Golden Tuzo owner David Martinez, who received a $30,000 grant to help open a brick-and-mortar location, stands behind the counter. (Photo by Igor Studenkov/for Chronicle Media)

Two years ago, Hermosa Belmont-Cragin Chamber of Commerce founder Melissa Quintana had no idea what a chamber of commerce was.

She simply knew that other Chicago communities had events, beautiful street art and vibrant business districts. Belmont-Cragin, the Northwest Side community where she lived most of her life, deserved no less. So, she did some research and realized that much of what she saw came from strong neighborhood chambers of commerce.

The chamber was formally incorporated last spring, and it recently marked its one-year anniversary. Quintana said that they are still trying to raise money for some major initiatives, such as beautification and street art, but they have been organizing events and helping businesses get more customers and connect to resources. As she sees it, the chamber has two major priorities — to increase the foot traffic to commercial corridors that often get overlooked and making sure that any local entrepreneurs have the help they need to get their businesses up and running.

Belmont-Cragin and Hermosa are both working-class communities that are currently majority Hispanic, The former also has a sizable Polish-American population. Quintana believes that the two communities often get overlooked because, while they don’t face the same level of crime and economic disinvestment as Austin and Humboldt Park communities to the south, they face struggles that neighborhoods farther north and west, such as Montclare and Portage Park, don’t.

Golden Tuzo owner David Martinez with Hermosa Belmont-Cragin Chamber of Commerce president Melissa Quintana. (Photo by Igor Studenkov/for Chronicle Media)

Before she decided to launch the chamber, Quintana worked for several nonprofits. While working for the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation during the pandemic, she headed its community ambassador program — a part of a broader city effort to support 10 neighborhoods that had limited access to healthcare and other resources. She then headed the youth health outreach for Northwest Center, a Belmont Cragin-based community development organization. Both jobs required Quintana to interact with Northwest Side businesses.

“After I left my role at nonprofits, I asked myself, why is our community so under-resourced?” Quintana said. “Belmont-Cragin is the largest community in the city of Chicago (by size). Why don’t we have street festivals and farmers’ markets, like other communities have? Why don’t we have beautification? Why don’t we have banners, why don’t we have lights at Christmastime?”

Her research led her to discover what chambers of commerce in neighborhoods like Pilsen and Portage Park were able to accomplish. Quintana decided to launch a chamber that would serve the two communities because Hermosa never had one and because the one chamber in Belmont-Cragin, the Belmont Central Chamber, focused on the northwest section of the community.

“It’s lively, it’s robust, it’s vibrant, it’s a beautiful area (around the intersection of Belmont and Central avenues), and that shows you the power of the chamber,” she said.

Quintana said she talked to business owners to see if there was interest — and she was pleasantly surprised at how receptive they were.

“I didn’t need to pitch them or sell them anything,” she said. “They all knew the need was there, they all knew what was missing.”

Quintana assembled an eight-member board of directors, and she said the city made the application process to establish the chamber “quite easy.”

She said that no one involved in the chamber is paid. In fact, until recently, Quintana didn’t take on a full-time job.

“All last year, I was unemployed,” she said. “I was so grateful that I had a very supportive family. I knew every single day had to be devoted to building the chamber, because of the amount of work that required.”

Quintana said that her current job as an operations manager at a restaurant gives her enough flexibility to allow her to tend to her chamber duties.

She said that many businesses need more hands-on help with business plans and other aspects of getting the business of the ground. The chamber helps members with marketing, especially on social media, since, Quintana said, “If you don’t have social media, you get lost.” It helps members navigate the process of applying for business licenses and any permits they may need, and helps them apply for private and government grants. For example, Quintana said, the chamber helped David Martinez, got a $30,000 grant to open the Golden Tuzo café at storefront location at 5648 W. Diversey Ave.

Quintana said that the chamber members get discounts at each other’s businesses.

‘It’s kind of like Sam’s Club,” she said.

The chamber’s long-term priority is to beautify the major commercial corridors, because more attractive streets would bring more customers to the businesses that line them. The chamber is trying to secure funding to put in street art and even make basic improvements such as adding garbage cans and rehabbing sidewalks. In the meantime, they are organizing events that can bring in money while also increasing foot traffic.

Last December, the chamber organized the Abuelita Hot Chocolate Run, a 2K and 5K run where runners got cups of Nestle’s Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate. Quintana explained that many residents who come from Latin American have nostalgic memories of their grandmas making hot chocolate — and they wanted to share this cultural touchstone.

Quintana said that the chamber plans to organize three neighborhood festivals this summer — one for Hermosa, one for Belmont-Cragin and one for both — but they are still working on the details.

The chamber also holds business mixers every third Friday of the month, which is open to businesses whether they are members or not.

One concern looming over the chamber’s work is the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. Hermosa was one of the neighborhoods hit with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, and federal government tried to revoke protected status from Venezuelan refugees. Quintana said this has many residents, regardless of their legal status, on edge.

“We had small business approach us and say they have seen a decrease in foot traffic,” she said. “We’ve seen businesses that had to close early because of foot traffic.”

The chamber has organized “Know Your Rights” workshops, and it is encouraging residents to shop local.

“All we can do is convince people to shop local and invest local,” Quintana said. “We truly believe in self-sufficiency. Our small businesses are eager to spend in our community and invest in our youth. And it goes full circle. The businesses thrive, they hire local, and they invest local.”

For more information about the Hermosa Belmont-Cragin Chamber of Commerce, visit https://hbcchamber.bio.link/