A social lunch initiative to ignite West Side pride.
This initiative started in 2015 as a monthly lunch group and grown into neighborhood events and advocacy groups. West Side South Bend (WSSB) works to highlight neighborhood businesses to community members around South Bend.
WSSB started as a monthly lunch group and now averages 45 people per monthly lunch outing. The group focuses on trying new locations when possible and works to show the diverse collection of dining options the West Side has to offer.
With its increasing popularity, WSSB decided it was time to produce festivals celebrating the reason behind their mission – in a big way. In the summer of 2016, the West Side of South Bend unexpectedly witnessed over 1,000 community members celebrating everything the neighborhood had to offer. In the following years the event has grown to over 3,000. Now we host various events from popup business events, Santa events for families, community outreach events for others to connect with the West Side and events to bring westside families downtown.
WSSB continues to expose different businesses to community members around South Bend. Lunch meetups have created an incredible environment for networking and creating new partnerships around the city. The festivals have celebrated “all that the West Side has to offer.” With the ongoing support from the City of South Bend, Western Avenue has seen impressive transformations. The streetscape and two-way lanes have invited community members to walk from one business to another, as well as a slower pace of traffic.
The grassroots organization continues to be more involved with the city, at large, and continues to assist with promoting local businesses on the West Side.
West Side Wednesday is the first Wednesday of the month from 11:30am to 1:30pm.
WSSB started as a monthly lunch group and now averages 45 people per monthly lunch outing. The group focuses on trying new locations when possible and works to show the diverse collection of dining options the West Side has to offer.
With its increasing popularity, WSSB decided it was time to produce festivals celebrating the reason behind their mission – in a big way. In the summer of 2016, the West Side of South Bend unexpectedly witnessed over 1,000 community members celebrating everything the neighborhood had to offer. In the following years the event has grown to over 3,000. Now we host various events from popup business events, Santa events for families, community outreach events for others to connect with the West Side and events to bring westside families downtown.
WSSB continues to expose different businesses to community members around South Bend. Lunch meetups have created an incredible environment for networking and creating new partnerships around the city. The festivals have celebrated “all that the West Side has to offer.” With the ongoing support from the City of South Bend, Western Avenue has seen impressive transformations. The streetscape and two-way lanes have invited community members to walk from one business to another, as well as a slower pace of traffic.
The grassroots organization continues to be more involved with the city, at large, and continues to assist with promoting local businesses on the West Side.
West Side Wednesday is the first Wednesday of the month from 11:30am to 1:30pm.
