"Sometimes things come to an end not by choice, but by circumstance," Flo Cafe & Bar wrote when it announced its closing, a post Block Club Chicago reported on October 14. The building at 1434 W. Chicago Ave. has been sold, and the last service is set for December 20.
That news landed during a busy stretch of openings across West Town. Almost every one of them is going into a room the neighborhood already knows. A Nashville hot chicken shop is taking over a corner that served ramen for years. A boot company has moved into a former snowboard store. A new Mexican restaurant is slated for the same block as Flo. This fall, West Town is mostly filling spaces it already has, and the space set to go dark in December has the longest history of all of them.
The room with the longest memory
Flo is older than most of what surrounds it. Renee and Rodney Carswell, who met at the University of New Mexico, opened it on Chicago Avenue in 1998. Leonard Sanchez and Amy Laria bought it in 2011 and have run it ever since. The menu has stayed close to its Southwestern roots, with sopapillas, weekend brunch, and dishes built on Hatch chiles shipped straight from New Mexico. Eater has named it one of Chicago's iconic brunch restaurants, and it was featured on WTTW's "Check Please!"
The owners haven't said whether Flo will reopen somewhere else. Their post ended on a hopeful note: "we'll see you again soon!" Starting with the weekend of October 24, nine brunch weekends are left, and the last one ends December 20. If Hatch chile breakfasts are part of your routine, that is the date to work back from.
The same block, a different kitchen
A few doors east, at 1424 W. Chicago Ave., Compa is slated to open. Eater Chicago's fall preview gave it an early-October target. It comes from Six Point Hospitality, the group behind Cobblestone Cafe & Bistro, along with restaurateur Markus Chwajol, who used to own Bohemian House. Chef Horacio Fonseca runs the kitchen, and Adrian Gaytan runs the bar.
Compa will serve regional Mexican cooking that mixes family recipes with modern technique. Eater lists chile en nogada with lobster, whole grilled octopus with chorizo crisps, al pastor branzino, and lamb mole with hand-pressed tortillas. The cocktails lean on agave, and the wine list draws on Mexico and Latin America. The name is Mexican slang for "close friend," a nod to Gaytan and Fonseca, who met while working at DMK Restaurant Group.
For the 1400 block, this means the block keeps a kitchen rooted in Southwestern and Mexican flavors. The style shifts from an all-day brunch spot to a dinner room built around shared plates. Before you plan a visit, check whether Compa has opened.
A familiar corner on Damen gets a new tenant
The same handoff is happening farther north. Urbanbelly closed its Wicker Park location this spring and moved back to Fulton Market, at 950 W. Fulton St., a move Block Club covered in April. Its own site now lists the Fulton Market location as open.
Hattie B's Hot Chicken is moving into that corner storefront at 1542 N. Damen Ave. It will be the Nashville brand's second restaurant in Chicago, and Block Club reported a planned opening date of Wednesday, October 28.
You can try it before the doors open. From October 16 through October 31, Hattie B's and Paulie Gee's Wicker Park are selling a limited-run hot chicken pizza, and part of the proceeds go to No Kid Hungry. A newcomer teaming up with a pizzeria already on the block is a friendly way to arrive.
Milwaukee Avenue trades snowboards for Chelsea boots
Retail is changing hands too. Blundstone, the boot brand known for its Chelsea boots, announced a Chicago store at 1563 N. Milwaukee Ave. in the former Burton storefront, Block Club reported in September. The brand's Chicago store page now gives that address and hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
Like the Damen corner, this storefront goes from one outdoor-gear brand to another. Burton sold gear for the slopes. Blundstone sells the boots people wear for slushy Chicago sidewalks, and it arrived just ahead of the season when you need them.
Where the map simply got fuller
Two late-summer openings didn't replace anyone in the reporting. They just added to blocks that were already busy.
Home Bar, a martini bar from Aged & Infused cofounders John and Jess Feller, opened August 15 at 2024 W. Fulton St., according to Eater Chicago's September openings roundup. On September 2, Buona's Beef Stand opened a walk-up window at 1750 W. Division St., right next to Original Rainbow Cone. Now a beef sandwich and a cone of ice cream are a few steps apart on Division.
Both fit the same pattern as the rest of the season. They come from operators with a track record elsewhere in Chicago or beyond, and they chose West Town addresses that people already walk past.
| Address | What was there | What's there now |
|---|---|---|
| 1434 W. Chicago Ave. | Flo Cafe & Bar, since 1998 | Flo until Dec. 20, after the building's sale |
| 1424 W. Chicago Ave. | Not reported | Compa, slated for fall |
| 1542 N. Damen Ave. | Urbanbelly, which moved to Fulton Market this spring | Hattie B's Hot Chicken, planned for Oct. 28 |
| 1563 N. Milwaukee Ave. | Burton | Blundstone, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily |
| 1750 W. Division St. | Not reported | Buona's Beef Stand window, since Sept. 2 |
| 2024 W. Fulton St. | Not reported | Home Bar, since Aug. 15 |
The calendar between now and Flo's last brunch
These openings line up with a full stretch of neighborhood events. Here is how the next two months look from late October.
- Sunday, October 25. The Wicker Park & Bucktown Chamber's Meet Me On Milwaukee takes over Milwaukee Avenue from the North and Damen intersection to Ashland, with pumpkin decorating and trick-or-treating. The chamber lists two different end times, so check before you go. That stretch runs right past the new Blundstone storefront.
- Wednesday, October 28. Hattie B's planned opening day at 1542 N. Damen Ave.
- Thursday, October 29. Pumpkin Carving & Painting runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Midwest Coast Brewing, 2137 W. Walnut St., hosted by West Town Social Club and Art Is Endless, according to Block Club's Halloween guide.
- Saturday, October 31. Halloween fills the day. WPB Trick-or-Treat runs along the Wicker Park and Bucktown business corridors from 3 to 6 p.m. West Town Social Club's Halloween Crawl runs up Damen from Chicago Avenue to Division Street from 4 to 9 p.m. At 9 p.m., Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave., hosts a Daft Disko Halloween night. It's also the last day for the Hattie B's and Paulie Gee's pizza.
- Friday, November 6. WPB First Fridays is a free, self-guided art walk through Wicker Park and Bucktown galleries from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, December 5. The chamber's Winter Wonderland & Tree Lighting is on its calendar.
- Sunday, December 20. Flo's last day of service at 1434 W. Chicago Ave.
If you walk these blocks often, the shift is easy to see. The Damen corner has a new sign, and so does the Milwaukee storefront. On Chicago Avenue, one restaurant is slated to open while, a few doors away, a 1998 original serves its final weekends.
I keep a running list of what's opening, closing, and changing hands on West Town's corridors. I'm always happy to share it, whether you want a new dinner spot for the week of the 28th or want to know what a block looks like before you commit to living on it. When you're ready, you can schedule your concierge consultation with Colby Price.
