Ravenswood's October Starts on Lincoln Avenue and Ends on Montrose

"You are in our home because we live upstairs," Nina Nugent tells diners at Goosefoot. That's literally true. She and her husband, chef Chris Nugent, bought the former Italian restaurant building at 4520 N. Lincoln Ave. in the winter of 2024, remodeled it, and moved in above the dining room.

They told Block Club Chicago that the old Lawrence Avenue location was more of a destination. Many diners at the new one live within walking distance. That fits how October works around here. The month's biggest events happen on streets you can walk to, and they move across the neighborhood week by week. The first ten days belong to Lincoln Avenue. The last week belongs to Montrose.

The First Ten Days Belong to Lincoln Avenue

The month opens with the 39th Annual Apple Fest, Friday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 4. It fills Lincoln Avenue between Lawrence and Sunnyside. Hours are 3 to 7 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber lists more than 100 vendors and a $5 suggested donation. Friday's short evening window is the easiest way in if you want to skip the weekend crowds.

Six days later, Goosefoot holds its grand opening on Oct. 10. Goosefoot has actually been serving since March. The Nugents waited to promote it so they could settle their service and get to know the space. The new building, which replaces a Lawrence Avenue location that ran for 12 years, includes an outdoor patio. It also has a wine program alongside craft beer. The old spot was BYOB.

Ten doors up at 4530 N. Lincoln, The Getaway reopened Thursday, Aug. 27. The bar had been closed since the first week of July, when a gas stove caught fire and caused an explosion that injured at least one person. The usual evening hours and weekday happy hour are back. So this one block of Lincoln Avenue starts October with a restaurant that just came back and a bar that just reopened, a few steps apart.

Del Sur, the patisserie at 4639 N. Damen Ave., is the one to wait on. It closed temporarily on June 14 for construction next door that will add seating, coffee and pastry-production space. Eater Chicago's Sept. 11 fall roundup gives its return as "Fall" and doesn't name a date.

The Markets Close in Stages

October is also when the farmers markets end their seasons, and they don't all end on the same day. Here's the calendar from Apple Fest to the Wine Stroll in one place:

The Damen Avenue market wraps up halfway through the month. The Lincoln Square Thursday evening market lasts until the day before the Monster Mash. The Tuesday morning market at Leland runs nearly three weeks into November. If you count on a Wednesday evening market stop on Damen, Oct. 14 is the last one of 2026.

Halloween Week Moves to Montrose

Late October belongs to the Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, and its two Halloween events both run along Montrose Avenue.

The Ravenswood Costume Crawl is Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. It's a 21+ tasting walk through shops and restaurants on Montrose and Ravenswood avenues, with snack-sized bites, tasting pours and costume prizes. Tickets are $32 for one or $120 for four. Check-in is at Teddy's Ice Cream, 2000 W. Montrose. The after-party is at KOVAL Distillery, 4241 N. Ravenswood, from 8 to 10 p.m. The four-pack costs $30 a ticket, $2 less than buying one at a time, so it's worth organizing a group.

The Montrose Monster Mash follows two days later, on Friday, Oct. 30, from 4 to 7 p.m. It's free, family trick-or-treating along Montrose, and individual business hours may vary. The chamber asks families to RSVP through Eventbrite so participating businesses have enough candy. Three businesses have announced specials for 2026:

• Hazel is running a Halloween kids zone with games, temporary tattoos and refreshments.
• Chicago's Pizza is making ghost-shaped pizzas.
• 4Legs Inc has treats for cats and dogs, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Besides those three, the 2026 roster so far includes Bad Luck Club, Bayan Ko Diner, BienMeSabe Venezuelan Cafe & Restaurant, BRB Aesthetics Central, Celtica Gifts, Design Seed, Farm Bar, Gnome Brew, Hazel Apparel, Jenny G's Art Supply, L&M Fine Foods, Northside Barbershop, Paradise Port, PastaFi, Polar Hardware, Ponnopozz, Quantum LEEP Academy, Rany Management, Slim's, Teddy's Ice Cream and Urban Vegan. The chamber says more will be announced. A few have earlier cutoffs. Jenny G's Art Supply and Rany Management close out at 6 p.m., and BRB Aesthetics Central at 5:30, so start at the east end if those are on your route.

The Roster Is a Current Map of the Corridor

That participant list is about the best up-to-date directory of Montrose Avenue you'll find, and Montrose has changed this year.

Some of the names have been around a few seasons now. Farm Bar took over the former Land & Lake space at 1970 W. Montrose in late 2023. Bayan Ko Diner, the Cuban-Filipino breakfast and lunch offshoot at 1820 W. Montrose, opened in May 2024. Further west, Small Cheval opened its burger location at 2156 W. Montrose in January 2025.

The newest addition started as a side project. In December 2025, the team behind Irene's Finer Diner opened Irene's Bagels + Coffee at 1942 W. Montrose, a grab-and-go shop selling sourdough-leavened bagels boiled in Wisconsin maple syrup and salted water. Flavors rotate daily and include asiago, cheddar jalapeño and sun-dried tomato basil. As of Block Club's January report, the hours were 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Its online ordering page still lists the Montrose address.

Montrose also lost a long-running business. Green Machine Cycles, the bike repair and custom-build shop at 1634 W. Montrose, closed in August after 13 years. It held a liquidation sale through Aug. 20. Owner Ezra Hozinsky said the shop lost its lease because of an arrangement letting neighboring Dollop Coffee take over the space for more seating. The building's landlord said the lease was expiring. Dollop owner Dan Weiss said the cafe had been offered the space and took no action to push anyone out. Dollop's location page lists the cafe at 1636 W. Montrose. The August reporting describes plans for the bike shop's space, not a finished build-out, and that storefront is on the stretch the Costume Crawl walks through.

Between the Halloween roster and this year's changes, you get a clear picture of the corridor. It's mostly independent shops, a barbershop, a hardware store, a homebrew supply shop, an art supply store and a dozen places to eat, with turnover happening one storefront at a time.

North of Lawrence, the Street Gets Dug Up

Starting in October, residents in the blocks north of Lawrence will have a different kind of month. The Chicago Department of Water Management is installing 2,596 feet of new sewer main in the area from N. Claremont Ave. to N. Damen Ave. and W. Argyle St. to W. Lawrence Ave. The 40th Ward project page lists construction from fall 2026 through spring 2027, with completion estimated for summer 2027. It also warns of parking restrictions during work hours and possible local-only traffic, and promises 24-hour notice before planned water shutoffs. If you live inside that rectangle, watch for posted signs before you park near Damen in the morning.

A few blocks northwest, the Lincoln Avenue streetscape changes are now permanent. You can no longer turn left from westbound Ainslie onto southbound Western. There's a double right-turn lane, protected bike lanes run between Berwyn and Western, Lincoln Avenue has less parking between Ainslie and Foster, and nearby side streets now have metered parking. If you're driving to Apple Fest from the north, plan your route around that turn restriction.

The Calendar After Halloween

The Fall Wine Stroll comes back to Lincoln Square and Ravenswood on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. It has four routes with tasting stops at local businesses, and tickets are sold online only. Small Business Saturday follows on Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The chamber has confirmed a free Holly Jolly Trolley and an Unwrap Ravenswood reward.

Owning a home here means watching which storefronts turn over, which blocks get dug up and which spaces come back as something new. That changes what a buyer is paying for from one season to the next. If you're thinking about selling a home near Montrose or north of Lawrence and want a price based on how these blocks look today, Millie Rosenbloom will walk the street with you and prepare a free home valuation based on current comparable sales.