The Best of McKinley Park Highlights Neighborhood Greats

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO — The Best of McKinley Park showcases and awards the favorite enterprises, groups, service providers and leaders of Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood, announced the McKinley Park News, a micro-local news outlet exclusively serving the neighborhood.

“The Best of McKinley Park supports our neighborhood and the fantastic businesses, organizations and others who gird McKinley Park’s economic and social foundations,” said Publisher Justin Kerr.

Presented as a set of interactive polls in the McKinley Park News website at https://mckinleypark.news, The Best of McKinley Park spans categories in Dining, Services, Shopping and Community. Website members can vote for their favorites in each. 

“Everyone gets a vote in each poll,” Kerr said. “Sign-up is free and available to anyone who wants to join us.”

Neighborhood bests for Dining include Best Sit-Down Restaurant, Best Baked Goods, Best Coffee, Best Latin Cuisine, Best Pizza, Best Spot for a Drink, Best Fast Food Chain Restaurant and Best Take-Out Restaurant.

The Shopping category of The Best of McKinley Park includes Best Groceries; Best Beer, Wine & Spirits; Best Home Goods; Best Clothing and Apparel; Best Auto Parts; Best Convenience Store; Best Pet Store; Best Garden and Landscaping; Best Gas Station; and Best Phones & Mobile.

The Best of McKinley Park’s Services category includes Best Auto Mechanic, Best Child Care, Best Home Contractor, Best Insurance Agent, Best Bank, Best Hair & Beauty Services, Best Auto Body Repair, Best Dental Care, Best Pharmacy, Best Medical Care and Best Realtor.

Community entries in The Best of McKinley Park are Best Hangout Spot, Best Community Organization, Best Local Elected Official and Best Employer.

“The Best of McKinley Park are non-scientific members’ choice awards to acknowledge community appreciation and local excellence,” Kerr said. “Members can vote for their favorites for any reason they’d like.”

“We hope The Best of McKinley Park raises awareness across the board for every nominee — all of whom contribute to our community,” he said.

Voting for The Best of McKinley Park in 2025 will be open into the start of the holiday season, Kerr said. At the end of the year, the entry in each category with the most votes will be lauded as a Neighborhood Best with announcement and acknowledgment in the McKinley Park News.

Current McKinley Park News members can log in and vote, and free sign-up is available at https://mckinleypark.news/user/register for those who wish to vote, Kerr said.

Once cast, votes cannot be changed, Kerr said.

“We encourage voters in The Best of McKinley Park to also ask pre-vote questions and comment on their voting decisions in the comments area for each contest,” Kerr said.

Providing interactive features like comments is one of the reasons The Best of McKinley Park is entirely produced within the McKinley Park News, Kerr said.

“We provide the best service for our community through our independent, locally owned and run news publication and platform,” Kerr said.

“This allows us to offer membership and interactivity long abandoned by other local news,” he said. “It also lets us host convivial local discussion free of bots and spam, while respecting and protecting our users’ privacy and security.”

Kerr said this fidelity to trust extends through the operation of The Best of McKinley Park, in which the McKinley Park News included entrants independently without advance coordination.

No remuneration of any kind is exchanged between entrants and the McKinley Park News for The Best of McKinley Park, Kerr said.

“We’ve strived to include every relevant entry from the neighborhood,” Kerr said. Anyone with feedback on entries can send email to info@mckinleypark.news. 

“This is a members’ choice of the best the neighborhood has to offer,” he said. “We hope everyone enjoys this casual, friendly competition and maybe even learns something new about our neighborhood.”

About the McKinley Park News

The McKinley Park News is an award-winning local news publication covering the McKinley Park neighborhood of Chicago from its website at https://mckinleypark.news. Its features include original news reporting, a calendar of neighborhood events, interactive memberships and subscriptions, an email newsletter, and sponsorships and advertising. Online as a neighborhood news source since 2016, the McKinley Park News launched its commercial operations in 2019 as a publication of Local News LLC.

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The Best of McKinley Park — Entries

Community

Best Community Organization

• 36Squared Business Incubator
• Aquinas Literacy Center
• Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) Beat 912
• McKinley Park Advisory Council
• McKinley Park Civic Association
• McKinley Park Development Council
• McKinley Park Underage Drinking & Other Substances Coalition (McK-UDOS)
• Omega Delta Youth Baseball & Softball League
• Trash People of McKinley Park
• Tu Casa Guanajuato en Chicago
• William McKinley American Legion Post 231

Best Employer

Entries are pending

Best Hangout Spot

• Benches, Trails and Groves at McKinley Park
• Canal Origins Park
• Canalport Riverwalk Park
• Daley Park
• Hoyne Park
• Kucinski-Murphy Park
• Lagoon & Natural Area at McKinley Park
• Marshfield Courts
• McKinley Community Play Garden
• McKinley Dog Park
• McKinley Park Community Garden
• McKinley Park Public Library
• Mulberry Playlot Park
• William McKinley Memorial at McKinley Park

Best Local Elected Official

• Alma Anaya, 7th District Cook County Commissioner
• George Cardenas, 1st District Cook County Board of Review Commissioner
• Javier Loera Cervantes, 1st District Illinois State Senator
• Nicole Lee, 11th Ward Alderwoman
• Theresa Mah, 24th District Illinois State Representative
• Denise McBroom, 9th District Police Council Nominating Committee
• Aarón Ortiz, 1st District Illinois State Representative
• Julia Ramirez, 12th Ward Alderwoman
• Carlos Sanchez, 9th District Police Council Chairman
• Celina Villanueva, 12th District Illinois State Senator
• Erin Vogel, 9th District Police Council Community Engagement

Dining

Best Baked Goods

• Cadinho Bakery and Cafe
• Café Consume
• Captain Bakery
• Huck Finn Restaurant
• Kristoffer's Cakes
• Manny's Bakery
• Stan's Donuts & Coffee 

Best Coffee

• Cadinho Bakery and Cafe
• Café Consume
• Dunkin' (3542 S. Archer Ave.)
• Dunkin' (3256 S. Ashland Ave.)
• Stan's Donuts & Coffee
• Starbucks (3800 S. Western Ave.)
• Starbucks (1940 W. 33rd St.)

Best Fast Food Chain Restaurant

• Burger King (3728 S. Archer Ave.)
• Burger King (3141 S. Ashland Ave.)
• Chipotle Mexican Grill
• Laredo Taco Company
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
• Subway
• White Castle

Best Latin Cuisine

• Carniceria La Placita de Isabel
• Chile Toreado
• Gorditas La Tia Susy
• La Michoacana 1
• La Palapa
• Las Delicias De Maria
• Taqueria la Placita #2
• Tio's Tamales

Best Pizza

• Domino's Pizza
• L&L Pizzaria
• Pizza Hut Express
• Slice Factory - Bridgeport
• Trino's Pizza

Best Sit-Down Restaurant

• Chile Toreado
• Gorditas La Tia Susy
• Huck Finn Restaurant
• La Palapa
• Las Delicias De Maria
• Marz Community Brewing Co.
• New Archview/The Chicago Room
• Taste of Canton

Best Spot for a Drink

• Chile Toreado
• La Palapa
• New Archview/Chicago Room
• Marz Community Brewing Co.
• One City Tap

Best Take-Out Restaurant

• Nicky's Carry Outs
• Taste of Chicago Restaurant
• Taqueria la Placita #2
• Tio's Tamales

Shopping

Best Auto Parts

• AutoZone Auto Parts
• Bridgeport Tires & Auto
• Kirk Tire Sales Co.
• O'Reilly Auto Parts
• Rohana Wheels
• Tenorio Tire Shop

Best Beer, Wine and Spirits

• Cermak Fresh Market
• Jewel-Osco
• Mariano's
• Marz Community Brewing Co.
• One Stop Market
• Shop & Go
• Target

Best Clothing and Apparel

• Christopher Calvin
• Consume Vintage
• JD Design
• Target
• The R.O.C.K. Exchange Resale Boutique
• Treasures Depot

Best Convenience Store

• 7-Eleven
• M&B Inc.
• Oakley Foods
• One Stop Market
• Shop & Go
• Walgreens

Best Garden and Landscaping

• JC Licht Ace Hardware
• Lisa Creative Landscaping
• StockYards Materials
• Target

Best Gas Station

• 7-Eleven
• BP Gas Station
• Citgo
• Shell (3510 S. Ashland Ave.)
• Shell (3501 S. Damen Ave.)

Best Groceries

• Carniceria La Placita de Isabel
• Cermak Fresh Market
• Jewel-Osco
• Mariano's
• Oakley Foods
• One Stop Market
• Target

Best Home Goods

• Dollar Tree
• Family Dollar
• Felix Appliances
• JC Licht Ace Hardware Bridgeport
• Target
• Treasures Depot

Best Pet Store

• Golden Aquarium
• Pet Supplies Plus
• Windy City Pet Parlor

Best Phones & Mobile

• Boost Mobile
• Cricket Wireless
• T-Mobile
• Xfinity

Services

Best Auto Body Repair

• Autos "R" Us
• Cambray's Auto Rebuilders
• Metro Auto Body Group

Best Auto Mechanic

• M J Auto Repair
• Master Auto Services
• Pershing Mufflers and Brakes
• Pro-Tech Auto Repair
• Rojas Auto Service
• Twin Lens Auto Service & Repair

Best Bank

• Byline Bank
• Fifth Third Bank
• Marquette Bank
• Pacific Global/Royal Business Bank
• Wells Fargo Bank

Best Child Care

• Children's World
• Jayda's Playhouse Home Daycare
• Little Scholars Journey
• Little Tykes I & II
• Montessori Foundations of Chicago
• Small World 2 Daycare Center 

Best Dental Care

• Ganger Family Dentistry
• Sonrisa Family Dental

Best Hair & Beauty Services

• Bambi's Beauty
• Empire Cutz
• Exquisite Beauty Salon
• Haus of CB Beauty Bar
• Nail Tech 8
• Patty's Hair Design
• Sammy's Hair Studio
• Tina's Spa Salon
• Tip Nails
• Valen's Hair Design
• Victor's Barber Shop & Beauty Salon

Best Home Contractor

• Bulley & Andrews
• Cortex Construction Group
• Ikeda Home
• JJA Roofing & Contracting
• Marty Mar Construction
• Precise Restorations
• Silva Contraction & Restoration
• Y&B Roofing

Best Insurance Agent

• Beatriz Lira — State Farm Insurance
• Elvia Solis — State Farm Insurance
• Liyi Cao — Farmers Insurance
• M. Rodriguez Agency — American Family Insurance
• Ortiz Insurance Agency
• Sigma Associates — Travelers Insurance

Best Medical Care

• Access Cabrini Family Health Center
• Concentra Urgent Care
• MEDTA Immediate Care Clinic

Best Pharmacy

• CVS Pharmacy
• Jewel-Osco Pharmacy
• Mariano's Pharmacy
• Walgreens Pharmacy 

Best Realtor

Entries are pending

Related URLs

Click here for a printable PDF version of this announcement:
FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE_Best-of-McKinley-Park-Highlights-Neighborhood-Greats_20250727.pdf61.25 KB