What are the best businesses to open in Park West?

The top businesses to open in Park West include Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~90% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~92%, followed by Indonesian Restaurant and Deli.

What businesses are most in demand in Park West?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Park West are Ukrainian Restaurants, Indonesian Restaurants, and Delis.

How much money could a business in Park West make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Park West could lead to making ~2% more than selecting an average location, and ~5% more than one of the worst locations.

How can you find the best location to open a business in Park West?

StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes 100 factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility patterns to pinpoint which blocks in Park West maximize success.

Is Park West a good place to start a business?

Park West is ranked number 46 across neighborhoods in and around Chicago to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~82%. StreetSpring data shows the best-fit business types at prime Park West addresses outperform the neighborhood average by as much as ~2%.

Business Survivability in Park West, Chicago

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Park West is an Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~90% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•17 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: an Ukrainian Restaurant in Park West (~90% average survival rate, ~92% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #46 across all neighborhoods in and around Chicago

Neighborhood average: ~82% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring — May 6, 2026

In this article:

Summary
Is Park West a good place to start a business?
How to find the best location
Best businesses to open
How much money could a business make?
What businesses should open next?
Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Park West is an Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~90% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~92% chance; next is an Indonesian Restaurant with a ~90% chance, followed by a Deli with a ~90% chance.

How business-friendly is Park West right now?

**Pattern match:** Park West's neighborhood signature — captured across demographic, employment, and amenity features — most closely matches **Adams Shore (Boston)** and **Glencarlyn (Washington DC)**. The three share longer commutes, more renters, and low destination density, which helps explain why business types that succeed in those areas tend to translate to Park West.

**The pattern in Park West.** Of 93 tracked subtypes, Ukrainian Restaurant leads at **90% average survivability** — yet within the neighborhood, sites for this subtype range **74-97%** (23-point spread). That spread is the real failure surface: pick the wrong block in Park West and a top-subtype play still scores in the bottom quartile. Meanwhile Kosher Restaurants are already saturated here — 2 competitors within a 0.5-mile radius.

StreetSpring's analysis places Park West at #46 in Chicago for new business survival odds, with a neighborhood-wide average of ~82%.

StreetSpring data shows the best-fit business types at prime Park West addresses outperform the neighborhood average by as much as ~2%.
That said, the same business types at the worst-fit addresses in Park West can drop substantially below average. The survivability gap between the best and worst addresses in a single neighborhood can be 20 points or more.
Park West's employment rate of 96.8% and commercial vacancy of 8.3% are two of the inputs StreetSpring's model uses to differentiate survivability within this neighborhood.

Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.

Which blocks in Park West offer the strongest survivability?

StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Park West — so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. The map below shows the highest-scoring storefront area for an Ukrainian Restaurant in Park West per 2026 data:

Walking the neighborhood: what to look for

Loading live map preview...

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of 100 location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for an Ukrainian Restaurant in Park West. These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.

Check if this location is still available →

Which business types have the highest survivability in Park West?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Park West

Ukrainian Restaurant — ~88%–~92% survivability range, with an average of ~90% across Park West.
Opening an Indonesian Restaurant in Park West shows ~90% average survivability. Top locations reach ~92%; lower-end sites show ~88%.
Deli (Ranked #3): ~90% average in Park West. Best-case storefronts: ~91%. Challenging locations: ~88%.
American Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Park West: ~90% chance on average, best at ~91%, challenging at ~88%.
Bangladeshi Restaurant — ~88%–~92% survivability range, with an average of ~90% across Park West.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Park West

Opening a South American Restaurant in Park West shows ~90% average survivability. Top locations reach ~91%; lower-end sites show ~88%.
Brunch Restaurant (Ranked #7): ~90% average in Park West. Best-case storefronts: ~92%. Challenging locations: ~87%.
Chinese Restaurant is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Park West: ~90% chance on average, best at ~91%, challenging at ~88%.
Chicken Shop — ~88%–~92% survivability range, with an average of ~90% across Park West.
Opening a French Restaurant in Park West shows ~90% average survivability. Top locations reach ~91%; lower-end sites show ~88%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Deli — See how this compares to other cities →

The revenue potential of a Park West location

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Park West could lead to you making ~2% more than if you selected an average location, and ~5% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.

How StreetSpring calculates location value

Different business models thrive in different micro-locations.
The right location can make a business; the wrong one can break it.
Across every business type we've analyzed, location quality as measured by Survivability Score is the strongest predictor of financial performance.
Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type — not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood.

Where the next great business in Park West should go

The top businesses to open next in Park West:

Ukrainian Restaurants — ~90% average survival rate, up to ~92% at best locations
Indonesian Restaurants — ~90% average survival rate
Delis — ~90% average survival rate

These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. The 8.3% commercial vacancy rate in Park West means there is available space for new entrants — but it also signals that survivability depends heavily on choosing the right address within the neighborhood, not just the neighborhood itself. Survivability scores are recalculated weekly as new competitors open and spending patterns shift — visit StreetSpring to see the current score for any open location in Park West right now.

See the Survivability Score for your new business

Related Articles:

See the Chicago Business Survivability Rankings
See the Chicago Neighborhood Survivability Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Park West.

What type of business should you rent your Park West storefront to?

Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in Park West, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Ukrainian Restaurants, Indonesian Restaurants, and Delis.

The right location can make a business; the wrong one can break it.
Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type — not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood. Landlords can use StreetSpring to match their exact address to the tenant types most likely to stay open and paying rent for 2+ years.

Should you rent your Park West storefront to an Ukrainian Restaurant?

Yes, StreetSpring's analysis finds that an Ukrainian Restaurant would be the best type of business to rent your storefront to, with a potential ~92% chance of lasting more than 2 years; however depending on your location, the chances could drop to a ~88% chance.

Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type — not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood.

What should I consider when opening a business in Park West?

Don't commit to a storefront in Park West without first checking its Survivability Score — the difference between a 70% and a 90% score at two addresses on the same block can determine your long-term outcome.

Among all the inputs that shape survivability, Revenue Capture Score carries the most predictive weight.
StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
Access StreetSpring's current survivability data for any address in Park West for free at any time.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring uses AI to predict business survivability across U.S. neighborhoods — trusted by real estate professionals and entrepreneurs nationwide. Aggregated survivability rankings for Chicago are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Lease structure questions to ask first

Factor	Where new owners get tripped up	Questions to ask before you sign
Build-out budget	Underestimating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing — the "hidden" 30-50% of build-out cost.	Get 3 quotes from licensed contractors and pad budget by +20% for surprises. Confirm landlord TI allowance in writing.
Competitor density	Counting only direct competitors and missing adjacent-category overlap (e.g. coffee shop near a bakery).	Map all businesses serving overlapping customer needs within a 5-min walk. Use StreetSpring's competitor view as a starting point.
Anchor co-tenancy	Signing next to a high-traffic anchor that closes 6 months later, leaving you orphaned.	Ask for a co-tenancy clause — rent abatement or termination right if the anchor leaves. Standard for strong markets.

Full dataset for Chicago: /resources/data/chicago-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Visual Data

Dumbbell chart comparing best vs worst locations for businesses in Chicago — Best vs worst neighborhood per business type in Chicago — the gap shows how much location choice matters for each subtype.

Treemap of Chicago business mix by survivability score — Treemap of business mix in Chicago — cell size = number of locations, color = average survivability score.

Radar chart of business-subtype survivability in Park West, Chicago — Top business types scored in Park West, Chicago — each axis is a subtype, taller = stronger survival rate.

How we measure this: Foot traffic measured at the city-block level using a combination of pedestrian-network analysis and Walk Score.

**Daytime vs. resident population (Park West):** US Census LEHD workplace data shows Park West carries a **1.3× daytime/resident ratio** (a balanced mixed-use pattern), with median 1-mile workplace jobs of **22,443** (and **4,344** retail-sector jobs within that radius). A useful read on demand timing for any new storefront concept here.

Landmark anchor: Ten Thousand Ripples anchors Park West as an art-museum destination — the kind of pull factor a new business can build a marketing radius around.

**Economic context that bounds the demand environment in Park West:** Per ACS, neighborhood unemployment is **3.2%** (below the 24-metro neighborhood median). BLS QCEW shows the Chicago metro's average weekly wage at **$1,198** (below our 24-metro median). And Cook County permitted **5,308** new residential units in 2025 per Census BPS — a population-and-demand growth signal.

**National benchmark:** Per BLS Business Employment Dynamics (March 2025), 5-year survival rates for StreetSpring's tracked industries span **47.8-61.8%**. Restaurants — the most-studied of these — survive at **50.0%** nationally, not the often-cited "80% fail" myth. The real risk premium is at the location level, which is what StreetSpring's model isolates.

Related Resources

Related:

Beyond the Numbers: Local Context

More questions answered with neighborhood-specific data from our 2026 corpus.

How big is the Park West market in terms of resident population?

Park West has approximately 17.4K residents, putting it in the middle range among Chicago neighborhoods we track. The resident base is moderate; business-type fit depends more on capturing nearby commuter or destination traffic.

Is Park West more single-occupant or family-household?

Park West's average household has 1.5 people — below the Chicago metro average (2.3). Smaller households suggest more singles or couples — favorable for casual dining, fitness, and convenience retail.

Does Park West's income profile support new business openings?

Median household income in Park West is approximately $112K, versus the Chicago metro median of $103K — above the metro by $10K. Income is close to the metro median, so business-type fit depends more on local demographics and competition.