What are the best businesses to open in Main-Chicago?

The top businesses to open in Main-Chicago include Bangladeshi Restaurant with a ~93% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~95%, followed by American Restaurant and South American Restaurant.

What businesses are most in demand in Main-Chicago?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Main-Chicago are Bangladeshi Restaurants, American Restaurants, and South American Restaurants.

Is Main-Chicago a good place to start a business?

Main-Chicago is ranked number 2 across neighborhoods in and around Chicago to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~85%. The top business types in Main-Chicago, when placed at their ideal addresses, achieve survivability rates ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.

How much money could a business in Main-Chicago make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Main-Chicago could lead to making ~2% more than selecting an average location, and ~4% more than one of the worst locations.

Business Survivability in Main-Chicago, Chicago

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Main-Chicago is a Bangladeshi Restaurant with a ~93% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•17 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Bangladeshi Restaurant in Main-Chicago (~93% average survival rate, ~95% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #2 across all neighborhoods in and around Chicago

Neighborhood average: ~85% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: April 30, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Main-Chicago 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 Main-Chicago is a Bangladeshi Restaurant with a ~93% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~95% chance; next is an American Restaurant with a ~93% chance, followed by a South American Restaurant with a ~93% chance.

What does the data say about opening in Main-Chicago?

**Comparable neighborhoods:** Among the ~2,500 neighborhoods StreetSpring scores, Main-Chicago's profile most resembles **Marshfield (Boston)** and **Kingwood (Houston)**. All three exhibit low destination density, high high-earner share, and few nearby parks — operators with experience in any of those neighborhoods will see familiar patterns in Main-Chicago.

**Failure-mode analysis for Main-Chicago.** The single strongest subtype in our data is **American Restaurant** at 93% average survivability. But the within-neighborhood spread for American Restaurants runs **89% to 97%** — meaning a poorly-sited American Restaurant in Main-Chicago can score 8 points below a well-sited one. Saturation reality check: Home Improvement Stores are the most-competed tracked subtype here, with 1 existing competitors within a 0.5-mile radius.

In Chicago's neighborhood survivability rankings, Main-Chicago comes in at #2, with an average Survivability Score of ~85% across all business types.

The top business types in Main-Chicago, when placed at their ideal addresses, achieve survivability rates ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.
Yet the same categories that score highest in Main-Chicago can underperform significantly at the wrong address. Location precision within the neighborhood matters as much as choosing the neighborhood itself.
At 95.2% employed, Main-Chicago'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.

How can you find the best location to open a business in Main-Chicago?

With StreetSpring, location selection in Main-Chicago moves from guesswork to a precise, address-level survivability score for any business type you're considering. This is the address StreetSpring's 2026 analysis recommends most strongly for a Bangladeshi Restaurant in Main-Chicago:

Reading visibility, frontage, and parking carefully

Loading live map preview...

This map shows the optimal location for a Bangladeshi Restaurant in Main-Chicago based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. 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 kinds of businesses thrive in Main-Chicago?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Main-Chicago

Bangladeshi Restaurant — ~91%–~95% survivability range, with an average of ~93% across Main-Chicago.
Opening an American Restaurant in Main-Chicago shows ~93% average survivability. Top locations reach ~94%; lower-end sites show ~91%.
South American Restaurant (Ranked #3): ~93% average in Main-Chicago. Best-case storefronts: ~95%. Challenging locations: ~91%.
Ukrainian Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Main-Chicago: ~93% chance on average, best at ~95%, challenging at ~91%.
Brunch Restaurant — ~91%–~95% survivability range, with an average of ~93% across Main-Chicago.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Main-Chicago

Opening a Deli in Main-Chicago shows ~93% average survivability. Top locations reach ~94%; lower-end sites show ~91%.
Filipino Restaurant (Ranked #7): ~93% average in Main-Chicago. Best-case storefronts: ~94%. Challenging locations: ~91%.
Taiwanese Restaurant is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Main-Chicago: ~93% chance on average, best at ~95%, challenging at ~91%.
Chinese Restaurant — ~91%–~94% survivability range, with an average of ~93% across Main-Chicago.
Opening an Italian Restaurant in Main-Chicago shows ~93% average survivability. Top locations reach ~94%; lower-end sites show ~92%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Bangladeshi Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
American Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →

How location selection in Main-Chicago affects revenue

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Main-Chicago could lead to you making ~2% more than if you selected an average location, and ~4% 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.
Maximizing your Survivability Score is the most reliable path to profitability.
StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.

What businesses should open next in Main-Chicago?

The top businesses to open next in Main-Chicago:

Bangladeshi Restaurants — ~93% average survival rate, up to ~95% at best locations
American Restaurants — ~93% average survival rate
South American Restaurants — ~93% average survival rate

The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. Main-Chicago's combination of 95.2% employment and 7.0% vacancy creates the conditions that define which business types thrive here and which struggle. StreetSpring updates survivability scores for available locations weekly — check the live tool now to see which storefronts in Main-Chicago 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 Main-Chicago.

What type of business should you rent your Main-Chicago storefront to?

The analysis is clear: in Main-Chicago, Bangladeshi Restaurants, American Restaurants, and South American Restaurants consistently score highest on survivability, giving landlords the best chance of retaining tenants for 2+ years.

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. Run your specific address through StreetSpring to see which tenant categories give you the best odds of stable, long-term occupancy.

Should you rent your Main-Chicago storefront to a Bangladeshi Restaurant?

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis strongly supports renting to a Bangladeshi Restaurant in Main-Chicago: best-in-class addresses achieve ~95% survivability, and even the lower-end sites come in at ~91% — above average for most business types.

StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.

What should I consider when opening a business in Main-Chicago?

Location decisions in Main-Chicago should be grounded in Survivability Score data, not intuition. The score directly measures the competitive and spending conditions at your exact address.

A strong Revenue Capture Score reflects the ideal balance of manageable competition and robust consumer spending at that specific address.
These forecasts are generated using StreetSpring's unique analytical framework.
Access StreetSpring's current survivability data for any address in Main-Chicago for free at any time.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

Our analysis covers businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans across 24 major US metros. Aggregated survivability rankings for Chicago are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

The hidden costs of operating in this neighborhood

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
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.
Build-out budget	Underestimating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing — the "hidden" 30-50% of build-out cost.	Get 3 quotes from licensed contractors and pad budget by +20% for surprises. Confirm landlord TI allowance in writing.
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

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.

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

**LEHD demand-pattern signal (Main-Chicago):** Median 1-mile workplace jobs across Main-Chicago: **10,350** (LEHD LODES 2022). That works out to a **0.7:1 daytime-to-resident ratio** — a balanced mixed-use pattern. Of those workplace jobs, **1,033** are retail-sector. Use this to gauge whether your concept is weekday-commuter-driven or evening-and-weekend-driven.

Landmark anchor: American Toby Jug Museum sits in Main-Chicago as a museum anchor — adding a cultural-destination layer to neighborhood foot-traffic.

**Economic context that bounds the demand environment in Main-Chicago:** Per ACS, neighborhood unemployment is **4.8%** (in line with the 24-metro neighborhood median). BLS QCEW shows the Chicago metro's average weekly wage at **$1,198** (below our 24-metro median). And Cook County permitted **5,308** new residential units in 2025 per Census BPS — a population-and-demand growth signal.

**Sector-level context:** BLS data (BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release) shows 5-year survival rates of **47.8%** (Active Life), **47.9%** (Retail Trade), **50.0%** (Restaurants), **50.5%** (Beauty & Personal Care), and **61.8%** (Health & Medical) — the five industry buckets covering most StreetSpring subtypes. Location-specific factors explain the rest of the variance.

Related Resources

Related:

Local Data Questions

Beyond the general FAQ — data-anchored answers for this specific location.

How does economic hardship in Main-Chicago compare to the metro?

8% of Main-Chicago households fall below the federal poverty line — below the Chicago metro median (12%). The poverty rate tracks the metro median; business-type fit depends more on competition and demographic specifics.

What's the typical household size in Main-Chicago, and what does it tell us?

Average household size in Main-Chicago is 2.0, versus 2.3 across the Chicago metro. Household composition is close to the metro average.

What's the local customer base size in Main-Chicago?

Approximately 14.3K people live in Main-Chicago, which puts it in the lower-middle range among Chicago neighborhoods. The resident base is smaller than typical; survivability is highest for businesses that draw beyond the immediate neighborhood.

How does income in Main-Chicago compare to the rest of Chicago?

Median household income in Main-Chicago is approximately $127K, versus the Chicago metro median of $103K — above the metro by $24K. Higher median income supports premium retail, upscale dining, and discretionary services.