Three of the best-known storefronts on the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue are getting new tenants within the same few months. All three tenants are national or international brands. Over the same stretch of 2026, most of the new independent restaurants and cafes in Wicker Park and Bucktown opened somewhere else: on Western Avenue, North Avenue, Division Street and the north end of Damen. Even Double Door, the music venue linked to Milwaukee Avenue more than any other business, now hosts shows on a side street in Bucktown.
The six corners has become the place where brands open a store to be seen. Much of the neighborhood's newer independent business has spread out to the streets around it.
Three Addresses, Three New Brands
Each of these spaces has a history that longtime residents will remember.
| Address | What was there | What's coming | Timing as last reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1588 N. Milwaukee Ave. | Starbucks, remodeled as a Reserve store in 2017 | Blank Street Coffee | No opening date announced as of Oct. 1 |
| 1563 N. Milwaukee Ave. | Burton, and American Apparel before that | Blundstone | "This fall," no specific date |
| 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave. | Double Door for nearly 25 years, then Yeti | Alo Yoga | Late Q4 2026 |
The former Starbucks overlooks the North/Damen/Milwaukee intersection and has sat empty for about a year. Starbucks put it on its list of about 20 Chicago closures in September 2025. Block Club Chicago reported on Oct. 1 that Blank Street Coffee is preparing to open there. The company started in Brooklyn in 2020, now runs dozens of locations on the East Coast and in the United Kingdom, and is known for matcha and latte drinks. The company had not announced a timeline when that report ran.
Next is Blundstone, the Tasmanian boot company known for its Chelsea boot. It plans to open at 1563 N. Milwaukee this fall. The company opened its first standalone U.S. store in Los Angeles last year and has been adding locations since.
The address most people will watch is 1572 N. Milwaukee. Double Door operated there for almost 25 years and hosted the Smashing Pumpkins and, in 1997, a surprise Rolling Stones show. The venue closed in 2017 after a long legal fight with its landlord. Yeti moved in next, closed quietly in summer 2025 after six years, and the space has been vacant since. An Alo Yoga spokesperson told Block Club in July that the store "is planned to open in late Q4 2026." It will be Alo's second Chicago store, after 717 N. Michigan Ave. on the Mag Mile.
None of these three stores had opened as of the latest reporting, and announced opening windows often move.
Why Brands Pick the Corner
The Blundstone address shows what draws them. Dr. Martens is right next door, and John Fluevog and Thursday Boot Company are nearby. Over time this block has become a boot row, and shoppers who come for one brand walk past the others. Blank Street's corner has the same advantage on a larger scale, since every pedestrian crossing the six corners passes it.
The pattern goes back years. Block Club's recent reporting lists Barnes & Noble's 2024 arrival and the Yeti store in the old Double Door space among the national retailers drawn to a neighborhood "famous for its legacy of artistic and cultural institutions." The reputation for independent culture is part of what attracts the national brands.
Independent shops are still on the block. Mindy's Bakery is at 1623 N. Milwaukee Ave. Mojo Spa, on Milwaukee Avenue, has been open in its current form since 2003. Some long-running independents have closed. Saint Alfred, the streetwear shop on Milwaukee Avenue, announced it would close at the end of April after nearly 22 years.
The Bagel Shop That Restarted the Debate
The new Milwaukee Avenue tenants are arriving at a time when the neighborhood has already spent the year arguing about chains. On May 19, Call Your Mother opened its first Chicago location at 1615 N. Damen Ave., in the former Dimo's space. Andrew Dana and Daniela Moreira founded the bagel shop in Washington, D.C., in 2018, and an asset management firm called Invus took a majority stake last year. Australian taco chain Guzman y Gomez had opened on Damen in December, and in May it closed all of its U.S. locations.
Block Club's June story collected views from several local business owners, and they didn't all agree. Bill Jacobs, who owns Piece Pizzeria and Brobagel, asked neighbors to support locally owned businesses, saying they are "the fabric of Wicker Park and Bucktown." Antique Taco co-owner Ashley Ortiz said smaller, independently owned places are "what makes Wicker Park cool," and that this is part of why other businesses want to locate there. Mojo Spa's Amanda Kezios pointed to how long independents stay in the neighborhood and how much variety they bring.
Mindy Segal argued for a wider view:
"In my opinion, no one should tell you how to spend your money. But know, that you are doing good in some sort of way, no matter where you go."
Segal also said that any purchase helps pay an employee's salary and insurance. Dana said he and Moreira still run day-to-day operations, and that the business is "still us."
The debate got the most attention. The year's opening list shows where the independent restaurants actually went.
Where the Independent Openings Landed
Most of this year's independent openings are within a short walk of the six corners but not on the Milwaukee Avenue retail strip:
- Craft & Carvery, 2101 W. North Ave. opened July 1 with all-day cafe service, pizza, brunch and rotisserie-meat sandwiches. Owner Richard Vallejo said his goal was "more affordable, more neighborhood, a little more friendly."
- Ann Sather, 1819 W. Division St. soft-opened in late July in a former Yolk location, serving breakfast and lunch.
- Jomon Sushi and Izakaya, 1858 N. Western Ave. opened in July in the former Wave Sushi and Sake space.
- Bucktown Pizza, 1912 N. Western Ave. opened in July as a counter-service thin-crust shop. Owner Joe Smith was seeking a liquor license at the time of Block Club's report.
- Cafe Gimme, 2115 N. Damen Ave. opened in late July with smoothies, coffee, breakfast, lunch, cocktails and wine. Co-owner Courtney Gryzik said they hoped it would be "the morning spot."
- Chez Poulet, 2234 N. Western Ave. comes from the owners of Le Bouchon and Obélix and serves whole or half rotisserie chickens with sides.
Chez Poulet's bread comes from Mindy Segal, which connects one of the longest-running independents on Milwaukee Avenue to one of the newest restaurants on Western. On North Avenue, Vajra at 2039 W. North Ave. resumed weekend dine-in service after a period of takeout only.
Bucktown also has a larger opening coming. The team behind Monteverde is planning Trattoria Lo So, a 120-seat Italian restaurant with a robata-style grill, at 2044 W. Armitage Ave. in the former Jack and Ginger's. The target is early 2027.
Double Door is the clearest example of the shift. In February, its owners dropped their long-running plan to reopen in Uptown's old Wilson Theater and partnered with Gallery Cabaret at 2020 N. Oakley Ave. in Bucktown. The plan called for a March 1 soft opening, weekly open mic and big-band nights, and a wider mix of music. Because the venue didn't have a public place of amusement license, it planned to ask for suggested donations instead of selling tickets. That reporting is from winter, so check Gallery Cabaret's current schedule before you go. The name that filled 1572 N. Milwaukee for a quarter century now lives on Oakley. Its old storefront will become a yoga apparel shop.
October on the Corridor
The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce has scheduled three events this month that take people past both the new chain tenants and the independents:
- Thrift Riot, Saturday, Oct. 17, 1 to 5 p.m. The event is free and runs a shopping shuttle with stops along Division, Damen and Milwaukee. Details are on the Chamber's event page.
- Meet Me on Milwaukee, Sunday, Oct. 25. This is the last edition of the season, on Milwaukee between North/Damen and Ashland, with pumpkin decorating, trick-or-treating, sidewalk sales and a food drive. The Chamber's listing gives the end time as 6 p.m. in one place and 4 p.m. in another, so confirm before planning your afternoon around it.
- WPB Trick-or-Treat, Saturday, Oct. 31, 3 to 6 p.m. Participating businesses are marked on a digital map.
Crossing the six corners will work the same way through the end of the year. Ald. Daniel La Spata has described a proposed fourth signal phase that would give pedestrians 20 seconds to cross every leg of the intersection at once. In July, CDOT said it won't be installed in 2026 because accessible pedestrian signals have to go in first.
When a well-known storefront changes hands, the new lease shows what kind of tenant that address now attracts and what the space is worth to them. If you own a building or a home near the six corners and want to talk through what this fall's Milwaukee Avenue leases suggest about your block, Chaz Walters has followed this corridor through several rounds of tenants. Let's Connect.
