Are you a seed or are you soil?
That was a question local artist and teacher Haman Cross III posed to a crowd of people under tents behind the Douglass Park Cultural Center on June 29. He was rallying the group of North Lawndale residents, teens, community organizers and city leaders next to the Douglass 18 Miniature Golf Course.
The query was a nod to the opening of Sheila’s, which is Sheila McNary’s namesake concession stand offering food for park visitors and those using the putt-putt space, which was revitalized in 2021.
“Lawndale, the West Side, is good soil,” Cross said. “We are seeds. Where we find ourselves planted, we should be producing something that we can use as a community. Sheila is a good seed. She’s producing. … We will continue to experience new fruit, new things that we put in the community that grow from it.”
McNary is a North Lawndale resident involved with the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council. As a steward of the golf course, she wanted to have a concession stand that would financially support the space. The shipping container turned eatery is a place for folks to get healthy sandwiches, salads, coffee, drinks, snacks, hot dogs, hamburgers and vegan options.
“We don’t have hardly any restaurants in North Lawndale,” McNary said. “For 60 years there has been no movement at all by way of restaurants and things like that.”
A $100,000 Community Connection grant from the Mars Wrigley Foundation helped create Sheila’s @ Douglass 18. McNary said the money the concession stand generates will be used for upkeep of the stand and mini golf course. Several teens from the After School Matters nonprofit program staffed the stand on opening day. McNary envisions employing a manager and a number of West Side teens to run the concession stand. The youth will learn entrepreneurial skills, said Anne Vela-Wagner, executive director of the Mars Wrigley Foundation.
“We really want this to be so much more than just a summer job,” Vela-Wagner said. “When we invest in these Community Connections grants, we want them to be sustainable initiatives. The fact that all revenue generated will go back into the mini golf upkeep, go back into showcasing community vendors, (it drives) some economic opportunity.”
Employees of Sheila’s will also have educational programming provided by Mars Wrigley. Panel events about core business skills — such as entrepreneurship, hospitality, merchandising, branding and planning something from concept to fruition — will be conducted through Aug. 3.
“At the end of the day, it’s a fun space,” Vela-Wagner said. “We really want to invest in spaces where people can come together and just have a good time. That’s really what it’s all about.”
Lauren Lewis, program officer for Local Initiatives Support Corporation Chicago, a nonprofit focused on community development, said the concession stand and amusement places are needed in the Lawndale neighborhood.
“Sheila and her team had already done a yeoman’s job of getting the Lincoln Park Zoo to invest in the mini golf course,” Lewis said. “Mars Wrigley is doing a great job equipping our young people with merchandising skills. Mars is really a great corporation to look at, to emulate especially in the local community.”
The youths who staffed Sheila’s on opening day said it was hard to find summer jobs. The young women, ages 14 to 18, were excited to have a local job that didn’t require a long commute.
Klashae Moore, 14, said the job opportunity is a chance for her to get out of the house during the summer and engage with others in a venue where she can learn to speak up.
Alina McCline, 17, said the combination of the mini golf course and concession stand is important to the community. “We don’t have many safe places where family and kids can come together, have a good time and enjoy themselves,” she said.
McNary envisions adding another level to Sheila’s, an upper deck with seating and umbrellas that will allow people to birdwatch. She wants to add other amenities to the site, including driving ranges with nets.
The concession stand’s hours are the same as the hours for the mini golf course, which is 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 1401 S. Sacramento Drive. It will remain open annually through October.
