What are the best businesses to open in River North?

The top businesses to open in River North include Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~91% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~93%, followed by Filipino Restaurant and Kosher Restaurant.

How much money could a business in River North make?

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

Is River North a good place to start a business?

River North is ranked number 8 across neighborhoods in and around Chicago to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~84%. Strong business types at their best-match addresses in River North consistently score ~2% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.

What businesses are most in demand in River North?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in River North are Ukrainian Restaurants, Filipino Restaurants, and Kosher Restaurants.

Business Survivability in River North, Chicago

Q: How does income in River North compare to the rest of Chicago?

River North's median household income (~$156K) is above the Chicago metro median (~$103K) by approximately $53K. Higher median income supports premium retail, upscale dining, and discretionary services.

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in River North is an Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~91% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: an Ukrainian Restaurant in River North (~91% average survival rate, ~93% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #8 across all neighborhoods in and around Chicago

Neighborhood average: ~84% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 5, 2026 by Bobby Koons, StreetSpring founder — updated weekly

In this article:

Summary
Is River North 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 River North is an Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~91% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~93% chance; next is a Filipino Restaurant with a ~91% chance, followed by a Kosher Restaurant with a ~91% chance.

What does the data say about opening in River North?

**How River North compares:** River North's profile most resembles **Cherokee Park (Atlanta)** and **Chantilly (Charlotte)** based on the demographic and density signatures we use to model location quality — all three share high high-earner share, higher-income, and higher employment. Patterns from those neighborhoods are directly relevant for businesses evaluating River North.

**Failure pattern in River North.** Across the 93 business subtypes we track here, the strongest is **Filipino Restaurant** at 91% average survivability — but the best and worst sites for this subtype within River North span **87% to 96%**, a 9-point gap. **The dominant failure mode in River North isn't subtype choice — it's site selection within the neighborhood.** Saturation context: Bars are the most-concentrated tracked subtype in the area, with 0 competitors within a 0.5-mile radius.

StreetSpring's analysis places River North at #8 in Chicago for new business survival odds, with a neighborhood-wide average of ~84%.

Strong business types at their best-match addresses in River North consistently score ~2% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.
However, those high-scoring categories placed at the least-competitive addresses in River North often fall well below average. Picking the right block — not just the right neighborhood — is what actually determines survivability.
River North's employment rate of 97.7% and commercial vacancy of 4.7% 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.

How can you find the best location to open a business in River North?

Using StreetSpring, you can identify the exact address in River North that gives your specific business concept the highest survivability score. The map below shows the highest-scoring storefront area for an Ukrainian Restaurant in River North per 2026 data:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

Loading live map preview...

The highlighted area represents the address in River North that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for an Ukrainian Restaurant survivability. Static rankings can't capture every recent change in competition or foot traffic; StreetSpring's live platform provides the current score for your exact address. StreetSpring's scoring incorporates 100 inputs, including competitive quality and density, projected consumer spending, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility data.

Check if this location is still available →

The strongest business categories for River North

#1-5: Highest Survivability in River North

Ukrainian Restaurant — ~89%–~93% survivability range, with an average of ~91% across River North.
Opening a Filipino Restaurant in River North shows ~91% average survivability. Top locations reach ~93%; lower-end sites show ~89%.
Kosher Restaurant (Ranked #3): ~91% average in River North. Best-case storefronts: ~93%. Challenging locations: ~89%.
American Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in River North: ~91% chance on average, best at ~93%, challenging at ~89%.
Portuguese Restaurant — ~89%–~93% survivability range, with an average of ~91% across River North.

#6-10: Strong Performers in River North

Opening an Ethiopian Restaurant in River North shows ~91% average survivability. Top locations reach ~93%; lower-end sites show ~90%.
Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #7): ~91% average in River North. Best-case storefronts: ~93%. Challenging locations: ~89%.
Indian Restaurant is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in River North: ~91% chance on average, best at ~93%, challenging at ~89%.
Syrian Restaurant — ~89%–~93% survivability range, with an average of ~91% across River North.
Opening an Armenian Restaurant in River North shows ~91% average survivability. Top locations reach ~93%; lower-end sites show ~89%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Filipino Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →

The revenue potential of a River North location

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, following the survivability data rather than relying on intuition or foot traffic estimates in River North 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

Site selection requires evaluating the specific combination of your business type and the exact address — neighborhood-level data is only the starting point.
Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
Businesses in high-scoring locations consistently outperform those in average or low-scoring sites.
StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.

Which business types are most underserved in River North?

The top businesses to open next in River North:

Ukrainian Restaurants — ~91% average survival rate, up to ~93% at best locations
Filipino Restaurants — ~91% average survival rate
Kosher Restaurants — ~91% average survival rate

Static rankings can't capture every recent change in competition or foot traffic; StreetSpring's live platform provides the current score for your exact address. StreetSpring's training dataset includes millions of transactions and business lifecycle events. The 4.7% commercial vacancy rate in River North 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. StreetSpring updates survivability scores for available locations weekly — check the live tool now to see which storefronts in River North are currently available and how they score.

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 River North.

What type of business should you rent your River North storefront to?

Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in River North, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Ukrainian Restaurants, Filipino Restaurants, and Kosher Restaurants.

Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location. StreetSpring allows property owners to evaluate any address against 700+ tenant types — so you can prioritize the categories that score highest at your specific location.

Should you rent your River North storefront to an Ukrainian Restaurant?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, an Ukrainian Restaurant ranks as the top tenant type for your River North storefront — best-case locations show a ~93% survival rate, while the most challenging addresses drop to ~89%.

StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.

What should I consider when opening a business in River North?

The Survivability Score for your specific address in River North is the most reliable signal you have before signing a lease — prioritize it above foot traffic estimates and demographic summaries.

StreetSpring's analysis consistently shows Revenue Capture Score predicts survival odds more accurately than demographic data or foot traffic estimates alone.
These forecasts are generated using StreetSpring's unique analytical framework.
StreetSpring's address-level survivability data is available free of charge — start with your top candidate locations in River North.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring analyzes millions of data points with AI to forecast business survivability. Aggregated survivability rankings for Chicago are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Build-out budget rules-of-thumb for this neighborhood

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
Outdoor seating / sidewalk use	Signing assuming you can add patio seating, then learning the city requires a separate sidewalk-cafe permit with long lead times.	Check the city's sidewalk-cafe permit process up front. Confirm landlord allows outdoor build-out in the lease language.
Permits & licensing	Assuming a 30-day permit timeline, hitting 90+ days, paying rent on a non-operating storefront.	Call the local zoning office before signing. Confirm your use is already permitted; if not, factor a 2-3 month variance timeline.
Permitted hours	Late-night or early-morning ops blocked by zoning, neighborhood association, or shared-wall restrictions.	Confirm the permitted hours-of-operation are in your lease AND in the local code. Pull recent variances or complaints from the zoning portal.

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 River North, Chicago — Top business types scored in River North, Chicago — each axis is a subtype, taller = stronger survival rate.

How we measure this: Supplier proximity matters more for some subtypes (restaurants, repair shops) than others (online-anchored retail).

**About this neighborhood.** River North is a Chicago neighborhood located north of the Chicago River, south of Division Street, and west of Wabash Avenue. It is adjacent to the Magnificent Mile retail and tourism corridor. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_North).

**Daytime worker density (River North):** LEHD LODES Workplace Area Characteristics show a **33.8:1 daytime-to-resident ratio** for River North — a strong commercial-corridor / CBD signal. Median workplace jobs within a 1-mile radius across River North: **571,115**, of which roughly **16,519** are retail-sector. Higher daytime ratios favor weekday-lunch / commuter-traffic businesses; balanced ratios favor residential + weekend demand patterns.

Landmark anchor: National Public Housing Museum sits in River North as a museum anchor — adding a cultural-destination layer to neighborhood foot-traffic.

**Local economic context (River North, Chicago):** River North's ACS unemployment rate is **2.3%** (below the 24-metro neighborhood median). County-level data adds two more anchors: BLS QCEW reports Chicago-area average weekly wage of **$1,198** (below our 24-metro median), and the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey logged **5,308** new residential units in Cook County in 2025 — a rough proxy for the local growth environment a new business is opening into.

**BLS sector context:** Across the 11 industries StreetSpring tracks, 5-year survival rates from BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release range from **47.8%** (Active Life — gyms, studios) to **61.8%** (Health & Medical). Restaurants — the largest single category in our corpus — average **50.0%** nationally, and retail averages **47.9%**.

Related Resources

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