Lincoln Avenue Got New Places While It Was Closed

In late August, Marty O'Connor posted a video to promote Gunny's Pub, the bar he had spent more than a year getting ready to open at 2642 N. Lincoln Ave. Behind him, Lincoln Avenue sat empty. "The city of Chicago decided to give us a massive twist," he says in the clip, which Block Club Chicago described in its coverage of the closure. Then he takes a sip and throws the glass over his shoulder onto the empty street. "Just because the city shut down the road doesn't mean we can't open."

He kept to the schedule. If you stayed off the block between Wrightwood and Diversey for most of September, it has changed since you last walked it. Gunny's is one of three new places that opened on the Fullerton-to-Diversey stretch that month, while the street had no traffic and parking was mostly unavailable. These openings didn't wait for the street to reopen, so the Lincoln Avenue you return to is already a different street.

Why Lincoln Avenue was closed

The closure was part of a Chicago Department of Water Management project to replace a water main laid in 1889. According to the city, that main had broken several times and was well past the usual 80-to-100-year life of a water main. Work started in mid-May. Earlier phases finished in July, ahead of schedule.

The full closure came later. Crews found an underground electric duct where the new main was supposed to go, so the pipe had to move toward the center of Lincoln Avenue. The city called it an "emergency change." Here's how the dates played out:

1. Aug. 8: The street closure was approved.
2. Aug. 10: Lincoln closed between Wrightwood and Diversey. The 43rd Ward office sent its ward-wide newsletter the same day.
3. Late August: The Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce told customers that the closure was expected to last through Oct. 6 and that businesses on the block were open.
4. Sept. 16 to 18: Gunny's planned debut, then Lolo y Lola's opening alongside Beatnik Lincoln Park.
5. Sept. 25: The project's subcontractor, NPL, was expected to lift the road closure, about two weeks earlier than the Oct. 10 reopening Block Club had reported in August.

The stretch has more than 30 businesses. The Chamber and Block Club both reported that they learned about the closure when it took effect. The Chamber then pushed for weekly meetings with the project's resident engineer and managers, and for contractors to go door to door before work reached each storefront.

Gunny's opened into an empty street

The Chicago Sun-Times called Gunny's a Midwestern bistro with "hunter-gatherer-inspired food and cocktails," scheduled to open Sept. 16 with construction cones still lined up outside. The Gunny's website now says "Now Open" and describes a neighborhood restaurant and cocktail bar serving lunch, dinner, coffee, beer, wine and cocktails.

It's open from coffee through cocktails, which suits this block. The stretch was already a daytime street of service businesses: Chicago Chiropractic & Sports Injury Centers, Innovative Primary Care, Jim Karas Intelligent Fitness & Wellness, Lincoln Dental Lounge and Skinovatio Medical Spa all sit between Wrightwood and Diversey. Before Gunny's, people heading to those appointments had Batter & Berries for breakfast. Now they have a second all-day option a few doors away.

Two doors at the Wrightwood end

The other two openings are a pair. Lolo y Lola, at 2580 N. Lincoln Ave., was announced to open Friday, Sept. 18, alongside Beatnik Lincoln Park next door at 2576. City Cast Chicago's October roundup of new restaurants describes Lolo y Lola as a 22-seat Spanish pintxos spot for walk-ins. On its own site, the bar calls itself first-come, first-served, with no reservations needed.

The two together suit a night out. Lolo y Lola has 22 seats and no reservations, so it works as the stop before or after dinner at Beatnik, with the wait spent next door instead of on the sidewalk.

The businesses that stayed open

The new arrivals joined businesses that stayed open through all of August and September. Block Club's list of the block includes Pat's Pizza & Ristorante, the thin-crust spot, along with Juno Sushi, Delilah's, Rose's Lounge, the toy and art store Rotofugi, CityHome Vacuums & More, Second Act Cancer Recovery Boutique at 2768, a 7-Eleven, and a run of salons and spas.

A month after traffic came back, the Chamber's Lincoln Avenue Spooktacular ran on Oct. 24 from 1 to 4 p.m., with more than 40 businesses handing out treats along Lincoln from Diversey to Webster. The Chamber billed it as Halloween programming, not a reopening event. Its route ran straight through the blocks that were closed to cars in September.

What's still unfinished

The street is open. The work isn't done. When the Chamber announced the reopening, it said parking would stay mostly unavailable while NPL continued restoration and other construction. The ward's original notice described the full scope: full-width resurfacing, plus repairs to sidewalks and damaged parkways once the water main and service lines were in. After the main itself, the city's plan called for replacing lead service lines and installing new service connections for properties along the route. No completion date for the restoration has been published.

So the stretch is easiest to reach on foot, by bike or by being dropped at the door, and parking on side streets may take a while. The Chamber's Lincoln Avenue SSA usually hangs holiday baskets and light-pole decorations along the corridor. This year they may go up over new pavement or over patched concrete, depending on how far the crews have gotten.

A Fullerton-to-Diversey walk, in order

Walking north from Fullerton, here's what you'll pass. The first stop is a block off Lincoln, and it opened the same month as the other three:

According to Block Club, Piccadilly took over the 5,200-square-foot former Emilio's Tapas space. Former Vera chef Mark Mendez runs the food, and the shelves carry Chicago suppliers including Metric Coffee, Publican Quality Bread, Pretty Cool Ice Cream, Rare Tea Cellar and Middle Brow. With its courtyard and all-day hours, Piccadilly is the Fullerton end of the walk. Gunny's anchors the middle, and Pat's and Delilah's sit near Diversey.

The next big draw nearby is ZooLights. It runs at Lincoln Park Zoo from Nov. 20, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027, with more than 3 million lights, four free-admission Mondays and a sensory-friendly night. A new New Year's ReZoolutions program on Saturday, Jan. 2, combines yoga, sound meditation and early ZooLights entry, according to the zoo's ZooLights event page. Lolo y Lola takes walk-ins only, so on ZooLights nights, try it before the zoo.

Hudson Parker follows block-level changes like this one because they affect what a home nearby is worth to live in and to sell. If you own near Lincoln Avenue and want to know how the corridor's new businesses and street work fit into your building's market position, Request a Building-Specific Market Plan.