Lincoln Park's best November plans all come with an end date, and the biggest one charges extra if you wait. The tribute dinners at the old Charlie Trotter's open tonight, Thursday, Nov. 5, and close after 14 nights. The Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool locks its gates for the season on the same Friday that ZooLights turns on. ZooLights charges up to almost three times as much for a ticket bought the day of your visit as for one bought ahead.
The month runs on deadlines, and every deadline falls in the 18 days between Nov. 5 and Nov. 22. The only plans with no closing date are the two newer places on Fullerton Parkway and Lincoln Avenue that opened this fall.
Nov. 5: The brownstone on Armitage opens for 14 nights
The tribute dinners at 816 W. Armitage Ave. run from Thursday, Nov. 5, through Sunday, Nov. 22. Block Club Chicago reported that Alinea Group chef Adair Canacasco and Dylan Trotter, the late chef's son, will host a 14-night tribute. It's a nine-course menu taken from Charlie Trotter's cookbooks and served in the same rooms where he helped change American fine dining. Chi Vibe's write-up lists Grant Achatz as a presenter alongside the two of them.
The 14 nights are spread over an 18-day stretch, so the room is dark on some dates. That leaves fewer seats than the date range suggests. On the Tock reservation page, the dining-room menu costs $295 per person for parties of two to six. The kitchen-table menu costs $315 per person for a party of four. Both require a $50-per-person deposit. Tock lists open times in 15-minute slots across the evening service, so check the page for the night you want.
The tribute is the second big event in this building in two years. Trotter closed the restaurant in 2012. In January 2025, the Alinea Group's Michelin-starred restaurant Next reopened it briefly with a tribute dinner series. Since then, the group has used the brownstone for limited runs, most recently Canacasco's Mexican tasting menu, Esmero, whose reservations ended the week before the tribute. Alinea Group CEO Jason Weingarten told Block Club that the group is looking for a permanent Chicago home for Esmero. He wouldn't commit to anything longer-term at Armitage. "We know he has greater ambitions, and it remains to be seen what comes from there," he said of Dylan Trotter.
No one has announced what happens at 816 W. Armitage after Nov. 22.
The ZooLights price ladder
Lincoln Park Zoo's ZooLights runs from Nov. 20, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. What you pay depends on when you buy, as the zoo's event page lays out.
| Ticket | Price | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Date, bought in advance | $7 to $12, depending on the date | Pick your night ahead of time |
| Fixed Date, bought the same day | $20 | Sold at the gate if any are left |
| Flexible Admission | $20 | Good for any one regular night; enter up to 8 p.m. |
| Free Mondays | $0 with registration | Nov. 23 and 30, Dec. 7 and 14; released one week ahead at 11 a.m. |
A family of four that picks a $7 night ahead of time pays $28. The same family buying at the gate pays $80. That's the same lights, the same Ferris Wheel and the same walk through the light tunnel on the Main Mall. Flexible Admission costs as much as a day-of ticket. You pay it up front so you can skip a sold-out night or a bad-weather night without losing the ticket.
The free Mondays have their own deadline. Registration for Monday, Nov. 23, opens at 11 a.m. on Nov. 16, one week ahead, under the zoo's release rule.
The schedule has gaps worth knowing. ZooLights is closed on Tuesdays, except Dec. 22 and 29. It's also closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In the first week, that means regular admission is closed on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and Thursday, Nov. 26. The zoo's press release does list a separately ticketed Sensory-Friendly Night at ZooLights on Nov. 24.
The zoo's press release lists more than 3 million LED lights running on wind power. It also lists a narrated light show on the South Lawn, Santa at the Pepper Family Wildlife Center, and the Light Lounge at Foreman Pavilion. Hospitality partner Levy runs a pop-up bar with fire pits for s'mores. The zoo says ticket sales help keep it free to the public 365 days a year.
Nov. 19 to 22: The four days when everything overlaps
The deadlines from the first two sections all land in the same four days.
- Thursday, Nov. 19. Members-only ZooLights preview, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Members and their guests get in free, with free train and carousel rides and 20% off at the Gift Shop.
- Friday, Nov. 20, daytime. Last day of the season at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool. The Lincoln Park Conservancy lists daily hours of 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. or dusk, whichever comes earlier. By late November, dusk comes first, so a weekday lunch break may be the last good chance.
- Friday, Nov. 20, evening. ZooLights opens to the public at 4:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, and Sunday, Nov. 22. The last two nights of the Trotter's tribute fall on ZooLights' first weekend.
For a household that wants all three, the order matters. The Lily Pool can't be pushed past Friday afternoon. The tribute can't be pushed past Sunday. ZooLights runs six more weeks, so it's the one that can wait. If you plan to go ZooLights' opening weekend anyway, buy the advance ticket now, at the $7-to-$12 price, before you've settled the rest of the week.
The two places with no closing date
Between the booked nights are the ordinary ones, and this fall Lincoln Park gained two places with no end date.
Piccadilly Market opened in September at 444 W. Fullerton Pkwy., in the former Emilio's Tapas space. It covers 5,200 square feet, with an all-day cafe, a bar, a wine shop, a market and a courtyard for 80 people. Owner Aaron Zacharias told Block Club Chicago he sees it as "a third space that engages the community." Because it does several things at once, it fits days on this month's calendar that aren't built around a reservation: coffee before the Lily Pool, a bottle of wine to take home after.
Gunny's Pub at 2642 N. Lincoln Ave. had a harder start. The city closed Lincoln Avenue between Wrightwood and Diversey for water-main work beginning Aug. 10, and businesses on the block told Block Club Chicago they got no notice. Gunny's planned to open on Sept. 16 anyway. Co-owner Marty O'Connor told the Chicago Sun-Times, "The road might be closed, but the neighborhood certainly isn't." The pub's site now says "Now Open." A September 25 update from the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce said the contractor expected to lift the road closure that day. It also warned that parking would stay mostly unavailable while restoration work continued. If you're driving, check that block before you go.
Gunny's calls itself a Midwestern bistro and pub with supper-club food and craft cocktails. Its menu, updated in late October, includes:
- Duck poutine, $28
- Stuffed cheese bread, $15
- Broiled walleye, $32
- 8-ounce bavette, $42
- Roasted duck breast, $38
- The Backroom Burger, $27
Its listed hours fit around this month's calendar. It opens at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, at 11 a.m. Wednesday through Friday, and at 10 a.m. on weekends. It stays open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and no Monday hours are listed. ZooLights stops letting in Flexible Admission guests at 8 p.m. and goes dark at 9. On a Friday or Saturday, that leaves most of the evening open for dinner on Lincoln Avenue afterward. On a free Monday, plan to eat somewhere else.
Quick answers for the month
Is the Trotter's tribute the restaurant coming back for good? No permanent reopening has been announced. Block Club describes it as a 14-night tribute, part of the Alinea Group's series of limited runs at the building.
Which ZooLights nights cost the least? The registered free Mondays: Nov. 23 and 30, and Dec. 7 and 14. After those, advance fixed-date tickets start at $7.
When is the last chance to see the Lily Pool this year? Friday, Nov. 20, before dusk.
At Summerville Partners, we pay the same close attention to timing that this November calls for. If you own a home near Armitage, Fullerton or Lincoln Avenue and want to know what it's worth before the busy season, Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll show you how the pricing works in your area.
