Why did it take a vacancy dating back to 2018, a deal that fell through and a negotiation over a different block to get a grocery store back at 1639 N. Wells St.?
The space has had no grocer since Treasure Island closed in 2018. On Aug. 31, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) announced that Whole Foods Market had signed a lease to take it over. Block Club Chicago reported that the next steps are design, permitting and construction planning. No opening date has been announced.
The grocery came back because neighborhood leaders made it a condition of a bigger redevelopment deal. The same organized civic groups also run nearly everything on Old Town's calendar from Halloween to mid-December.
A grocery store written into someone else's deal
The building at 1639 N. Wells has a backstory. In 2023, developer Fern Hill signed a letter of intent with Commissary Market. The locally owned grocer was going to move into the old Treasure Island space after closing its longtime Gold Coast store, but that plan never happened.
What changed was leverage. Fern Hill was seeking approval for its redevelopment project near North Avenue and LaSalle Drive. According to Block Club, Hopkins required the developer to find a grocery tenant for the Wells Street building as part of a compromise over that project.
Both sides said so in their statements to Block Club. "From the beginning of the redevelopment review, I was clear that restoring a full-service grocery store to this location had to be a priority," Hopkins said. Ray Clark, president of the Old Town Triangle Association, said residents had "consistently emphasized the importance of returning a full-service grocery store to this location."
The Old Town store is part of a wider Whole Foods push on the North Side. Block Club notes the chain also plans stores at 827 W. Belmont Ave. in Lakeview and at the former CVS at 1200 N. Ashland Ave. in Wicker Park. Hopkins' office says details on the Old Town store, including an opening date, will come as plans are finalized.
So the store has been secured but not scheduled. In the meantime, the stretch of Wells around it is filling in with smaller businesses.
What's already open within a few blocks of 1639
The fall openings near the future grocery store are a mix of open, opening and still waiting. Listed from south to north along the corridor:
- Rest + Recreation, 1359 N. Wells St. This coffee-and-cocktail bar also plans to serve wine and nonalcoholic drinks. Its website still says "coming soon." In February, What Now Chicago reported that the space was under construction with a late spring or early summer target, and that window has now passed.
- Burton Place Plaza, 1447 N. Wells St. This isn't a business, but it's the address that matters most on the holiday calendar below.
- Ela Modern Greek Taverna, 1551 N. Wells St. Its website now takes online orders and mentions dine-in seating and a small terrace.
- 1639 N. Wells St. The future Whole Foods.
Ela sits roughly between the plaza and the grocery store, and it's the opening most likely to show up in your weeknight routine. WTTW's fall restaurant roundup listed a Sept. 26 opening target. According to What Now Chicago's opening announcement, founder Shaina Hurley built the restaurant with Executive Chef and Partner Daniel Garabajiu. He grew up in his family's taverna in Lefkada, Greece, cooked at Principote in Mykonos, and worked at Nisos, Andros Taverna and Athena in Chicago. The same report says the restaurant has about 70 indoor and 50 outdoor seats and a partnership with Anastasia Ganias Gellin of Fancy Peasant on select products.
The menu is designed for quick meals. It includes pork gyro and chicken pitas and bowls, Greek lemon chicken, Greek fries cooked in beef tallow, Greek yogurt frozen desserts and Greek coffee drinks. Investor Aristotle Loumis described the idea to What Now as filling "an opportunity between traditional fast Greek food and special-occasion dining." Posted hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
One block off Wells, Chiang Mai Night Bazaar has opened at 215 W. North Ave. It comes from the team behind Tuk Tuk Isan Thai and focuses on northern Thai cooking. The Infatuation flagged it on Oct. 6 and pointed to khao soi gai, sai oua and nam prik ong on the menu, with a spice scale that tops out at "lanna hot." The restaurant's site takes reservations and lists lunch and dinner service seven days a week. Weekday lunch runs 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday run straight through from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Put together, the private openings so far are a quick-service Greek spot, a Thai dining room and a café that is still on its way. None of them replaces a full-service grocery store. The groups that pushed for that store are the ones that fill the rest of the season.
Two associations, two calendars, one fall
Old Town has two neighborhood organizations that each publish their own events. The Old Town Triangle Association, whose president spoke up for the grocery, runs one calendar. The Old Town Merchants & Residents Association runs the other. This year they hold back-to-back Halloween dates.
The OTTA calendar lists a Halloween Party and Parade on Friday, Oct. 30. The OTMRA calendar lists Halloween in Old Town on Saturday, Oct. 31. As of this week, neither listing gives hours, a route or a meeting spot. Check both pages before heading out Halloween weekend. OTMRA's 2025 Halloween schedule was a different event with different details.
After Halloween, the two groups take turns through November and into December. Second City fills in the evenings between them.
| Date | Event | Host | Details posted so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Halloween Party and Parade | Old Town Triangle Association | Date only |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Halloween in Old Town | Old Town Merchants & Residents Association | Date only |
| Nov. 14–15 | Arts & Crafts Pop Up | Old Town Triangle Association | Dates only |
| Tue., Nov. 17 | Holiday Tree Lighting | Old Town Merchants & Residents Association | 5:30–6:30 p.m., Burton Place Plaza, 1447 N. Wells St. |
| Nov. 18–20 | Planes, Trains and ?? | The Second City | Nov. 18 and 19 at 7 p.m., Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. |
| Nov. 25–28 | Not Today, Santa | The Second City | Nov. 25 and 27 at 8 p.m., Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 27–28 | Rudolph Runs Wild | The Second City | Nov. 27 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | Old Town Merchants & Residents Association | Date only |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Winter Celebration | Old Town Triangle Association | Date only |
Two details in that table make planning easier. Of the association events, the tree lighting is the only one with a confirmed time and place. It is an hour long on a Tuesday evening at Burton Place Plaza, about a block south of Ela. Thanksgiving weekend is also packed. On Saturday, Nov. 28, Second City's family show Rudolph Runs Wild plays at 11 a.m., Not Today, Santa plays at 3:30 p.m., and Small Business Saturday runs the same day. With kids, you could do a morning show, lunch on Wells and an afternoon of shopping without leaving the neighborhood.
The same blocks, through December
The OTTA's own Oktoberfest on North Park Avenue on Sept. 26 already closed out the warm-weather part of the calendar. What's left this year happens on and around Wells. The store at 1639 is still in design and permitting, Rest + Recreation's site at 1359 still says "coming soon," and between them is a newly open Greek taverna and a plaza getting ready for its tree. Block Club reports that Whole Foods and the property owner are now working through design and permitting. When an opening date is announced, it will come from Hopkins' office.
A grocery store on the corner can change how a home near Wells Street fits into daily life, and it can change how that home should be presented when it's time to sell. If the 1639 N. Wells news has you wondering what your place is worth, or what a few design changes could do before next spring, Julie Latsko offers a free home valuation and design consultation built around your block and your building.
