Studio 8

Studio 8 Studio 8 is a creative media studio inside of The Aux. It’s operated by The Eight Effect. It’s home to original shows like 1931, Our Unseen Roots and Our Unseen Dads. Studio 8 offers a professional space for local creators to produce podcasts, video content, and storytelling projects. Studio 8 is here to amplify community voices and make space for stories that matter. The Eight Effect is a Black women-led consultancy/creative collective helping people lead with confidence, clarity, and impact. Inspired by the boldness we all had at age eight. we help underrepresented leaders tell their stories and reclaim their power. Website Services Podcast recording Story Telling Rentable Podcast time (TBD) Impact   Provides an opportunity for the community to tell their own story Supports healthy communication and increases literacy in health, wealth or just finding your voice Wellness Community Wellness Spiritual Wellness Emotional Wellness

Chicky’s Kitchen Creations

Chef Nicole has a journey and she brings those unique experiences to tables across this community. She will be operating a full service catering and Personal Chef and Cooking Instructor business right here at The Aux.

She has a daughter named Londyn, who affectionately goes by the name Chicky… now you understand the business name!!!

She has a wealth of knowledge gained in the hospitality industry and wants to bring her clients the highest quality of service and food.

She’s a proud Evanston kid that wants to give back to her community and more. Watch her work!

Sokana Collective

The Sokana Collective are a group of like-minded birth workers and educators with various skills within the life cycle. Our Doula agency is leading the change to remove barriers for birth workers and families through education and service.

The Laundry Cafe

The Laundry Cafe is where community meets necessity and laundry is reimagined. It’s a space where neighbors gather, wash clothes, sip coffee, and enjoy a relaxing vibe.

It’s clean, it’s cozy, It’s connection!

Just wash, sip, and repeat!

Aux Opportunities!

The Aux is offering a unique opportunity for those that have mastered your craft, but haven’t made room for a full business quite yet.  There is a pop up space available for those that have mastered art, jewelry, crafts, food and more can be sold at The Aux through our Pop-Up space inside our Ikun. Ikun is a Nigerian (Yoruba) word that means “belly” and the Ikun is the center here at The Aux. It is our meeting place of all things good. There are other opportunities in selected businesses throughout the building as well. Come connect! Services Impact Wellness Spiritual, emotional, social/community wellness

Sunshine Enterprises

Sunshine Enterprises’ mission is to empower local entrepreneurs in underserved areas to grow their businesses and transform their communities through the avenues of training, coaching, and connecting them to vital marketplace opportunities.

Embrace Your Crown

Owned and operated by the talented Tiff Wilson, Embrace Your Crown is more than a salon, it is a full-service beauty bar dedicated to helping you love, nurture, and show off your crown — one strand at a time.

Specializing in healthy, head-turning hair, Tiffany is here to make sure your hair care routine feels like royal treatment.

From natural styles to protective care and everything in between, Embrace Your Crown is all about confidence, community, and crown elevation.

2023 Tour

The Aux did a tour of the facility with all upcoming vendors to showcase the space and bring the excitement for its future home! Check out our community or entrepreneurs!

WBEZ Features The AUX: “Evanston business incubator seeks to open doors for Black entrepreneurs”

In 2018, cousins Jacqui White and Tosha Wilson had an idea to open a laundromat-meets-cafe business in Evanston’s historically Black fifth ward. They would name it The Laundry Cafe, TLC for short. White and Wilson envisioned TLC as a gathering place where Evanston residents could socialize and enjoy a cup of coffee, all while doing a load of laundry.

Milwaukee Business Journal Features The AUX’s Business Model

Milwaukee’s Sherman Phoenix serving as model for Illinois development. For Tosha Wilson, a visit to the Sherman Phoenix building in Milwaukee became an inspiration and a proof of concept for a similar hub of black-owned businesses she is co-developing in Evanston, Illinois…