The Ravinia Farmers Market ended its 48th season this week. Its final Wednesday market ran from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Jens Jensen Park on October 28. The Ravinia Festival finished in late September. The City says the festival draws more than 500,000 people over an 87-night season that starts in May. From now until spring, the strip of Roger Williams Avenue between Green Bay Road and Judson Avenue has to bring in its own foot traffic. Most of what happens here in winter is paid for through a special tax on the district's own commercial properties.
The off-season is billed to Roger Williams Avenue property owners
The Ravinia Business District sits inside Special Service Area 17. The City of Highland Park describes a special service area as a taxing mechanism. It pays for extra services or physical improvements inside a defined area, not across the whole city. SSA 17 took effect January 1, 2014, and has been renewed in three-year terms ever since. The latest term runs from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028.
The most recent renewal also raised the amount. A district property owner petitioned in July 2025 to extend the SSA and supported raising its budget from $90,000 a year to $110,000 a year. The City Council approved the extension in December 2025, and only one property owner objected. The City's Ravinia Business District page lists what that $110,000 pays for:
- Marketing and public relations
- Events
- Banners
- Expanded beautification
Some of that money is already in the sidewalk. SSA 17 paid for the district's newer street lights and benches. Following the City's consultant, the benches face the storefronts rather than the street. The City gives two reasons: it keeps people from stepping off a bench into traffic, and it encourages conversation on the sidewalk.
Summer gets a weekly event. Winter gets a handful of dates.
The SSA's longest-running event shows the seasonal gap clearly. Food Truck Thursdays has run since 2017. In 2026 it ran every week at Jens Jensen Park from June 4 through September 3. Those weeks overlapped almost entirely with the festival, when the district already had the most people around. After Labor Day, the district's own calendar thins to a few dates:
- Día de los Muertos Week, through Sunday, November 1. The citywide week includes activities in the Ravinia District. Its opening celebration took place at Jens Jensen Park on October 24.
- Ravinia District Candy Stroll, Friday, October 30, 3:30 to 5 p.m. It meets at Jens Jensen Park, 540 Roger Williams Ave., and food trucks stay in the park until 7 p.m. The City and the SSA 17 property owners present it, and it has run every year since 2021.
- Ravinia District Cookie & Cocoa Crawl, Saturday, December 5, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It also starts at Jens Jensen Park and is presented by the same partners. The list of participating businesses has not been posted yet.
If you want the downtown version first, the Candy Stroll at Port Clinton Square, 600 Central Ave., runs today from 3 to 6 p.m.
Put those numbers side by side. A festival that draws half a million visitors keeps the strip full for about four and a half months. For the rest of the year, the district depends on a $110,000 levy and short weekend events like these. That gap explains the next project on the block.
565 Roger Williams is being designed for the cold months
For at least ten years, the building at 565 Roger Williams Ave. sat empty, according to the City. It was a dry cleaner before that. The first plan to bring it back fell apart. The Record reported that the City Council approved $100,000 in exterior grants and $150,000 in interior grants for a Community Restaurant Group concept on December 15, 2025. By July 2026, The Record said that project had fallen through, no work had started, and the grant money was never paid out.
The second plan is Bean Bar + MEZE, from owners Serah and Kadir Cicek. Patch reported the City's announcement on October 5. By day, Bean Bar will be a café serving breakfast and lunch, including smoothies, pastries, sandwiches, soups and salads, with an emphasis on fresh, gluten-free options. In the evening, the space turns into MEZE, with dinner, cocktails, indoor seating, a patio and a covered pergola for year-round service. The target opening is spring or summer 2027.
That pergola is the detail that matters for this street. A building that serves morning coffee and evening dinner, with covered outdoor seating built to work in cold months, gives people a reason to stop when the festival lawn is empty. The Record says Bean Bar started in Northbrook in 2025, and its concept also includes daytime co-working.
The City made an unusual move to help. The exterior improvement grant is a $20,000-a-year match. According to The Record, City Manager Ghida Neukirch recommended combining five years of that grant so Bean Bar could receive $100,000. In return, the business cannot apply for the grant again for five years. The two outlets give different figures for the owners' investment. The Record put it at about $1.5 million in July, and Patch described a $1.75 million redevelopment in October.
As quoted by Patch, Mayor Nancy Rotering described the goal in terms of hours:
"As we welcome new investment and entrepreneurs who share our vision, we're creating an even stronger destination where people can shop, dine, connect and experience all that the Ravinia District, and Highland Park as a whole, has to offer from morning through evening."
EATACO is scheduled for the coldest season
The Ciceks' second project is two doors west on the same block. Patch reports that EATACO is planned for 597 Roger Williams Ave. with a winter 2027 opening. That makes it the only one of the new concepts scheduled to open in the district's slowest season. It is a fast-casual taqueria of about 1,600 square feet, expanding from Northbrook after seven years on the North Shore. The menu will include fusion tacos, fresh sides, craft beer, wine, grab-and-go drinks and margaritas-to-go. The Record reported in July that EATACO was seeking a $20,000 grant for exterior work.
The street is also due for changes. The City's Ravinia streetscape project page lists 2027 design goals that include:
- Permanent pedestrian bump-outs
- 29 more on-street parking spaces along Burton Avenue
- Gateway and catenary lighting
- Bollards
- Replacement crosswalks
Catenary lighting, strung above the street, does the most work on dark winter evenings, which is when the new restaurants are counting on customers.
What's open on the strip right now
None of the 2027 projects will help you this November. These businesses have current hours posted on their own sites or have current-season activity on record:
| Business | Address | Current schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Braeside Market | 55 St. Johns Ave. | Daily, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a fall menu posted |
| Nico Trattoria and Pizzeria | 581 Roger Williams Ave. | Tue–Thu and Sun 4:30–8 p.m.; Fri–Sat 4:30–8:30 p.m.; closed Mon |
| Abigail's American Bistro | 493 Roger Williams Ave. | Dinner Tue–Sat, 5–9 p.m. |
| The Chunky Scone | 733 St. Johns Ave. | Wed–Sat 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Sun noon–4 p.m. |
| Yana's Speakeasy | 465 Roger Williams Ave. | Live music Saturday, November 7, at 8 p.m. |
| Steep Ravine Brewing Company | 582 Roger Williams Ave. | A stop on the City's 2026 Spooks & Spirits trail |
Braeside Market has already been part of the district's winter calendar. In 2026, the City's indoor winter farmers market ran Fridays at Braeside Market from January 16 through April 24. A Saturday market ran at Wayfarer Theaters, 1850 Second St., from January 10 through April 25. Dates for this winter have not been announced. If the Friday market returns, a café on St. Johns Avenue would again be the Ravinia District's weekly winter gathering spot, months before Bean Bar + MEZE opens.
If you own near Roger Williams Avenue and want to know how projects like 565 and 597 could figure into your home's value, LWG Real Estate can walk you through what we're seeing in East Highland Park. Request a Home Valuation & Market Plan.
