Parachute HiFi in Avondale is one of 97 restaurants across the country to win a $5,000 grant from the National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce (National Ace) and Grubhub.

The grant came at the end of a four-part virtual accelerator program, which featured Chef Beverly Kim, co-owner of Parachute HiFi, facilitating one of the sessions.

The full list of grant recipients is available in this press release from National Ace.

Chef Kim is one of the first people of color to win a prestigious James Beard Award.  Her advocacy for Asian Americans during the pandemic led then Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to appoint her to a City of Chicago Committee to Stop Asian Hate.

Chef Johnny Clark & Chef Beverly Kim

And Beverly Kim has always prioritized workers in the restaurant industry by being one of the first restaurants to offer full health benefits.

She also created a nonprofit, The Abundance Setting, that provides childcare and transportation for women in the restaurant industry.

North Branch Works identified this grant opportunity and encouraged restaurants in our network to apply for the accelerator program so they could have a chance to win this grant.

We worked closely with Beverly Kim and helped Parachute HiFi write and submit its application.

It’s a great example of the technical assistance work we can do to directly benefit the businesses in our service area.

These grant funds will be used by restaurants in a variety of ways including upgrading kitchen equipment, enhancing online ordering systems, supporting staff, and streamlining day-to-day operations.

We’d like to congratulate the co-owners of Parachute HiFi, Chef Beverly Kim and Chef Johnny Clark, on this well-deserved recognition!

And we’d like to recognize the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) for its support, which makes wins like this one possible through the Neighborhood Business Development Center (NBDC) program.

Image credits: Chicago Eater