What businesses are most in demand in West Lawn?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in West Lawn are Kosher Restaurants, American Restaurants, and Ukrainian Restaurants.

Is West Lawn a good place to start a business?

West Lawn is ranked number 82 across neighborhoods in and around Chicago to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~77%. Choosing an optimal address for the highest-ranked business types in West Lawn can produce survivability scores up to ~2% above the neighborhood mean.

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

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 West Lawn maximize success.

Business Survivability in West Lawn, Chicago

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in West Lawn is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~86% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Kosher Restaurant in West Lawn (~86% average survival rate, ~88% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #82 across all neighborhoods in and around Chicago

Neighborhood average: ~77% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Reviewed: May 3, 2026 by Bobby Koons, StreetSpring founder

In this article:

Summary
Is West Lawn 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 West Lawn is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~86% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~88% chance; next is an American Restaurant with a ~85% chance, followed by an Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~85% chance.

How business-friendly is West Lawn right now?

**Peer neighborhoods:** Looking at demographic mix and amenity density across the 24 metros StreetSpring covers, West Lawn clusters most tightly with **Archer Heights (Chicago)** and **Weequahic (New York City)**. Common thread: blue-collar job mix, less college-educated, and more homeowners. Survival outcomes for those neighborhoods provide a useful comparison set for West Lawn.

**Where West Lawn businesses actually fail.** Among the 93 tracked subtypes, **Kosher Restaurants** post the highest average survivability (86%). But across West Lawn's sites, the spread for this subtype runs **71% to 97%** — a 26-point gap that says *the address matters more than the subtype*. For saturation context, Bars are the most densely-clustered tracked subtype in the neighborhood (7 competitors within 0.5 miles).

West Lawn earns the #82 spot in Chicago for new business survivability, with an average score of ~77% across all business types analyzed.

Choosing an optimal address for the highest-ranked business types in West Lawn can produce survivability scores up to ~2% above the neighborhood mean.
Even so, the weakest addresses in West Lawn for those same business types can underperform considerably. StreetSpring's address-level scoring exists precisely to identify which specific storefronts make the difference.
At 91.4% employed, West Lawn's consumer base has the spending capacity that makes the neighborhood viable for a wide range of business types — though location selection within the neighborhood still determines actual survivability.

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

Pinpointing the best locations within West Lawn

StreetSpring narrows the decision down to the exact address — showing which blocks in West Lawn produce the highest survivability scores for your concept. The map below shows the highest-scoring storefront area for a Kosher Restaurant in West Lawn per 2026 data:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

Loading live map preview...

This map shows the optimal location for a Kosher Restaurant in West Lawn based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. Competition and spending patterns shift constantly; StreetSpring's live tool reflects the most current conditions for any specific address. The prediction model incorporates 100 location-specific factors, including competitive density, forecasted consumer spending, mobility patterns, and Revenue Capture Score.

Check if this location is still available →

What are the best businesses to open in West Lawn?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in West Lawn

Opening a Kosher Restaurant in West Lawn shows ~86% average survivability. Top locations reach ~88%; lower-end sites show ~84%.
American Restaurant (Ranked #2): ~85% average in West Lawn. Best-case storefronts: ~87%. Challenging locations: ~83%.
Ukrainian Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in West Lawn: ~85% chance on average, best at ~88%, challenging at ~83%.
Italian Restaurant — ~84%–~86% survivability range, with an average of ~85% across West Lawn.
Opening a Filipino Restaurant in West Lawn shows ~85% average survivability. Top locations reach ~86%; lower-end sites show ~83%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in West Lawn

Indonesian Restaurant (Ranked #6): ~85% average in West Lawn. Best-case storefronts: ~87%. Challenging locations: ~83%.
Pet Grooming Shop is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in West Lawn: ~84% chance on average, best at ~86%, challenging at ~82%.
Brunch Restaurant — ~82%–~86% survivability range, with an average of ~84% across West Lawn.
Opening a Singaporean Restaurant in West Lawn shows ~84% average survivability. Top locations reach ~86%; lower-end sites show ~82%.
Diner (Ranked #10): ~84% average in West Lawn. Best-case storefronts: ~86%. Challenging locations: ~82%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

American Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →

How much money could a business in West Lawn make?

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting a storefront that StreetSpring ranks in the top tier for your business type in West Lawn 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

The right address for one business type may be the wrong one for another — always evaluate fit for your specific concept.
Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make — it sets every other variable in motion.
Choosing locations with superior Survivability Scores directly correlates with higher revenue potential.
StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.

The biggest opportunity gaps in West Lawn

The top businesses to open next in West Lawn:

Kosher Restaurants — ~86% average survival rate, up to ~88% at best locations
American Restaurants — ~85% average survival rate
Ukrainian Restaurants — ~85% average survival rate

Competition and spending patterns shift constantly; StreetSpring's live tool reflects the most current conditions for any specific address. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. West Lawn's employment rate (91.4%) and vacancy rate (2.5%) together define the economic context that StreetSpring's model uses to score survivability for each business type at each address. Survivability scores are live, not static — StreetSpring updates them weekly. Visit the tool to see what's currently available in West Lawn and how each address is scoring 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 West Lawn.

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

If you own commercial space in West Lawn, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Kosher Restaurants, American Restaurants, and Ukrainian Restaurants as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.

Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make — it sets every other variable in motion.
StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. 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 West Lawn storefront to a Kosher Restaurant?

Yes. Among all business types analyzed for West Lawn in 2026, a Kosher Restaurant posts the highest survivability ceiling at ~88% and maintains a reasonable floor of ~84% — making it the most reliable tenant choice here.

StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.

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

Don't commit to a storefront in West Lawn 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.

High Revenue Capture Score is the clearest signal that a location can sustain a business over the long term.
StreetSpring's forecasting tools are purpose-built for commercial location decisions and are not available through any publicly accessible data source.
StreetSpring's live survivability scores are available for free — check your specific address now.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring's AI platform has analyzed thousands of business openings to identify success patterns. Aggregated survivability rankings for Chicago are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Permits, licensing, and zoning specifics worth flagging

Consideration	Common pitfall	What to verify before signing
Lease term	Locking into 7-10 years without break clauses, then needing to relocate after year 2.	Negotiate a relocation or termination clause. Confirm assignment + sublease rights are in writing.
Workforce availability	Hiring radius is smaller than you think — many neighborhoods can't staff a full team at standard wages.	Pull BLS wage data for your industry in this metro. Walk through your staffing plan with a local restaurant/retail operator before signing.
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.

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

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

Bubble chart of business subtypes in Chicago by survivability score and location density — Every business subtype in Chicago plotted by score vs location count — bubble size shows market depth.

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

**About this neighborhood.** West Lawn, one of Chicago's 77 official community areas, is located on the southwest side of the city. It is considered to be a "melting pot" of sorts, due to its constant change of races moving in and out of the area, as well as the diversity that exists there. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lawn%2C_Chicago).

**Daytime population context (West Lawn):** Per US Census LEHD LODES, the median 1-mile workplace-jobs population within West Lawn is **6,241** — about **0.2× the resident population**, which qualifies as a primarily-residential neighborhood with minimal daytime worker traffic. Retail-sector jobs in that radius: **812**. This shapes which business models have a natural demand floor here.

Landmark anchor: Balzeko Lietuvių Kultūros Muziejus sits in West Lawn as a museum anchor — adding a cultural-destination layer to neighborhood foot-traffic.

**West Lawn economic snapshot:** ACS reports neighborhood unemployment at **8.6%** (above the 24-metro neighborhood median we track). The Chicago metro's BLS QCEW average weekly wage is **$1,198** (below our metro median), and the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey logged **5,308** new residential permits in Cook County in 2025 — useful triangulation for population-growth and labor-cost assumptions in this neighborhood.

**Authoritative baseline:** BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release publishes 5-year survival rates by industry. For sectors StreetSpring covers, the range runs from **47.8%** (Active Life) to **61.8%** (Health & Medical), with restaurants at **50.0%** and retail at **47.9%**. Location-specific factors drive the actual variance around these baselines.

Related:

Local Context FAQ

Additional questions with answers drawn directly from local data sources.

What does household composition look like in West Lawn?

Average household size in West Lawn is 3.3, versus 2.3 across the Chicago metro. Larger households suggest more families — favorable for family dining, kid-oriented retail, and household services.

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

Approximately 34.2K people live in West Lawn, which puts it in the top quintile by population among Chicago neighborhoods. A larger resident base supports a broader range of business types and can absorb more direct competitors.

What's the typical commute pattern in West Lawn?

ACS data puts the median commute at ~39 minutes in West Lawn, compared to 35 minutes metro-wide. Commute patterns are typical for the metro, so foot traffic timing should not be a primary differentiator.

Are storefronts and homes filling up or sitting empty in West Lawn?

Approximately 3% of West Lawn housing units are vacant — below the Chicago metro median (8%). Low vacancy signals strong demand for space, which usually translates to competitive lease pricing and lower negotiation leverage.