People keep walking into Buttermilk Café at 200 Skokie Blvd. and asking for breakfast. The café isn't open yet. Owner Danny Shamoon told The Record North Shore on Sept. 22 that "so many people walk in and ask when we're going to open," even though the parking lot still needed striping and equipment was still on its way. The building was a Baker's Square that closed and then sat empty for six years. Shamoon bought it in 2025 and has been rehabbing it since.
That wait is how Wilmette's food scene is changing this fall. New places open when a building comes free, and buildings come free slowly. Every change on this list follows from that, from the openings to the one closing that made the news.
A small bar closes because it had nowhere to move
Lucky Jackson's opened at the start of 2026 in a 400-square-foot side room of Valley Lodge Tavern, 1141 Central Ave. The space had previously been FoodHaul, a prepared-meal business. Owner Chris Karabas meant the room as a starting point. He planned to work out his food and cocktail pairings, build a following, and then move into a bigger storefront in town.
The bigger storefront never opened up. Karabas named two problems: sharing a kitchen with a full-service restaurant, and "the lack of available local storefronts." "Doing the partnership with Valley (Lodge) was a way for me to grease the wheels a little bit and get started, banking that some other space would open up," he told The Record. He announced in August that the bar would close at the end of September. In his words, the small room "cornered me into being just a cocktail bar, which is never what I intended to be."
Karabas is also a working musician who performs around Chicagoland. He has said that if he ever opens in a regular commercial space, it will have a stage. If one of the downtown vacancies eventually goes to him, that's the place to watch for.
The openings are in buildings that sat empty or rarely changed hands
The places opening this year line up closely with the buildings that actually became available.
The Mette, 1165 Wilmette Ave. This space was Al's Meat Market. In December 2025, The Record reported that Al's would leave in early January 2026 and that a cocktail lounge would move in. Jason Sander is the managing member, and property owner Michael Chookaszian took a minority stake. The Mette describes itself as a cocktail bar and lounge serving chef-made food, spirits, wine, beer and mocktails. OpenTable reviews show it seating diners by July 26, 2026, though no exact opening date was announced. OpenTable lists its hours as Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. to midnight. It lists no hours for Sunday or Monday.
So as one downtown cocktail spot closes, another is already open a few blocks away, in a space a butcher held for years. The tentative menu the owners filed with the village included lobster sliders, burrata bruschetta, steak tartare and hamachi crudo. That was a planning document, so check the current menu before you go.
Buttermilk Café, 200 Skokie Blvd. Buttermilk started in Geneva in 2014 and has since opened in Downers Grove, Naperville and Vernon Hills. Those locations are open 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., seven days a week. The menu runs from omelets, skillets, pancakes and French toast to the biscuits it's known for, plus sandwiches, burgers and salads at lunch. As of Sept. 22, Shamoon said opening was "weeks away" and blamed rain for slowing the work. He said then that he hoped to announce a specific date soon. The 7-to-2:30 schedule comes from the other locations, and the Sept. 22 report gave no Wilmette hours.
Sweet Moon Cafe and Bakery, 1222 Washington Court. The Record reported in July that this Eastern European, Slavic and American breakfast and dessert café was renovating for a fall opening. The menu is built around honey cakes, solyanka soup, syrniki and omelets. Founders Aigerim Mambetova and Marlen Alchinov run it with their niece, Zhannat Raiymbek, as manager. That July report said the exact opening date was not yet known. The café's website lists only its Chicago address, 1964 W. Lawrence Ave.
Here's where each one stands, based on the latest reports:
- Open: The Mette, evenings Tuesday through Saturday
- Coming soon: Buttermilk Café, which was "weeks away" on Sept. 22, and Sweet Moon Cafe and Bakery, which was aiming for fall as of July
- Closing at the end of September: Lucky Jackson's, inside Valley Lodge Tavern, which itself is staying open
October's events happen in public spaces
The restaurants depend on scarce private storefronts. October's calendar runs in places with no such limit: Gillson Park, the Village Green, Linden Square and the French Market lot on Green Bay Road. Much of the month's social life runs through these spaces while the restaurant changes play out.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 2 | Sounds of Summer concert, Scott & Sara, moved from July 17 | Village Green, Central Ave. and Wilmette Ave. | 6–8 p.m. |
| Sat.–Sun., Oct. 3–4 | Harvest Fest at Chalet Nursery | 3132 Lake Ave. | Confirm with Chalet |
| Sun., Oct. 4 | Gillson Park Bird Habitat Workday and Family Day, Go Green Wilmette | Gillson Park | 9–11 a.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Gillson Beach cleanup | Gillson Park | 9–11 a.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | Wicked Wilmette | Gillson Park and Lakeview Center, 800 Gillson Park Dr. | 5:30–7:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Gillson Beach cleanup | Gillson Park | 9–11 a.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Wilmette Pumpkin and Paws Fall Fest | Linden Square, 400 Linden Ave. | 10 a.m.–1 p.m. |
A few details for planning. The North Shore visitors bureau lists Harvest Fest as a free event running 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a petting zoo, crafts, scarecrow building and Touch-a-Truck. Chalet's own page gives two different end times and links to a $15 registration. Check with the nursery before you bring the kids. Wicked Wilmette has a pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating, a hayride and a costume contest. Pumpkin and Paws, listed for Linden Square, has a pet parade, a costume contest, a petting zoo, live music and trick-or-treating. On Oct. 24 the Gillson cleanup wraps up an hour after Pumpkin and Paws starts, so you can do both in one morning.
The Park District's Late Fall session runs Oct. 19 through Dec. 20. Resident registration opened Sept. 29, and nonresident registration opens Oct. 6.
The last weekend of October
Three things happen over Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, and two of them end something.
- The French Market's last Saturday. The Wilmette French Market runs Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 722 Green Bay Road. Its 2026 season goes from April 18 to Oct. 31, so Halloween is the last market day until spring.
- Spooky Skate. Centennial Ice Rinks, 2300 Old Glenview Road, holds Spooky Skate on Oct. 31 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
- Mary Poppins Jr. Wilmette Children's Theater opens its fall show Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. Performances continue Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Nov. 8. Tickets are $13, and general sales open Oct. 13 at 10 a.m.
On Saturday, the 2 p.m. show starts while Spooky Skate is still going. Families who want both should plan on the Friday night or Sunday afternoon performance. A morning at the market's season finale still fits before either.
Where breakfast and evenings fit
The restaurant changes and the calendar line up in a practical way. If Buttermilk keeps the 7-to-2:30 hours its other locations use, it will fit the morning events: the Gillson workdays and cleanups, Harvest Fest, and the French Market's last Saturday. The Mette fits the evening ones. It opens at 5 p.m. midweek, and its Friday hours start at 3 p.m., before the Oct. 2 concert on the Village Green and the Oct. 16 Wicked Wilmette evening at Gillson. Sweet Moon's honey cakes will join the morning options once Washington Court opens. Check that Buttermilk and Sweet Moon are open before you plan an October breakfast around either one.
Turnover is slow in Wilmette because so few buildings come up for sale or lease. A butcher shop that stayed in place for years and a restaurant site that sat empty for six both took a long time to change hands. If you own a long-held Wilmette property and want to know what it's worth today, Summerville Partners can help you weigh timing, preparation and price before you list. Request a free home valuation and we'll start with your address.
