Avondale's Stretch of Milwaukee Avenue Was Rebuilt Around Its Storefronts. This Fall They Get the Street Back.

On Tuesday, a LAZ Parking crew was scheduled to put up a parking pay box in front of 2945 N. Milwaukee Ave., with activation set for Wednesday. The storefront behind it is empty for now. Poke Okie served its last poké bowl there on Sept. 27, and new owners plan to open a sushi restaurant in the space.

Most of this fall's changes on the Avondale stretch of Milwaukee Avenue show up at or near that address. The street was finished in June. The meters are coming back this week. City Council changed a liquor rule on one block in October to make room for a new restaurant. Each change is part of the same story. This mile of Milwaukee was redesigned with its businesses at the front of the line, and this fall the storefronts are back to running on ordinary terms.

The street was rebuilt with storefronts in mind

The city defines the project as North Milwaukee Avenue from Belmont Avenue to Logan Boulevard. Crews started in April 2024, and the official groundbreaking was May 29, 2024. When the Avondale phase began, Block Club Chicago reported what the plans called for: 19 raised sidewalks at side streets, 85 trees, 70 curb and sidewalk extensions, and nearly a mile of dashed bike lanes. The whole project was supposed to wrap up in summer 2026.

It finished on time. The city held a ribbon cutting on June 22, 2026, and its completion announcement lists raised crossings, curb extensions, pedestrian refuge islands, accessible signals, a fully rebuilt roadway, new lighting, wider sidewalks and parkway trees.

Nearly every item on that list helps people on foot, and people on foot are the ones who walk into stores. The bike lanes show the priority most clearly. Streetsblog Chicago rode the corridor in late October. Between Wrightwood Avenue and Logan Boulevard on the south and Belmont on the north, Milwaukee got only paint-only dashed "advisory" bike lanes, with nothing physically separating them from traffic. Streetsblog reports that CDOT proposed protected lanes for this stretch in 2022. That design would have converted car parking spaces. The alderman at the time worried it would hurt businesses, so the plan was dropped.

Streetsblog adds that, apart from the stretch in Wicker Park between North and Damen and Division and Ashland, this is now the only part of Milwaukee between Irving Park Road and Kinzie Street without protected lanes. North of Belmont the setup is different. New protected lanes run on Milwaukee from Belmont to Addison and on Belmont from Kimball to Milwaukee. So if you ride north from Logan Square, the paint ends and the curbs begin at the Belmont intersection.

Two construction seasons tested the block

Choosing parking over protected bike lanes did not shield businesses from the construction itself. In May 2024, Block Club reported that Avondale shop owners were dealing with barriers, blocked sidewalks and noise. Vintage Frills at 2846 N. Milwaukee saw a steep drop in sales. It answered with a sign on the construction fence, a weekday sale and a joint pop-up with Monarch Thrift Shop at 2875 N. Milwaukee. Prism Games at 2874 N. Milwaukee reported a dip in business and lost nearby parking, so it added game nights and workshops. The Chamber arranged six temporary free parking spaces in the Giordano's lot at 2855 N. Milwaukee.

Shared promotions, events and borrowed parking got the block through construction, and some of those habits carried over. In July 2026, Block Club's weekend roundup listed a Lemonade Walk on the 2600 to 2900 blocks of North Milwaukee with more than 35 participating businesses, plus a Vintage Frills summer sale.

The meters are the last construction-era change to go

Free curb space was one side effect of construction. It ends this week. The 35th Ward newsletter for Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 says that with the Milwaukee Avenue Streetscape and Logan Square Redesign projects wrapping up, LAZ Parking is putting the meters back.

Under the ward's schedule, every address on that list was set to be metered again by Wednesday, Nov. 4. Several pay boxes sit outside the same storefronts that relied on fence signs and borrowed lots two years ago.

One block got its liquor rule changed

The biggest change this fall came from City Hall. The 35th Ward office got a request in July to lift the moratorium on new tavern licenses for the block of Milwaukee between Kimball and Central Park avenues, so the sushi restaurant planned for 2945 N. Milwaukee could serve drinks. According to Block Club, the community responded favorably, and Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th) introduced an ordinance.

The City Clerk's record shows how quickly it moved:

1. Sept. 23, 2026: introduced at City Council and referred to committee.
2. Oct. 7, 2026: the Committee on License and Consumer Protection substituted the ordinance and recommended passage.
3. Oct. 14, 2026: passed by City Council.

The substitute ordinance removes the restriction on on-premises liquor licenses along North Milwaukee from Kimball to Central Park. The ward office describes the planned restaurant as modern Japanese food with beer, wine and sake. Block Club reported it could open in December.

A few doors down, Sipping Turtle Cafe at 2959 N. Milwaukee is still open. It belongs to the same couple who ran Poke Okie, and they told Block Club the closing did not affect the cafe. They opened Sipping Turtle in spring 2020, just as the pandemic hit, and Block Club describes it as a community hub today. A coffee shop that made it through 2020 and two construction seasons is now steps away from a planned restaurant on a block where City Council lifted the liquor-license restriction in October.

The newest arrival teaches sewing

At 3050 N. Milwaukee, a business with no connection to food or drink has moved in. Block Club reported in October on the Sewing Do Museum and maker space, which has 100 sewing machines, textile exhibits and hands-on workshops.

The museum's website lists November visiting hours of Wednesday through Friday 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed Nov. 26 and 27. A $24 visit includes a small sewing project, and walk-ins are welcome. The class calendar is already filling up:

• Nov. 14, 1 to 4 p.m.: Tailoring & Mending workshop, $90.
• Nov. 15, 1 to 4 p.m.: beginner sewing workshop.
• Tuesdays, Nov. 10 through Dec. 22, 6 to 8 p.m.: Intro to Sewing & Creative Design, a seven-week course for $380. The museum notes the Dec. 1 session may move to a different day.
• Dec. 5, 1 to 4 p.m.: Tailoring & Mending workshop, $90. Sold out.

Evening weekday hours and a Tuesday-night course give this stretch a reason for foot traffic after work, and foot traffic is what the wider sidewalks and raised crossings were built for.

Two dates left on the calendar this month

The rest of November's schedule is already set. Kosciuszko Park, 2732 N. Avers Ave., hosts a parent-child Turkey Shoot on Saturday, Nov. 7, from noon to 2 p.m. Teams compete for a turkey or a pie, and registration through the Chicago Park District is required. The 35th Ward's next Ward Night is Nov. 23, by appointment. You can book a time by emailing [email protected] or calling (773) 985-3510 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. That's the place to bring questions about parking, the bike lanes or the corridor's next tenants.

If you own a building on or near this stretch of Milwaukee, or you're considering a mixed-use property on a corridor that just came out of construction, This Is IT can help you work through the storefront, the parking and the block-by-block details before you decide. Contact Us when you're ready to talk it over.