As the excitement grows surrounding the opening of Google's new offices in the Fulton Market District, we're reminded that many offices chose to set up shop in the West Loop long before it was a burgeoning tech scene. We went on a search for five awesome offices already in the neighborhood, and it turns out Google is in for some impressive new neighbors. 
Who they are: dough, Inc. includes the tastytrade network, the fastest growing online financial network producing 8 or more hours of original, live programming every weekday, and dough, the first mobile and online fintech content aggregator that makes trading and investing visual. Their products are built for everyone from beginners to active investors, with a mission to increase financial literacy.
Why they love the West Loop: “We affectionately refer to our offices as the ‘tastytrade petting zoo,’” said Tom Sosnoff, founder and co-CEO of dough, Inc. “We encourage our viewers and members to enjoy our open door policy to stop by and meet everyone. But not to overfeed the employees. Our friendly West Loop location is very conducive to this environment.”
Office square footage: 10,000 square feet
Best place for lunch and/or happy hour: “I love the crawfish patties with red pepper sauce, plain grits and hashbrowns at Wishbone, and the hand crafted ice cubes at Maudes,” Sosnoff said.
Who they are: ThreadMeUp is an innovative technology company whose industry changing platform powers all facets of bringing merchandise to life, from supply chain to production, logistics, and everything in between. ThreadMeUp empowers entrepreneurs, influencers, creatives, and organizations all over the world to create and sell custom merchandise.
Why they love the West Loop: "The community is growing and the culture is vibrant,” said Ramzey Nassar, founder and CEO of ThreadMeUp. “Our team loves the rustic vibe and space we have. We are excited to be a part of growing and shaping the West Loop and Fulton Market movement."
Office Square footage: 3,000 sqaure feet
Best place for lunch and/or happy hour: "So many great places to eat and hang in West Loop!” said Nassar. “The area is getting even better with Google moving in, but we like Butterfly Sushi for lunch and Aberdeen Tap after work."
Who they are: BucketFeet takes an open platform approach to e-commerce, where anyone can submit a design for their shoe ware. They currently work with over 20,000 artists from 100 countries, making each and every shoe design unique for shoppers. Their network of artists include painters, graphic designers, graffiti writers, street artists, and photographers. Everyone is welcome to join in their mission to connect people through art.
Why they love the West Loop: "Part of the reason we love the area is how dynamic it is — there are always exciting things happening with new places to eat, drink, and see,” said cofounder and CEO Raaja Nemani. “From unique creative agencies to new street art popping up, there's always something new to check out and explore. It's an area filled largely with creative people, and that's hugely inspiring for us."
Office Square footage: 4,800 square feet
Best place for lunch and/or happy hour: “So many drink options, but we like Bar Takito for summer after work drinks,” Nemani said. “Soho House and Parlor Pizza too! For lunch, the whole BucketFeet office is very partial to Cemitas Puebla, The Garage, and JP Graziano's.”
Who they are: ReviewTrackers is a business-to-business software provider that arms enterprises with a review monitoring and reputation management solution. Their software is a one-stop-shop for any business looking to better manage, aggregate, and analyze any review on the web.
Why they love the West Loop: "We love the West Loop,” said ReviewTrackers COO Kevin Kent. “It allows us to be central to our customers, and convenient for our rapidly growing company to bring in the brightest minds from around the city. There is a different sense of work ethic in the Fulton Market District, you can really feel it when you're here. It's a distilled version of the real Chicago. For the first few years of operation we struggled to find a great office, but the West Loop's historic buildings and corner markets stocking provisions straight from the source really made the choice easy. We're growing right along with it, and are proud to be a staple in the neighborhood for years to come."
Office Square footage: Roughly 4,000 square feet
Best place for lunch and/or happy hour: "We love Bar Takito's, but we're open to switching things up,” Kent said. “We hold networking happy hours pretty often, so we like to hop around the neighborhood. Our next event is this Friday — we'd love to see you there!"
Who they are: Civis Analytics builds cloud-based products to help organizations do data science better and easier. They create technologies that empower organizations to unlock the truth hiding in their own data — transforming them into smart organizations that are ready to thrive. Through research, experimentation, and iteration, they’re transforming how organizations do analytics.
Why they love the West Loop: "We're big believers in collaboration across teams,” said Lisa Rodriguez, VP of Operations. “Our office, similar to other spaces in the West Loop, is an open environment making it easy for all teams to easily work together. Outside of the office, being in the West Loop neighborhood is great as many employees enjoy going out to lunch or grabbing drinks after work and there are so many restaurants to choose from."
Office Square footage: 12,800 square feet
Best place for lunch and/or happy hour: “French Market, Publican Quality Meats, Cemitas Puebla for lunch; Lonewolf, Au Cheval, Grange Hall for after work drinks — or pretty much anywhere on Randolph — there is so much too choose from!”
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