Find Outdoor Dining Options at Chicago’s Open Data Portal

The patio at Simone’s Bar in Pilsen. (Connie Ma / Flickr)The patio at Simone’s Bar in Pilsen. (Connie Ma / Flickr)

Could the city’s open data portal be your new go-to website for restaurant planning?

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Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Sunday the launch of its redesigned portal, which now includes an interactive map showing which city bars, restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses have sidewalk café permits.

There are currently more than 500 businesses with such permits in Chicago.

The mayor’s office touted the redesigned portal as a “one-stop resource for outdoor dining locations in the city” in a statement. “This is another example of our continued efforts to make data available, but also relevant to Chicagoans in unique ways,” Emanuel said in the statement.

The data portal includes more than 600 data sets in 16 categories, ranging from administration and finance to Freedom of Information Act requests to public safety and service requests.

Users can find out where TV shows and movies are being filmed around the city, which restaurants have recently been visited by health inspectors and the energy-efficiency ratings of Chicago buildings. Want find the location of public art or food carts? The portal offers that information, also.


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