The festival crowds are gone for the year. On Roger Williams Avenue, the Ravinia District's restaurant future is now mostly a list of City Council approvals. Since December 2025, food businesses at 473, 565, 581 and 597 Roger Williams have all asked Highland Park for grant money to build out or fix up their storefronts. One of those four is serving guests now. The rest are construction projects with 2027 dates attached.
The grants decide which projects can move forward. Their structure decides how fast those projects open.
The building that waited a decade
Start at 565 Roger Williams. The city says the building there has been empty for at least ten years.
It has already had one rescue plan. On December 15, 2025, City Council approved $150,000 in interior funding and $100,000 in exterior funding for CRG Ravinia, a full-service restaurant pitched by Community Restaurant Group. The Record North Shore reported at the time that some council members were concerned about the project's lack of progress. The plan later fell through. No work began, so the money was never paid out.
Bean Bar is next in line. Kadir and Serah Cicek own the concept, which was founded in Northbrook in 2025, and Highland Park would be its second location. The concept runs all day: breakfast, lunch, coffee and baked goods, co-working during the day, then dinner and handcrafted cocktails at night. Plans call for outdoor seating, new signage and lighting, and a patio with lounge seating, communal tables and cafe tables.
The exterior request is where 565 stands out. Highland Park's exterior grant usually tops out at $20,000 a year. City Manager Ghida Neukirch proposed rolling five years of that money into one $100,000 award, because the owners plan to put about $1.5 million into the property. Councilmember Annette Lidawer spoke about how unusual that is:
"Offering $100,000, instead of the typical $20,000 we give per year, is a very special situation."
If the pooled grant goes through, Bean Bar can't apply for any more exterior grants for five years. The pooled request was on the August 17 council agenda, but it was listed among the items pulled from the omnibus vote. Public records reviewed for this post don't show how it was finally decided. The interior grant and the regular exterior grant had already been approved. In July, The Record reported the owners were aiming to open by summer 2027.
Why approval doesn't mean opening
CRG's approved grants never turned into a restaurant, and the reason is in how the program works. The city has two programs. The Food & Beverage Establishment Interior Improvement and Expansion Grant Program pays back up to 50% of eligible costs, capped at $150,000 for full-service restaurants and $100,000 for limited-service ones. The Exterior Improvement Grant Program pays back up to 50%, with a $20,000 limit.
Both programs reimburse. The owner spends the money first, then the city pays back its share. The city's business incentives page says the goals are to help food businesses that generate sales tax upgrade or expand their space, to attract and keep businesses, and to make storefronts more appealing to visitors.
So a council approval is a promise to share costs once the work gets done. On Roger Williams, opening dates depend on construction progress, and an approval alone doesn't set one.
A diner on a block that used to have one
The clearest example on the street is at 473 Roger Williams. Richard and Faye Rosenberg have run Vintage Rescue there since 2023. They are turning that space into Faye's Diner, and the shop has moved one door down to 469 to make room.
On August 17, City Council approved a $150,000 food and beverage interior grant and an exterior grant of up to $12,773. Richard Rosenberg told The Record the diner could not open without the grants.
The idea came partly from customers. Faye Rosenberg said Vintage Rescue shoppers had been asking about a diner "for so long." They missed having one on the street, since Shelton's Diner at 481 Roger Williams closed in the 1990s. Their partner is Darcy Mosconi, who has owned Sandy's Diner at 415 Sheridan Road in Highwood for more than 35 years. Sandy's opened in 1962 and is named for Mosconi's mother. Faye's will borrow some menu items from Sandy's and add dinner, salads and acai bowls.
Inside, plans call for a full kitchen, a lunch counter and booths. Outside, there will be open-air seating for more than a dozen people, bi-fold windows and planters. Carry-out is planned, and catering may come later. Construction started the week of August 17 and should wrap up around Christmas. The owners set the opening for February 1, 2027, because so many people travel over the holidays.
That's a little more than five months from council vote to opening day. Of the projects on this block, Faye's has the tightest timeline that is publicly confirmed.
The block, address by address
| Address | Business | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 469 Roger Williams | Vintage Rescue | Open after moving one door down |
| 473 Roger Williams | Faye's Diner | Under construction, opening set for Feb. 1, 2027 |
| 565 Roger Williams | Bean Bar | Projected to open by summer 2027 |
| 581 Roger Williams | Nico Restaurant | Open |
| 597 Roger Williams | EATACO | Projected to open in early 2027 |
Right now, the open restaurant on this block is Nico at 581. City filings list the operator as Viaggio Highland Park Inc. That company appeared on council dockets this year for a food and beverage interior grant under the name Viaggio Restaurant, and for an exterior grant under the name Nico Restaurant. The menu is Italian trattoria and pizzeria: brick-oven Neapolitan pizza, Italian staples, dishes inspired by Viaggio, and some Highwood favorites. Nico's website lists current hours and takes online orders.
At 597, EATACO comes from the same owners as Bean Bar. It was reported in August as a Mexican-inspired spot with an art-focused setting, serving tacos, elote, Mexifries, quesabirria and margaritas. The owners requested $20,000 for exterior upgrades. If both projects open, Kadir and Serah Cicek will own two of the five storefronts in the table.
The same program downtown
Grant money is shaping downtown too. Katy the Butcher at 1954 First St. received a food and beverage grant on April 27, 2026. The shop was planning a spring opening when The Record profiled it in March. Its website now says "Katy the Butcher is OPEN!" and lists dry-aged steaks, poultry, pork, fish, eggs, bread, cheese and seasonal produce.
Katy's is open. Faye's has a construction crew and a date. Bean Bar's building has been empty for at least ten years, and it's the second project the city has approved money for at that address.
When the 2027 openings are due
The table puts most of these openings in the first half of 2027. EATACO is projected for early 2027. Faye's Diner is set for February 1. Bean Bar is aiming for summer. Only Faye's date comes with confirmed construction behind it. The other two are owner projections reported over the summer.
City staff are counting on more than full tables. In the Faye's Diner report, staff called the improvements "critical" for long-term revenue and food and beverage sales tax. They also said the diner would offer something "distinct" from the businesses already in the district. The same report described foot traffic in a business district as a key sign of a thriving community.
The Record reported a forecast of more than $3 million in first-year revenue for Bean Bar, with the exterior buildout estimated at $300,000. If the pooled exterior grant is approved, it would cover a third of that exterior work.
If you've walked past the building at 565 for years wondering when something would finally open there, I follow these Highland Park storefront projects closely, and I'm glad to talk through what's changing on Roger Williams Avenue and nearby. When you're curious how the block's next chapter could affect your own home's value, Sondra Douglass can prepare a thoughtful, no-pressure valuation. Request a Home Valuation whenever you're ready.
