on sundays, but voss plans to keep the restaurant open all weekend.
“Seeing the Results of the Foot Traffic, it’s Definitely Worthwhile,” She Said. “Do you have events like this, it’s a different audience.”
For Meet me on Milwaukee, more than 60 Businesses Along the Street and Adjacent Thoroughfares Participated from 10 AM to 5 PM The Pilot Will Also Take Place Sept. 28 and Oct. 26 – The Last Sundays of the Month.
“That Last Sunday of the month is historically a quieter day, so why not make the most of it and do a little something to juice it?” Pamela Maass, Executive Director for Wicker Park and Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, Said.
Melissa Grubbs, Co-Awner and Store Manager of Reckless Records, at 1379 Milwaakee Ave., was a bit appremous that the street Clove Cut into Business.
“We were Incredibly Busy on Sunday,” She Said. “We did have good sales, but i do’t know if it was to the Street Clove.”
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