Local City Guides
Diverse-Owned Businesses in Chicago to Support in 2026
Updated August 17, 2026 7 min readLocal Guide
On this page (11 sections)
Diverse-owned businesses in Chicago cover more of ordinary life than most city guides manage. This one has a plumber, a cleaning service, a dog groomer, two financial planners, three real estate agents, a commercial printer and an IT firm alongside the bookstore, the bakery and the bars. If you have been looking for the person who fixes your radiator rather than the place you go on Saturday, start here.
Each business links to its profile, where the ownership tag carries a source and a verification status.
Quick answer
- Browse Women & Children First in Andersonville.
- Order cake from Jennivee's Bakery.
- Have a drink at Nobody's Darling or Big Chicks / Tweet.
- Call Goode Plumbing when something leaks.
- Book a cut at Hex Appeal Hair Studio.
- Talk to Brian Thompson Financial about planning.
- Get tacos from Taylor's Tacos.
- Support Brave Space Alliance or Access Living.
Who do I call when something in the house breaks?
This is the part of the list most city guides skip, and in Chicago our directory can actually answer it.
Goode Plumbing is a locally owned, family-oriented plumbing company serving the city and the surrounding suburbs. Chestnut Cleaning Service handles cleaning. Good Boys Dog Grooming is a family-owned grooming salon that opened in 2023.
Chicago's building stock is old and the winters are decisive, which makes plumbing, boilers and frozen pipes routine work rather than emergencies you can put off. Book seasonal work before the season, and confirm license and insurance before anything structural starts.
Where do I shop, eat and drink?
Women & Children First has been a home for readers and writers in Andersonville for decades and is the anchor of the retail list. Flower Power Furnishings is a home goods business run by Patti Jakab specializing in handmade work, and Andersonville Galleria is a marketplace of local artists and vendors under one roof.
For food, Jennivee's Bakery builds around the idea that everyone deserves good cake. Taylor's Tacos started with founder Taylor Mason chasing California street-style tacos, Big Gay Sal's Pizza is a pizzeria and bar, and Drew's on Halsted is a restaurant and bar.
For a drink, Nobody's Darling takes its name from an Alice Walker poem, and Big Chicks / Tweet in Uptown has been open since 1986 under owner Michelle Fire. Eli Tea Bar is a sober bar and tea bar, which is a genuinely useful thing to know about.
| Need | Start with |
|---|---|
| A plumber | Goode Plumbing |
| A bookstore | Women & Children First |
| A cake | Jennivee's Bakery |
| A haircut | Hex Appeal Hair Studio, Logan Parlor |
| A financial planner | Brian Thompson Financial |
| A real estate agent | Andy Ogorzaly, Betancourt Realty |
| A drink without alcohol | Eli Tea Bar |
| Commercial printing | Printex Corporation |
Who handles money and property?
Brian Thompson Financial is a fee-only planning firm built for entrepreneurs, and fee-only is worth understanding: it means the adviser is paid by you rather than by commission on what they sell you, which changes the incentives. Empowered+ Financial and Headdy Mulroy Advisor Group also work in planning, tax and wealth.
On property, Andy Ogorzaly has been helping people buy and sell across Chicagoland for years. Betancourt Realty is an independent brokerage owned by Joe Betancourt, and Jason Ladeira works with Compass. This is one of the few markets in our directory with more than one agent, which means you can actually compare.
Who do I hire for business work?
The Grossman Group is an internal and leadership communications consultancy. 100Waters Group LLC and Better World Collaborative both do business and social impact consulting. Equality Institute is a diversity, equity and inclusion consulting and training firm, and Advancing Global EDU, Inc. and Friend & Associates, Inc. work in education consulting and leadership development.
For creative and production, Ink Factory Studio has done live visual note-taking since 2011, and An Event Agency / PCXP and Bash Creates both handle event and experiential production.
In technology, Foxbox Digital is a digital product agency, DC Networks, Inc. does managed IT and helpdesk, and KobraGold Media Inc. covers hosting, web design and digital marketing. Product development and managed IT are different jobs that share a vocabulary, so ask which one you are calling about.
For supply, Printex Corporation is a commercial printer on West Fullerton and Ruskin Group handles packaging and shipping products.
Where do I go for fitness, wellness and care?
Above the Bar is a personal and small group training gym in Bucktown, and Han Training does personal training and mobility work. MH3 is an online behavioral health education platform.
For hair and beauty, Hex Appeal Hair Studio treats hair as a canvas for self-expression, Logan Parlor does hair and barbering, and Drop The Mic Beauty covers beauty, makeup and photography.
Which nonprofits serve the city?
Access Living was founded in 1980 as a Center for Independent Living serving people with disabilities, and it does service delivery and advocacy both. Brave Space Alliance is a Black, trans-led and founded LGBTQ+ center on the South Side. Apna Ghar, Inc., whose name means "Our Home," provides culturally competent services and shelter.
Who should be on this page next?
We add to this page as businesses get listed. Chicago's listings arrived through chamber directories and published business guides, each of which covers one community well, so the ownership tags here are uneven by design of the source rather than by choice.
Evening that out is a matter of adding businesses. If you run a diverse-owned business in Chicago, particularly in the trades or professional services, a free listing takes a few minutes and every ownership tag is sourced when it goes live.
Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| Reading this as a nightlife list | The trades, financial and technology categories are the deepest part |
| Booking seasonal home work late | Chicago winters decide the calendar; book before the season |
| Assuming an IT firm does what you need | Ask whether they build products or run systems |
| Comparing advisers on returns alone | Ask how each one is paid; fee-only and commission differ |
| Only shopping local in December | Steady business through the year is what keeps a shop open |
FAQ
Which Chicago business should I start with?
Women & Children First in Andersonville if you want a place to visit, or Goode Plumbing if you want the listing that will actually be useful next winter.
Are there diverse-owned trades and home services in Chicago?
Yes, which is unusual in our directory. Goode Plumbing, Chestnut Cleaning Service and Good Boys Dog Grooming are all listed.
What does fee-only mean for a financial adviser?
It means the adviser is paid directly by the client rather than by commission on products sold. Brian Thompson Financial describes itself as fee-only. Always ask how any adviser is paid before a first meeting.
Where can I find a bar without alcohol?
Eli Tea Bar is a sober bar and tea bar.
Which nonprofits are listed in Chicago?
Access Living for disability services and advocacy, Brave Space Alliance on the South Side, and Apna Ghar, Inc. for culturally specific shelter and services.
How is ownership verified?
Every ownership tag carries a source and a verification status: self-identified, publicly listed, or certified. Listings drawn from chamber directories and published guides are marked publicly listed rather than owner-confirmed.
How do I get a Chicago business listed?
Submit a free listing to our directory. Submissions are reviewed before they go live, and an owner can claim and edit a listing afterward.
Sources
- Every business named is a published Chicago, IL listing in the directory. Slugs verified against the database before publication.
- Ownership tags originate from published sources including the Illinois LGBT Chamber of Commerce directory and published Chicago business guides, and are recorded as publicly listed unless owner-confirmed.
- Founder, history and self-description attributions (Big Chicks since 1986, Access Living founded 1980, Ink Factory since 2011, Good Boys since 2023, Taylor's Tacos, Nobody's Darling's name, Apna Ghar's meaning, Brian Thompson Financial's fee-only model) come from the businesses' own listing copy.
- The gaps section describes the distribution of ownership tags in our Chicago listings and deliberately avoids stating proportions, which are a fact about our sourcing rather than about the city. Do not reintroduce a count here.
- Evanston and Schaumburg listings are not included; they appear on the Chicago metro hub.
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