Restaurants & Food · Chicago, IL

Restaurants & Food in Chicago, IL

Inclusive and diverse-owned restaurants & food businesses in Chicago.

Featured

Restaurants & Food

Jennivee's Bakery

Chicago, IL

At Jennivee's Bakery, we believe everyone deserves good cake. What started as one woman's lifelong love of baking has grown into one of Chicago's most welcoming sweet spots, tucked into the Lakeview neighborhood and open to absolutely everyone. Our founder, Jennivee, is a proud transgender Filipina baker who opened these doors in 2017 to share her confections and to build a space where the LGBTQ community and its allies always feel at home. We are proudly trans-owned, and that spirit of inclusion is baked into everything we do, from the people we welcome at the counter to the care we put into every order. Step inside and you will find cases full of temptations. We are known for our cakes and cupcakes, with more flavors than you can count, alongside brownies, bars, sweet rolls, cheesecakes, cookies, and fresh breakfast pastries. Filipino-inspired favorites like ube, mango, and tres leches sit right beside classic chocolate and vanilla, so there is something for every craving and every celebration. Need a custom cake for a birthday, wedding, or just because? We love turning your ideas into edible art. We are also one of the few bakeries in the city that keeps the lights on late. On weekends you can satisfy a midnight sweet tooth with us, because a good dessert should never have to wait until morning. Grab a cupcake and a coffee, settle in with friends, and enjoy the easy, friendly vibe our regulars rave about. Over the years we have been honored to share our story on television and to see neighbors, first-timers, and out-of-towners become part of our extended family. Every slice we serve carries the same message: you are welcome here, exactly as you are. So whether you are picking up a dozen cupcakes, ordering a showstopping custom cake, or simply popping in for a late-night treat, come indulge responsibly with us. We cannot wait to send you home a little sweeter than you arrived.

Asian-ownedTrans-ownedWomen-ownedLGBTQ-owned

View profile

Featured

Restaurants & Food

Nobody's Darling

Chicago, IL

Be nobody's darling. We took our name from Alice Walker's poem, an anthem for the world's outcasts and free spirits, and built a cocktail bar in Andersonville where everybody who has ever felt like nobody's darling finally belongs. We are Angela Barnes and Renauda Riddle, two Black, queer women who wanted a room that felt like us: a little Sunday-morning Nina Simone, a little classy and sexy, and always warm enough to linger in. Tucked on the corner of Balmoral and Ravenswood, our space glows red and gold beneath orbiting chandeliers, with a striking silhouette watching over the back bar. Pull up a stool at the long counter and let our bartenders take it from there. The cocktails are the heart of the house, stirred and shaken with intention, and whenever we can we pour spirits made by Black- and queer-owned distillers, because who makes the bottle matters as much as what is inside it. This is a neighborhood joint first. Come for a quiet weeknight nightcap, a first date that runs long, or a Saturday that turns into a whole night with friends. Some evenings the room hums low and easy; others it fills with laughter, music, and the clink of coupes being carried down the bar. Either way, you will find the same thing: honest drinks, no pretense, and a crowd as beautifully mixed as the menu. We opened in 2021 with a simple idea, that a bar can be a home for people too often left out of the party, and the city seemed to agree. A James Beard Award nod followed, along with a steady stream of regulars who became family. But the accolades were never the point. The point is the person walking in alone who leaves knowing a bartender's name, the couple who claim a corner as their own, the strangers who become friends over a shared last round. So consider this your invitation. Whoever you are, however you love, whatever you carried in with you, there is a seat here with your name on it. Be bold. Be free. Be nobody's darling but your own.

Black-ownedLGBTQ-ownedWomen-owned

View profile