Bucktown's Newest Western Avenue Restaurants Were Built for Carryout, and November Suits Them

"Eat just as good in 10 or 15 minutes at home as it would here." Nicolas Poilevey set that test for Chez Poulet in a May interview with Block Club Chicago. He and his brother Oliver were planning a restaurant for a building on North Western Avenue whose only seating was outdoors.

That test applies to the whole stretch. Three food businesses opened on Bucktown's part of Western Avenue in 2026, and each one moved into a room another restaurant had left. Each is also built around a counter, a pickup shelf or an online order. As patio season ends, Western Avenue works as a street you collect dinner from on the way home.

Three Old Restaurant Rooms, Three Smaller Formats

The 2026 arrivals all took over existing restaurant spaces:

• Jomon Sushi and Izakaya, 1858 N. Western Ave., moved into the former Wave Sushi and Sake, which closed in 2025. Block Club reported in its July 23 roundup that Jomon had opened the week before.
• Bucktown Pizza, 1912 N. Western Ave., took over the former Oromo Cafe directly beneath the Western Blue Line station. It opened in July 2026.
• Chez Poulet, 2234 N. Western Ave., opened Tuesday, August 25, in the original Taqueria Chingón building.

Jomon and Bucktown Pizza are less than a block apart. Block Club described the pizza shop as sitting on the Bucktown-Logan Square border. None of the three is a big dining room, and the clearest explanation for that comes from the building farthest north.

The Building That Was Almost Sold

Taqueria Chingón closed at 2234 N. Western in November 2024. In May 2025 it moved to a larger space in Fulton Market, according to Eater Chicago. The Bucktown building went up for sale. Block Club reported that it was still on the market a year later.

"We wanted to sell the building to somebody like us who wanted to do a small restaurant concept and make a little bit of money with the rental properties in the back," Nicolas Poilevey told Block Club. "It pretty much seemed it was only big corporate developers who wanted to do something and then flip it."

The brothers took it off the market and planned around what the space could do. With seating limited to an outdoor patio, they needed food that travels. Nicolas said the tacos did not always hold up on the way home. Le Bouchon also needed room. The brothers' parents opened that Bucktown restaurant in 1993, and it had outgrown its kitchen. Block Club reported that Chez Poulet's kitchen would make charcuterie and other Le Bouchon specialties.

So the rotisserie chicken format comes straight from the building's limits. Eater described a small room designed for carryout, with a covered side patio that seats about 40 "when weather permits."

What Goes in the Bag

The chicken reflects how carefully the brothers planned for the ride home. Eater reported that chef Keagan Beresford, who also works at Le Bouchon, runs the kitchen. The birds are Ivory Amish chickens from a small independent farm in Pennsylvania, about 3.5 pounds each. Each one is brined for a day, air-dried in the cooler and rubbed with onion, garlic, paprika, a little Thai pepper, celery, salt and MSG. They turn on a tall Old Hickory rotisserie in the front window that the staff calls "Eduardo."

Every bird comes with four sauces: a chimichurri made with cornichons, a garlic toum, a salsa macha from a Taqueria Chingón recipe, and chicken jus. Sides include Moroccan curried corn, Papa Louis' Macaroni Gratin made with Comté, chicken fat confit potatoes and Oliver's collard greens. The greens are made with maple syrup, sherry vinegar, fish sauce, bacon and sambal. Mindy Segal of Mindy's Bakery bakes a "chicken bread," which is something between naan and flatbread, and a baguette based on a recipe from Hot Chocolate, her former Bucktown restaurant. The wine list is all French, with four wines by the glass and eight by the bottle. There is also Virtue cider and beer from Middle Brow and Kronenbourg.

In May the brothers estimated $29 to $31 for a whole bird and $15 for a half. An October 16 report from ChiVibe listed $29 for a whole bird, $16 for a half and $9 to $12 for sides. At opening, Eater said the brothers planned to add soup and possibly chicken pot pie, two dishes that suit the coming weather.

The Hours Point Toward Pickup

Chez Poulet's schedule has gotten shorter since opening week. At opening, Eater listed 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. on weekends. The restaurant's own site now lists these hours:

With Tuesdays gone and weekends ending at 6 p.m., Chez Poulet's busiest hours now fall at weeknight dinner and weekend lunch. The "or sell out" on every line matters too. Its Toast ordering page offers pickup only and accepts scheduled orders, so you can hold a bird before you leave the house.

The other two places on the street run the same way. Block Club described Bucktown Pizza as "a casual, counter-service spot." In July it listed hours of noon to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Jomon's website links to reservations and online ordering. Its Toast page offers both pickup and delivery.

A Western Avenue Run, South to North

Since all three are on one stretch of Western, they work as a single errand:

1. Jomon Sushi and Izakaya, 1858 N. Western. Block Club listed ribeye and pork belly skewers, gyoza, tempura and rolls like the Haru Rainbow, made with yellowtail, salmon, tuna and crab stick. Beer, sake and wine are also on the menu. According to WTTW, it comes from the team behind Mammoth Poke.
2. Bucktown Pizza, 1912 N. Western. Less than a block north, under the Blue Line tracks. Owner Joe Smith is from the Newark, New Jersey, area. He has run pizzerias in the Chicago suburbs and on the East Coast, and this is his first restaurant in the city proper.
3. Chez Poulet, 2234 N. Western. The farthest north of the three and the only one with a sell-out warning on its hours.

Bucktown Pizza Is Still Building Its Menu

Of the three, the pizza shop has changed the most since opening. In July, Block Club reported a short list of cheese, Margherita, pepperoni, sausage and garlic white pies. Smith said more would come and that he was working on a liquor license. "Everything we do by hand, hand-roll the dough, hand-stretch the dough, homemade sauces," he told Block Club.

By August 19, The Infatuation counted six slice variations. Its favorite combined vodka cream, pesto and pizza sauce, and the review noted the whipped ricotta baked into the sausage and pepperoni slices. The review also said the menu was written on pizza boxes and that four more variations were on the way. A shop that sells by the slice suits the station overhead. A single slice works for a commuter coming off the Blue Line, and a whole pie works for a household picking up dinner.

Bucktown's Upcoming Sit-Down Restaurants Are on Armitage and Damen

The two biggest restaurant projects on Bucktown's calendar are elsewhere. Trattoria Lo So is coming to 2044 W. Armitage Ave., the former Jack and Ginger's. Owners Sarah Grueneberg, Jaime Canete and Rob Mosher, of the Monteverde team, plan an early 2027 opening, and Bailey Sullivan will lead the kitchen, according to Block Club's September 17 report. Vienna Beef's restaurant and factory store at its 2501 N. Damen Ave. headquarters was still under construction as of Block Club's August 10 update, with a spring 2027 target.

Both target dates are in 2027. Until those openings happen, Bucktown's seated dining news is planned for Armitage and Damen. On Western, the 2026 openings will be handing over pizza boxes and chickens. The next neighborhood event on the calendar is WPB First Fridays on Friday, November 6, a free, self-guided art walk listed on the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce calendar.

At Fogel Slate Group, we keep track of the small changes that shape a Bucktown block, like a building that stayed off the market or a storefront under the Blue Line that found its next tenant. If you would like a local's read on how Western Avenue and the rest of Bucktown are changing, schedule a consultation with us.