Founded by two entrepreneurs who grew up in the neighborhood, Back of the Yards Coffeehouse was originally intended to be the public face of their coffee roastery, but within a week of opening, it was apparent that it had become a neighborhood hub in its own right: a showcase for local artists and musicians and a popular hangout for students at Back of the Yards College Prep across the street.

This employee-owned coffee company produces just one roast — medium, with a blend of beans from Brazil and Colombia — and exports it to grocery stores throughout the city, but visitors can also stop by the small cafe inside the roastery and get a cup of fresh brew, in drip, latte, and cold brew form.

The neighborhood’s source for American-style fast food, Garfield Gyros serves gyros, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and pizza, as well as breakfast sandwiches. The gyros grilled cheese impressed writer Titus Ruscitti.

Also known as Back of the Yards Protein Bar, this smoothie cafe offers customers three separate levels of colorful energy drinks, depending on how much of an extra boost they feel they need, plus waffles, cookies, and protein crepes.

Atotonilco Taqueria serves tacos made with freshly grilled meat and tortillas from its own factory on the next block, but it’s best known for its milkshake maker, Juan Alberto Chávez, a bona fide neighborhood celebrity known to all as El Señor de los Licuados. (For more, read this profile in South Side Weekly.)

The stretch of 43rd Street immediately south of the stockyard was once known as Whiskey Row because it was lined with taverns where workers would stop on their way home to drink away their sorrows after a day on the killing floor. Stanley’s, which opened in 1935, is the last of those. Longtime owner Wanda Kurek, daughter of the original Stanley, died in 2019, but Stanley’s continues to serve lunch on weekdays.

This bright, cheerful spot hides behind a drab storefront, and serves up delicious Cuban food. There are pressed Cuban sandwiches, crisp empanadas, savory ham croquettes, and sweet and milky cafe con leche.

In the back of this supermarket is Paco’s Tacos, a taco stand that has become so celebrated for its carne asada that it’s opened up two more standalone locations. But this is the original and, locals claim, the best. The supermarket also stocks excellent carnitas.

Slightly more upscale than the typical taqueria, Ines offers platters of fajitas, steak, and seafood — its specialty — as well as hearty breakfasts, including chilaquiles, everyone’s favorite hangover-buster.

A former meatpacking plant, the Plant was converted in 2010 into a vertical farm that houses a number of small food businesses and farms, including Whiner Beer, the Great American Cheese Collection, Arize Kombucha, Urban Canopy, and Tuanis Chocolate. Check the website for more information about farmer’s markets and curbside pickup.

Located in the Plant, a food business incubator, Whiner specializes in barrel-aged beer and kombucha, and plans to use its spent grain to feed the anaerobic digester that powers the building. The taproom serves pizza Thursday through Sundays.