{"id":2123362,"date":"2025-10-29T20:22:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2123362"},"modified":"2025-10-29T20:22:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T20:22:08","slug":"with-food-entertainment-and-so-much-more-west-side-couple-invests-in-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/with-food-entertainment-and-so-much-more-west-side-couple-invests-in-community\/","title":{"rendered":"With food, entertainment and so much more, West Side couple invests in community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Margaret and William Mojica (Provided)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Margaret and William Mojica are infusing Chicago\u2019s West Side with vision and creativity through their company, Kingdom Business Builders, the parent company of several ventures including the Artist Room Caf\u00e9 (ARC).<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve always been into arts and entertainment.\u201d Margaret said of why they opened ARC, located at 5125 W. Madison St. \u201cIt was supposed to be about the arts with open mic and live music and stuff like that. The cafe part just kind of slipped in and never left. We have a breakfast and lunch menu and have entertainment on special nights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their Picture Perfect Hair Studio, a salon that blends beauty, style and wellness, opened about six years ago, before the ARC.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n<aside id=\"newspack-ads-widget-2\" class=\"widget_newspack-ads-widget clearfix\"\/><\/aside>\n<p>Splitting the responsibilities between the salon and the ARC, William runs the cafe while Margaret runs the hair salon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI learned the basics on how to cook from my mother,\u201d William said. \u201cI served 18 years in the army and ran an EOD [explosive ordinance disposal] team who were from all over the country. Whenever we had downtime, I figured out a way to satisfy their hunger.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"newspack-popup-container newspack-popup hidden  newspack-inline-popup     newspack-newsletter-prompt-inline \" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#000\" id=\"id_66045\" data-segments=\"\" data-frequency=\"0,1,0,day\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"215\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AWN_Email_Popup.png?resize=780%2C215&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AWN_Email_Popup.png?w=907&amp;ssl=1 907w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AWN_Email_Popup.png?resize=300%2C83&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AWN_Email_Popup.png?resize=768%2C212&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AWN_Email_Popup.png?resize=400%2C110&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AWN_Email_Popup.png?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Never miss a headline! <\/h3>\n<p>Sign up for our free newsletter to get local news sent straight to your inbox. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-mailchimp\" data-blog-id=\"188574339\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tProcessing\u2026\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tSuccess! You&#8217;re on the list.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhoops! There was an error and we couldn&#8217;t process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>William describes his dishes as home cooked. The ARC\u2019s breakfast menu includes sausages, eggs, potatoes, pancakes, French toast. Their lunch menu includes their popular Caribbean chicken sandwich.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s chicken breast seasoned the way I grew up eating it,\u201d William said. \u201cIt\u2019s pan seared and I put it on a craft bagel with lettuce and tomatoes, mayonnaise and two types of cheese. It\u2019s delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of Puerto Rican heritage, William\u2019s Caribbean steak sandwich is also on the lunch menu.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n<aside id=\"newspack-ads-widget-3\" class=\"widget_newspack-ads-widget clearfix\"\/><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a thinly sliced ribeye slow cooked in stewed onions,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s super tender and served on French bread with lettuce and tomatoes. We also have basic lunch items like cheese burgers, chicken and steak tacos and deli sandwiches. Most of our menu items are made from scratch and each meal is cooked fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"895\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery.jpg?resize=780%2C895&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-75958\" style=\"width:532px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=892%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 892w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=261%2C300&amp;ssl=1 261w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C881&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=1338%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1338w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=1784%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1784w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C1377&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C2295&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C895&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C459&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-scaled.jpg?w=1560&amp;ssl=1 1560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot_20250202_105256_Gallery-892x1024.jpg?w=370&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Caribean sandwich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>On the entertainment side, it\u2019s usually the poets and other performers who reach out to the Mojicas, asking to hold open mics and other events at the Artist Room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes I\u2019ll reach out to certain people I know and be like \u2018hey we want you to come and do this event for us,\u2019\u201d Margaret said. \u201cA few people locally have blessed the Artist Room Cafe with their presence. Cover bands that play all over Chicago have been here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Former Deathrow artist\/actor, Danny Boy is one of the biggest entertainers associated with the ARC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe homed us so he\u2019s the biggest one and just other local people,\u201d Margaret said.<\/p>\n<p>In spite of the challenges and disinvestment on the West Side, the couple continues to operate their businesses at those locations because it\u2019s where they grew up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have this thing where I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019m going to be the one that\u2019s going to make the West Side great and my community great,\u2019\u201d Margaret said. \u201cTo be honest it\u2019s hard staying on the West Side. We definitely want to grow. It\u2019s not that we want to leave the West Side but I feel like what we have is bigger than where we are, and we need a space to house what we want to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The couple would like to expand the ARC\u2019s menu items along with the entertainment. There\u2019s also the challenge of some people not wanting to come to that area which the couple said affects business.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Mojicas have run their businesses on that corner of Madison for 12 years.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to their for-profit ventures, they give back to the community in a big way.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor 12 years on the Sunday before Thanksgiving we open our doors and feed [more than 200] people who walk in,\u201d William said. \u201cWe feed them out of our own pockets. Just like what we eat at home, they get turkey, ham, fried chicken, Puerto Rican rice, greens and dressing. Everything you can imagine for Thanksgiving at home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also, the Mojicas also hold a back-to-school event where they give away school supplies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore COVID we shut down the block on Leamington and Madison and held a block party where we had seniors at Columbia College design clothes,\u201d William said. \u201cWe had actresses and models model the clothes in the middle of the street as we gave away food and school supplies. This year is number 12 for us so we\u2019re not going anywhere anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To help their businesses along, the Mojicas are trying to apply for small business grants and set up a meeting with Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward) to discuss a few things. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Mojicas plan to do more promotion to get the word out about their businesses. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRealistically, our daily customers come from outside the neighborhood by accident,\u201d William said. \u201cPeople are getting off the expressway and they Google coffee and we come up so that\u2019s how we\u2019re getting a lot of our customers. We get more outside customers than we do local customers at times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the cafe, the Mojicas also run a catering business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur catering is fully customizable,\u201d William explained. \u201cWe can create any menu you can think of. I\u2019ve catered for Chicago Bulls College Prep High School. They had a Caribbean style lunch with Puerto Rican rice, Caribbean steak and chicken, fried plantains and salad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Soul food catering is also available with the usual items like fried chicken, baked or fried catfish, baked macaroni and cheese, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve also catered for different nonprofits with multiple different trays of sandwiches,\u201d William said. \u201cIt just depends on what kind of menu you want. We can create it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beyond their brick-and-mortar businesses, the Mojicas are the driving force behind Mojica Media House, producing independent films, stage plays and other multimedia projects. The couple is currently filming a proof of concept for a vampire television series, \u201cShadows, Chicago\u2019s Underworld.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their mission, they said, is to create spaces and stories that inspire, uplift and connect communities.<\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<section id=\"media_image-3\" class=\"below-content widget widget_media_image\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/linkprotect.cudasvc.com\/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fgrowingcommunitymedia.app.neoncrm.com%2fcampaign.jsp%3fcampaign%3d3%26&amp;c=E,1,3MRT7Aymxv57HQeUB_dShPPVdR6xJW2RoTghauJDMSLxHuleyO6mp9wvUa9BWvwfUHvoTkzUKBH9WaumhD-o-36T8BzOQD6IsyNHd_TeXR3Qy2cNMq8aCg,,&amp;typo=1\"><img width=\"300\" height=\"62\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/GCM_975X250_donate_footer_0121-1.jpg?fit=300%2C62&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"image wp-image-19955  attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/GCM_975X250_donate_footer_0121-1.jpg?w=975&amp;ssl=1 975w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/GCM_975X250_donate_footer_0121-1.jpg?resize=300%2C62&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/GCM_975X250_donate_footer_0121-1.jpg?resize=768%2C158&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/GCM_975X250_donate_footer_0121-1.jpg?fit=300%2C62&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austinweeklynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/GCM_975X250_donate_footer_0121-1.jpg?fit=300%2C62&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=400 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/><\/a><\/section><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.austinweeklynews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Margaret and William Mojica (Provided) Margaret and William Mojica are infusing Chicago\u2019s West Side with vision and creativity through their company, Kingdom Business Builders, the parent company of several ventures including the Artist Room Caf\u00e9 (ARC). \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve always been into arts and entertainment.\u201d Margaret said of why they opened ARC, located at 5125 W. Madison [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2123363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[366591,403232,22035,21741,22118,403233,403234,344255,403235,403236],"class_list":["post-2123362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-arc","tag-artist-room-cafe","tag-community","tag-entertainment","tag-food","tag-kingdom-business-builders","tag-margaret-mojica","tag-west-side","tag-west-side-magazine","tag-william-mojica"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/With-food-entertainment-and-so-much-more-West-Side-couple.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2123362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2123364,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123362\/revisions\/2123364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2123363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2123362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2123362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2123362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}