Five years ago in the fall of 2020 during the pandemic, Mia Sakai opened \u00c1ndale Market in Andersonville on Chicago\u2019s North Side.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an ode to the New York City bodega. We specialize in unique foods and locally sourced things. We also have international foods as well. It\u2019s sort of a little bit of everything for pet, body, home and gifting,\u201d said Sakai, a California native turned New Yorker who moved to Chicago with her husband about eight years ago.<\/p>\n
Sakai\u2019s bodega at 5232 N. Clark St. sells a hand cream she imports from Spain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had an order for $1,400 worth of product, and the tariff bill on that was $1,200,\u201d Sakai said.<\/p>\n
The cost of tariffs is just one of the challenges businesses in Chicago are facing. That\u2019s why a new initiative called Chicago Loves Local aims to get more Chicagoans to shop local and support shops from the North Side to the Southeast Side near Indiana.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s needed more than ever. I feel like every time the holidays come up, it\u2019s really sort of a make-or-break time. But this year in particular, it feels even more critical,\u201d Sakai said.<\/p>\n
The initiative is organized by the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, the Rogers Park Business Alliance, the Illinois Coalition on Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Chicago Is With You Task Force.<\/p>\n
The effort has been in the works for most of the year, said Charlie Wein, director of marketing and communications with the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Chicago Loves Local campaign is all about promoting Chicago and encouraging Chicagoans to shop in all of Chicago\u2019s 77 community areas,\u201d Wein said. \u201cAll those local businesses, all those small business owners, need support, especially right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wein said it\u2019s not just tariffs that are impacting business owners but the ongoing immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
Some people have been reluctant to shop and visit neighborhood restaurants in predominantly Latino areas such as Little Village and Pilsen.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome neighborhoods are being more adversely affected by what\u2019s going on politically than others are,\u201d Wein said. \u201cA big part of this campaign is also helping to encourage people to go shop in some of those neighborhoods that are being more adversely affected.\u201d<\/p>\n