Celebrating the Black People Magic of a Chicago business leader who now has her own street... the 5200 block of South Lake Park Avenue is now known as Yolanda Travis Mack Way.
According to Block Club Chicago, the late trailblazing Black Chicago entrepreneur, Air Force veteran, and longtime McDonald’s owner-operator received the honor on Wednesday morning as friends, family members, representatives of the Black McDonald’s Operators Association, and 4th Ward Alderman Lamont Robinson gathered for the unveiling near one of the restaurants she once owned.
Travis Mack became well-known for carrying forward the legacy of Petty’s McDonald’s, the history-making franchise opened in 1968 by Herman Petty, becoming Chicago’s first Black-owned McDonald’s. The street renaming recognizes how she took over ownership of that historic McDonald’s, turning it into a community gathering place that left a lasting mark on Hyde Park, Kenwood, and beyond.
Before becoming a franchisee, Travis Mack served in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard. She later became known for her business leadership and the way she brought the people together with special events in the neighborhood.
This street naming was a full circle moment. Back in 2022, she helped lead the effort to rename a stretch of Marquette Road for Herman Petty, the chain’s first Black franchise owner. Now, a few years after her unexpected death in 2023, the city has honored her legacy in return.
Her husband of more than 30 years, Darryl Mack, called the tribute that honors his late wife's commitment to the community, deeply meaningful, saying “They don’t do this for everybody... she used to tell me the things she wanted to do [for the] community. We had fashion shows here. We had jazz on the patios here. We had the UniverSoul Circus members come down here on their stilts and stuff, just bringing these things to the community … she was outstanding.”
Remember to celebrate your magic, too! xoxo