Does Chicago have too many literary magazines for its own good?
By Elizabeth Elving American readers met Holden Caulfield in The New Yorker. In 1946 the iconic teenager appeared in J.D. Salinger’s story “Slight Rebellion off Madison,” five years before The Catcher in the Rye was published. This is what literary magazines are for – helping writers develop their craft, and introducing readers to what’s next. […]
Where mother once sewed, daughter now cooks tapas
By Alysha Khan When Nia Asimis lost her job in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, she didn’t bother looking for another one. Instead, she saw opportunity in her mother’s former tailor shop space. Asimis, 42, opened a restaurant, drawing from her Greek heritage. She called it Nia Mediterranean Tapas. Seven years later, […]
VIDEO: Chicago online florist finds efficiencies, and customers
By Jin Wu According to IBIS World, by January 2015, there are more than 35,000 offline florists and more than 3,000 online flower shops in U.S. In spite of this strong competition, with only a few thousand dollars invested to start the business, Chicago-based Flowers for Dreams LLC was profitable even in its first year. […]
OPINION: Tradition and the arts at odds in first-generation families
By Antoinette Isama For us first-generation Americans, the unremitting pressure that accompanies our career choices comes as no surprise. It’s an integral part of the “American Dream,” the future that immigrants imagined for not only themselves, but also for their children born and raised in the United States. It’s been going on for generations, parents […]
Live lit alive and well around Chicago
By Elizabeth Elving Chicago’s literary scene is brought to life in venues all over the city, every night of the week. Below is a map of some of the city’s most popular weekly and monthly live lit events. Included are open mic nights In One Ear, North Side Story Club and Urban Sandbox, reading series Tuesday […]
Green restaurants: Serving up sustainability and savings
By Jasmine Sanborn Businesses like Piece Brewery and Pizzeria and its sister restaurant, Brobagel, serve up mainstay menus in Wicker Park as they have for 13 years. Environmental sustainability is another cornerstone built into the business model. “The main thing, we already had built in [is] we brew our own beer. There is less distribution and we […]
VIDEO: The coach
By Mathias Meier In a neighborhood widely portrayed as a hub for drug trafficking and street violence, one coach is making a difference. Mathias Meier takes us to Little Village and the basement of a community church where boxing and dreams collide.
Illinois growing as hockey power despite lack of NCAA programs
By Ryan Lund Miami University freshman Louie Belpedio was still a few months shy of the delivery room the last time a Division I college hockey team represented the state of Illinois. A product of Skokie and youth hockey powerhouse Team Illinois, Belpedio is one of 61 Illinois natives competing on Division I teams across […]
‘Purple Pricing’ Winning For Northwestern Athletics
By Bennet Hayes Your football team has won a single bowl game since 1948. Your men’s basketball program has never been to the NCAA Tournament. Now go sell some tickets, university athletic department. Neither of Northwestern’s major-revenue athletic programs can claim much in the way of postseason history, but that hasn’t stopped its ticket office […]
Quare Square gives voice to Chicago’s queer community of color
By Dawnn Anderson Quare Square Collective, Inc. is a non-profit that supports queer artists of color in the South Shore neighborhood. Approximately 50 people attended Jeffery Pub Tuesday for open mic night, to amplify queer voices of color in a safe poetic space.