On a recent Saturday evening at Chicago’s Bronzeville Winery, the cozy bar next to the open kitchen was filled at 5 pm with a mix of couples and solo women diners. Light from floor-to-ceiling windows flooded the dining room, where families with young children were tucking into wood-fired chicken and salmon pappardelle. Later, a small group gathered for an 85th birthday celebration and the DJ turned up the music into more energetic beats as the night wore on.
This feeling where everyone in the neighborhood is in on the celebration is exactly what owners Eric Williams and Cecilia Cuff were hoping for. It’s not uncommon to see this scene play out regularly at the restaurant, which has become a community hub in more ways than one since its opening in 2022. The restaurant even won a coveted Jean Banchet Award for best hospitality earlier this year.
Bronzeville has no dearth of beloved restaurants, but the winery was the first to show that there’s a strong appetite for a restaurant on this scale that feels both fancy and approachable at the same time. “We don’t have certain things in our community,” says Williams, who lives in Bronzeville. “It was needed, and we wanted to build it.”
Central to that success is Williams and Cuff’s efforts to uplift the local community with the restaurant’s growth—almost everything at the restaurant comes from other minority-owned local businesses. Williams and Cuff relied on years of experience spotlighting independent producers to create this one-of-a-kind destination—and that’s what makes it a must visit.
Read on to see how Bronzeville Winery became a beacon for the community, and make a booking on OpenTable.
Leaning on their backgrounds
It seems only natural that Williams and Cuff came together for Bronzeville. They’ve been friends for 20 years (and neighbors for a while, too) and have always given a voice to minorities.
Chicagoans will know Williams for his boutique store Silver Room (the Wicker Park location has closed but the Hyde Park one remains open), which was all about showcasing clothing and accessories from Black independent artists—not to mention its beloved annual block party. Cuff has a background in hospitality and through her company The Nascent Group has supported the growth of minority-owned businesses.
As a Bronzeville resident, Williams knew first-hand how the South Side neighborhood is often overlooked, so he came together with Cuff to give back to the community in a big way. “We really wanted to use Bronzeville Winery as a space that could incubate careers in hospitality and specifically focus on female and minority careers,” Cuff says.
Putting the community front and center
Most of the restaurant’s staff are locals and either walk or ride their bikes to work, including award-winning sommelier Derrick C. Westbrook. He’s created a wine list that specifically shouts out women- and Black-owned wine producers on the menu. “This is the first time that he’s been able to curate a MICHELIN Star-worthy wine list on the South Side of Chicago,” Williams says. Beer from Black-owned craft brewery Funkytown also features prominently.
Part of the produce used at the restaurant comes from South Side community college Olive-Harvey. “We definitely look at what’s available locally and try to be very thoughtful in the way that we’re creating health and wellness for our community,” Cuff says.
This community-minded approach extends beyond the menu. Many of the DJs playing at the restaurant are friends of Williams’s, a former DJ himself. The mural you see in the dining room, as well as the photographs on the wall, and the light fixtures were all made by local artists.
With this level of community support, it’s easy to see why the neighborhood has so whole-heartedly rallied behind Bronzeville Winery. “Every part of the ambiance of Bronzeville Winery speaks to the brilliance of Bronzeville,” Cuff says. “We have the privilege of telling these beautiful stories of unsung heroes and artists from our community. We’re building a business that is also growing our community.”
Lisa Shames is a writer focused on travel and food culture in Chicago. She has covered Chicago’s restaurant scene for publications including CS, Chicago Tribune, and Time Out and is the U.S. contributor for Sogoodmag.
