New Entertainment / Events Businesses in Chicago

69 new entertainment / events businesses were licensed in Chicago in the past year. Sourced from City of Chicago license records, updated daily.

Counts are based on first-ever Chicago business licenses. A license is not an opening date — some businesses open weeks later, and some are already operating when the license is issued.

1
New this week
3
Last 30 days
11
Last 90 days
69
Past year

In the past year, 69 new entertainment / events businesses were licensed in Chicago — 3 in the last 30 days, below the past year’s average pace. Recent licenses cluster in Near North Side, Near West Side, and West Town.

Most recent license on file: September 3, 2026. Data refreshed daily from the City of Chicago open data portal.

How to read this data

"New businesses" = accounts receiving their first-ever Chicago business license, excluding pop-up/transient permits. Counts are based on first-ever Chicago business licenses. A license is not an opening date — some businesses open weeks later, and some are already operating when the license is issued. Every count on this page comes from that same daily City of Chicago license feed.

Recently licensed

Where entertainment / events businesses are opening

Neighborhoods ranked by their share of the 115 newest entertainment / events licenses, issued since July 18, 2024.

New entertainment / events businesses by neighborhood

Every Chicago neighborhood with a dedicated page for new entertainment / events businesses. Numbers show businesses first licensed in the past year.

Reach Chicago’s newest entertainment / events businesses first.

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Common questions

How many new entertainment / events businesses are there in Chicago?

BizPulse has 115 entertainment / events businesses on file that were newly licensed in Chicago, including 69 in the past year and 3 in the last 30 days. Counts are based on first-ever Chicago business licenses. A license is not an opening date — some businesses open weeks later, and some are already operating when the license is issued.

Where are new entertainment / events businesses licensed most often in Chicago?

Among the 115 most recently licensed entertainment / events businesses BizPulse has on file, licenses cluster in Near North Side, Near West Side, West Town, Portage Park, and Logan Square.

What share of new Chicago businesses are entertainment / events?

Entertainment / Events businesses made up about 1.7% of all new business licenses issued in Chicago in the past year (69 of 4,040).

What counts as a "new" entertainment / events business?

"New businesses" = accounts receiving their first-ever Chicago business license, excluding pop-up/transient permits. Counts are based on first-ever Chicago business licenses. A license is not an opening date — some businesses open weeks later, and some are already operating when the license is issued.

How often is this data updated?

BizPulse re-ingests the City of Chicago business-license feed every day. A newly issued license is typically searchable here within a week of being licensed.