Lincoln Avenue This Fall: Goosefoot's Grand Opening and the Neighbors Behind It

"You are in our home because we live upstairs," Nina Nugent tells guests as they walk into Goosefoot at 4520 N. Lincoln Ave. Block Club Chicago reported that line from a Friday evening in late September, while her husband and co-owner, executive chef Chris Nugent, came out of the kitchen to hug regulars.

That joke is the clearest way into this year's food news on Lincoln Avenue. One fine-dining restaurant moved in above its own dining room. A bakery is growing into the space next door. A cafe owner is turning his second storefront into a new restaurant. A pizzeria kept Balkan cooking alive in a familiar Balkan spot. Nearly every change on this stretch in 2026 came from people who already had roots here.

Goosefoot traded a destination address for a neighborhood one

Goosefoot holds its grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 10. The restaurant spent 12 years at 2656 W. Lawrence Ave. and closed there in 2024. If you think you've already walked past it, you probably have. It quietly opened at the new location in March. The Nugents held off on promoting it so they could fine-tune the service and get comfortable in the space, which has an outdoor patio.

The couple has lived in Lincoln Square for 25 years. They went looking for a storefront with an apartment above it so they could live over the restaurant. At times they thought about moving to another neighborhood or another state. Nina Nugent told Block Club that Lincoln Square will always be home. Chris Nugent found the building on a late-night scroll through LoopNet. "We always wanted to be on Lincoln Avenue," he said. They bought it in the winter of 2024. It used to be an Italian restaurant, and they brought over as many pieces from the old Lawrence Avenue dining room as they could.

Nina Nugent also explained how the move changed who comes in. The old location worked more as a destination. Now many of the guests live within walking distance. Plenty still travel to get there. One couple drove in from Michigan for their ninth anniversary, and a North Park resident had already been back three times.

Longtime Lawrence Avenue regulars will notice some changes on the practical side:

• Drinks: The old Goosefoot was BYOB. The new one has wines from around the world and a selection of craft beers.
• Chef's menu: The signature menu changes with the seasons and costs $225, with a $140 wine pairing.
• A shorter option: A four-course tasting menu is $135.
• This season's courses: Foie gras truffle mousse with lingonberry gastrique, roasted duck breast with kabocha squash and burgundy truffle, Angus beef with parsnip aigre-doux, and chocolates made in-house.

The 4500 block got its bar back

Two doors up, at 4530 N. Lincoln Ave., The Getaway reopened on Thursday, Aug. 27. Block Club reported that the bar had been closed since the first week of July, after a gas stove caught fire and caused an explosion that injured at least one person.

The reopening announcement thanked "our team, neighbors, and guests" and said the bar was looking forward to "rejoining the Lincoln Square community." It also said the hours haven't changed, so if you had a regular night there before the summer, you can keep it.

So the 4500 block of Lincoln now has a tasting-menu restaurant and a neighborhood cocktail bar a few storefronts apart, and both are open going into fall.

Expanding next door instead of moving away

Del Sur, the Filipino American bakery at 4639 N. Damen Ave., chose to grow in place. Owner Justin Tiu Lerias had been eyeing the space next door since the bakery opened in 2025. Del Sur closed on Sunday, June 14, to build into it.

According to Eater Chicago's fall preview, here's what's coming in the bigger space:

1. A seating area set up like a living room.
2. A longer coffee menu, including pour-overs made with locally roasted beans and served in ceramic mugs Tiu Lerias makes by hand.
3. A separate lamination room, which means more pastries.
4. Possible new items like granola-fruit parfaits and seasonal salads.
5. Possibly one more day open each week.

Earlier this summer, coverage pointed to a late-July reopening. That didn't happen. As of today, Oct. 6, Del Sur's own site says "Reopening Autumn 2026," and Eater's September roundup lists only "Fall" as the ETA. No exact date has been announced.

At 4701 N. Lincoln Ave., a familiar owner is rebuilding his own space. Ed Duman closed Market Square there in November, after it had been open since 2023. He also owns Oromo Cafe, which has a location right next door and another in Bucktown. The new concept is called Et Chi. In March, Duman told Block Club it would be a Turkish fusion restaurant offering "fine, casual dining." He said it would center on slow-roasted meats cooked in a gas-fired, stone-domed oven. "So think ancient fire with immortal tastes," he said.

The restaurant's website gives a bit more detail. The cooking draws on the oven-roasting traditions of Central Anatolia, where meat and bread were cooked slowly together in deep stone ovens, with roots in pre-Ottoman cooking. A Tinuru dome oven sits at the center of the kitchen. WhatNow Chicago reported plans for grilled meats and stuffed vegetables. In March, Duman hoped to open "as soon as this summer." Summer has come and gone, and the site still says "Coming soon." No opening date has been posted, and no reason for the wait has been reported.

Balkan cooking stays at 5077 N. Lincoln

Farther north, a Balkan restaurant took over a Balkan space. When 016 closed, WTTW noted that Chicago lost one of its better-known Balkan restaurants. Zimi's took over 016's old storefront at 5077 N. Lincoln Ave. WTTW reported the move as coming from West Ridge. The Infatuation's Aug. 10 listing said the restaurant had spent a few years in Rogers Park. It also noted that the name changed from "Pizza And Grill" to "Restaurant." Either way, it came from just up the road on the far North Side.

The menu pairs Albanian and Balkan dishes with New York-style pizza. It includes qebapa, mixed-meat platters, and a Grandma's pizza, along with homemade bread, kajmak, and ajvar made in-house. Zimi's describes itself as family-owned. The Infatuation also lists pleskavica and burek. Lincoln Square has had a Balkan spot at that address for years, and it still does.

The storefront that's still empty on Western

Atelier's story is part of the same pattern. Owner Tim Lacey has lived in Lincoln Square for more than 20 years. He opened the restaurant at 4835 N. Western Ave. in 2023, and it earned a Michelin star that fall. In 2025, it raised $485,340 from investors and moved a few blocks south to a bigger space at 4544 N. Western with 14 more seats in the dining room. "We really wanted to stay in the neighborhood," Lacey told Block Club then. Atelier reopened at the new address in October 2025.

The last service there was May 15, 2026. Lacey said the restaurant wasn't bringing in enough business to cover its costs. He leases the storefront. When it closed, he said the space's future and his own next move were both "up in the air." We haven't found any report of a new tenant since. Wanting to stay is a big part of why so many of these owners are still here. Atelier shows that it can't cover every cost.

Where each spot stands as of Oct. 6, 2026

Del Sur and Et Chi are the two to watch over the next few weeks. Both have said they plan to open, and neither has given a date.

I've lived on the North Side for more than 25 years, and stories like the Nugents' stay with me. They chose to stay where their life already is, and they made their home work around that. If your household is facing a big change and you're weighing whether to stay close to the blocks you know, I'm glad to help you look at the options calmly and with clear numbers. Megan Sullivan is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.