Archer Heights, West Elsdon

Just northeast of Midway International Airport is Archer Heights, a middle-class neighborhood of bungalows, ranch houses and three-and-four-unit walk-ups. Many of its residents work at the airport or the factories and bulk transportation facilities that make up about 60 percent of the community.

Archer Heights is home to several popular Mexican and Polish restaurants, including Birrieria Zaragoza, which solely serves a Jalisco-style ‘birria’, or slow-cooked goat, that has received much recent attention among foodies. Szalas Restaurant, a Polish mainstay located on Archer Avenue, the neighborhood’s main retail and dining thoroughfare, provides a high-end dining experience with a cozy, rustic chalet-like atmosphere.

Immediately south of Archer Avenue is the neighborhood of West Elsdon. Like Archer Heights and its neighboring communities in the ‘Bungalow Belt’ (so named for the area’s ubiquitous bungalow-style residences), West Elsdon is predominantly middle-class and residential in character. Coffee shops and Mexican establishments are scattered throughout this quiet, family-oriented community.

Both Archer Heights and West Elsdon are a short ride or drive southwest of downtown, via the CTA's Orange Line or the Stevenson Expressway.

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