NORTH LAWNDALE — An Army veteran is opening a sports activities bar in North Lawndale and entering into her household’s enterprise with assist from a metropolis grant.

Shatondrea Cox obtained a $184,000 Community Development Grant to open 14Forty Sports Grill and Bar, 1440 S. Kedzie Ave. She not too long ago introduced her plan to open in September.

Cox mentioned she needed to apply to the grant thrice earlier than she obtained it — however now, she’s reclaiming a constructing that had been in her household for years.

The constructing, which was as soon as referred to as Enterprise, was one among a number of bars Cox mentioned her household ran within the neighborhood, she mentioned. She labored at Enterprise earlier than the bar closed in 2017.

Before Enterprise, Cox’s grandparents owned the constructing and ran it as a bar below a distinct identify within the ’80s, she mentioned. And her aunts and uncles have all owned bars.

Credit: Chicago Department of Planning and Development

Cox was amongst 79 winners chosen for the grant out of 612 candidates, mentioned Peter Strazzabosco, deputy commissioner for town’s planning and improvement division. The grant will cowl 75 % of development prices for the bar. 

Cox has been within the Army for 20 years and is now within the Reserves, working as a monetary analyst. Raised in North Lawndale, she needs to open the bar to deliver an leisure and eating expertise to North Lawndale residents.

“I just want to bring the community back, because I remember, as a little girl, we could cross the street to get to anywhere that we wanted,” Cox mentioned. “We need to bring stuff back to our community so we don’t have to go outside of our community for these things. It would be extremely empowering.”

The grant Cox obtained is a part of the Chicago Recovery Plan, a citywide financial plan to assist companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic get well or set up themselves.

Sophia Carey, a senior restoration workforce program supervisor for the Department of Planning and Development, mentioned Cox’s bar plan was given a grant as a result of it is going to open in an space missing in investments, in addition to Cox’s dedication to the neighborhood.

“Based on the application she gave us, she’ll have a unique operation for the area,” Carey mentioned. “For certain residents, it’s unfair that they have to leave their own neighborhood to have a good time with their friends and family. She’s been working on this for years, and that shows her perseverance.”

Cox plans to rent 12-16 staff.

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