Pride Month Specials and Celebrations in Chicago 🏳️‍🌈

June is a fantastic month in the Windy City for many reasons, not the least of which is all the love and community across the city as a part of Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈 Pride Month is all about the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of the LBGTQIA+ community, and many restaurants throughout Chicago (some of them LBGTQIA+ owned or operated!) are taking part by creating beautiful dishes and giving back to a variety of nonprofits. When deciding where to dine for the remainder of this month, support these spots to also give back to a community and a celebration all about love…

Goddess and Grocer {Multiple Locations}

The Goddess team rocks their rainbow pride all year long thanks to their famous, and highly-Instagram-able, Rainbow Cakes. Now, all June long, they’re donating $1 from every one of those epic Rainbow Cake slices sold to the Center on Halsted. They’re also donating $1 from every tub sold of their limited edition Ice Cream Girl Co. ice cream made with our very own Rainbow Cake to Center on Halsted too. So much good work, so much sweetness 🌈

Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park {200 North Columbus Drive, Chicago; 312.565.8000}

In partnership with the Aids Foundation, Fairmont Chicago is taking Pride Month to the next level on June 18 with their “Drag Me to the Fairmont” drag show party! From 7-10:30PM, this “Drag Me to the Fairmont” drag show will feature live thrilling performances headlined by Lady Bunny and Miz Cracker. It will be a night full of fun, joy and acceptance that you won’t want to miss 🏳️‍🌈

Gaijin {950 West Lake Street, Chicago; 312.265.1348}

Head to the West Loop for Pride Kakigori all month long at Gaijin, with a portion of proceeds donated to Howard Brown Health. Their specialty Pride Kakigori (a shaved ice dessert) is made with rainbow sherbet, birthday cake syrup, whipped cream, white chocolate crunch and topped with a rainbow sugar cookie. It’s so colorful, delicious, and picture-perfect for this month.

The EPIC Burger {Multiple Locations}

The EPIC Burger has a whole Pride Month campaign running in June to remind all of Chicago that they welcome ALL burger-lovers AND are open on Sundays (shots fired at a certain Southern chicken brand 🤣). As part of that, on Pride Sunday (June 26), 100% of proceeds from the purchase of their delicious Honey Hot Chicken Sandwich will be donated to Center on Halsted! They also have a secret Rainbow Milkshake menu item that big Pride Month supporters can order off-menu when they visit.

ROOF on theWit Chicago {201 North State Street, Chicago; 312.467.0200}

Located on the 27th floor of theWit Hotel, ROOF bar is hosting the highest 😉 high-tea in Chicago, complete with the city’s top drag performers, a special cocktail menu, and bumping DJ tunes. “parTEA on ROOF: A Drag Experience” takes place in the afternoon of Saturday, June 25, just blocks away from Pride in the Park, making it the perfect way to spend the afternoon before heading to the evening’s events. Cheers to all kinds of Chicago rooftop fun, Pride-style 🏳️‍🌈

The Dearborn {145 North Dearborn Street, Chicago; 312.384.1242}

Another LGBTQ-owned spot is The Dearborn, led by Amy Lawless, along with her sister Clodagh. The sisters and their team focus on heartfelt service, a welcoming ambiance and classically rooted food at their beautiful location in The Loop and have a specialty cocktail menu just for Pride Month. It’s the perfect spot to visit when you have friends in town and need to show them the best of Chicago!

The Graystone Tavern {3441 North Sheffield Avenue, Chicago; 773.666.5450}

Get your party on this Pride Month! The Graystone Tavern in Wrigleyville is hosting a month-long fundraiser for the nearby Center on Halsted and for $35, you can enjoy a Rainbow Shot Flight featuring six shots colored red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. A portion of proceeds from all Rainbow Shot Flights lights sold in June will be donated to Center on Halsted, the Midwest's most comprehensive community center dedicated to the health and well-being of LGBTQ Chicagoans.

Wood {3335 North Halsted Street, Chicago; 773.935.9663}

This six-time Michelin Bib Gourmand Winner is LGBTQ-owned by Franco Gianni , and he pays homage to his father, who was a woodworker for more than 50 years, in their name. The kitchen team focuses on peak season locally-grown produce, house-butchered meats from responsible Illinois purveyors, and bread from the wood-fired oven. If you’re looking for LBGTQIA+ businesses to support this month, they are the perfect Chicago choice; full of deep hometown and Pride Month love.

Hewn Bread {1733 Central Street, Evanston; 847.869.4396}

Start your day with Chicago PRIDE! Hewn Bakery will be selling rainbow croissants as a special in June and a portion of sales will go to Equality Florida. As Florida's only statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, Equality Florida is working to create real and lasting change for LGBTQ Floridians, including fighting against the "Don't Say Gay" law in that state. It’s a simple way to make a huge impact!

By Kaleigh Glaza | Market Editor