Chicago cuisine map
How every cuisine has actually performed in Chicago, and where.
Built forBrokers & leasing agents · Operators & first-timers · Franchisors
- Survival by cuisine and format across two decades
- Where each cuisine clusters, thins out, and turns over
- The cohort record behind every read's concept driver
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Leading concept
Each area takes its most common concept. Counts are areas led.
Reading the licence record. Colours appear as the map fills in.
Cuisines · 29/29 on
Every cuisine in the Chicago record
24 concepts, 7,381 restaurants trading today, out of every licence the city has issued since 2002. Each row links to where that cuisine clusters, by neighbourhood and by zip, and how long it lasts there.
| Cuisine | Open now | Share of city | Ever licensed | 4-yr survival | Median tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee / Cafe | 971 | 13.2% | 2,733 | 63%n=2,391 | 6.4 yrs |
| Mexican | 712 | 9.6% | 2,019 | 57%n=1,774 | 5.5 yrs |
| Italian / Pizza | 462 | 6.3% | 1,414 | 63%n=1,283 | 6.1 yrs |
| American / Burger | 461 | 6.2% | 1,692 | 57%n=1,527 | 5.0 yrs |
| Bakery / Dessert | 432 | 5.9% | 1,524 | 57%n=1,367 | 4.6 yrs |
| Bar / Tavern | 407 | 5.5% | 904 | 82%n=816 | 13.0 yrs |
| Sandwich / Sub | 356 | 4.8% | 1,146 | 66%n=1,066 | 8.0 yrs |
| Fried Chicken | 248 | 3.4% | 915 | 53%n=804 | 4.1 yrs |
| Chinese | 182 | 2.5% | 622 | 67%n=574 | 6.8 yrs |
| Japanese / Sushi | 156 | 2.1% | 346 | 81%n=281 | 9.9 yrs |
| Health / Juice | 120 | 1.6% | 387 | 61%n=326 | 5.8 yrs |
| Breakfast / Diner | 107 | 1.4% | 257 | 64%n=217 | 8.6 yrs |
| Catering / Events | 102 | 1.4% | 310 | 57%n=253 | 5.0 yrs |
| Latin / Caribbean | 99 | 1.3% | 337 | 54%n=270 | 4.1 yrs |
| Mediterranean / Greek | 59 | 0.8% | 214 | 53%n=196 | 4.1 yrs |
| BBQ | 58 | 0.8% | 282 | 45%n=255 | 3.3 yrs |
| Seafood | 58 | 0.8% | 215 | 60%n=198 | 5.9 yrs |
| Middle Eastern | 57 | 0.8% | 216 | 52%n=187 | 4.1 yrs |
| Thai | 54 | 0.7% | 179 | 72%n=162 | 8.2 yrs |
| Indian / South Asian | 53 | 0.7% | 124 | 59%n=97 | 6.1 yrs |
| Hot Dog / Chicago Classic | 36 | 0.5% | 217 | 49%n=208 | 4.0 yrs |
| Boba / Tea | 34 | 0.5% | 62 | 68%n=38 | 10.0 yrs |
| Pan-Asian | 29 | 0.4% | 75 | 64%n=66 | 6.1 yrs |
| Vietnamese | 29 | 0.4% | 85 | 60%n=78 | 6.3 yrs |
Survival is the share of a cuisine's matured cohort still licensed 4 years after opening, shown only where at least 40 restaurants have had 4 years to succeed or fail — the cohort size is printed beside every rate. These are base rates for the concept citywide, not a forecast for an address.