Lincoln Square's Most Celebrated Tasting Menu Now Has Its Chefs Living Upstairs

"You are in our home because we live upstairs," Nina Nugent tells guests as they come into Goosefoot's dining room at 4520 N. Lincoln Ave. She means it literally. She and her husband, chef Chris Nugent, bought the building, rebuilt the restaurant on the ground floor and moved into the apartment above it. The new Goosefoot has been serving since March, and its public grand opening is set for Saturday, Oct. 10.

For a restaurant that once had a reservations waitlist, the move changes who it mainly serves. The same shift is showing up a few blocks away at Del Sur Bakery on Damen Avenue. The neighborhood's best-known food businesses are rebuilding around people who can walk in.

Twelve Years on Lawrence, Then a Search for an Upstairs

Goosefoot opened on Dec. 11, 2011, at 2656 W. Lawrence Ave. Chicago Magazine named it the city's best new restaurant in 2012. It earned a Michelin star that same year and kept it for 10 years, and the Chicago Tribune named Chris Nugent its chef of the year in 2013. Before the pandemic, the restaurant had a waitlist for reservations. In February 2024 the owners announced they were closing the Lawrence Avenue space with plans to relocate.

The search that followed was specific. The Nugents have lived in Lincoln Square for 25 years and wanted a storefront with an apartment on the second floor. Nina Nugent told Block Club that they sometimes thought about moving to another neighborhood or even another state, but that Lincoln Square would always be home. Chris Nugent found the building while scrolling property listings late one night. "We always wanted to be on Lincoln Avenue," he said.

The building they bought in the winter of 2024 was the former DueLire Vino & Cucina, an Italian restaurant that closed that same year. It sits just north of Welles Park. The couple remodeled the inside and brought over as much of the original restaurant as they could. They opened in March without much announcement. Nina Nugent said they wanted time to refine the service and learn the new space before promoting it.

What Changes When the Kitchen Is Downstairs From Home

Nina Nugent compared the two locations directly. The Lawrence Avenue restaurant was more of a destination, while many guests at the new one live within walking distance. Out-of-town diners still come. One couple drove from Michigan to celebrate their ninth anniversary there. The day-to-day business, though, now depends far more on neighbors than it used to.

Three things are different for anyone who ate at the old space.

• No more BYOB. The Lawrence Avenue Goosefoot was BYOB. The new one has wines from around the world and a selection of craft beers. Chris Nugent said his goals are to perfect the food and fine-tune the wine program.
• A patio. The new space has outdoor seating, which the old location did not mention.
• Two price points. The seasonal chef's menu is $225, with an optional $140 wine pairing. There is also a four-course tasting menu for $135. In March, Block Club described the BYOB restaurant's multi-course tasting menu as $145. The new four-course menu costs a little less than that, which gives neighbors a shorter, cheaper way in.

The current chef's menu includes a foie gras truffle mousse with lingonberry gastrique, roasted duck breast with kabocha squash and burgundy truffle, and Angus beef with parsnip aigre-doux and beurre noisette. It ends with chocolates made in-house. The Angus beef with aigre-doux and beurre noisette was on the Lawrence Avenue menu too, so longtime regulars will recognize at least one dish. The chocolate habit goes back to Chris Nugent's teenage years in upstate New York, when he made chocolates in his spare time while helping in the kitchen at a family friend's French restaurant.

Del Sur Is Building a Living Room on Damen

About half a mile west, Del Sur Bakery has been closed since June 14 so it can expand into the storefront next door at 4639 N. Damen Ave. Owner Justin Lerias opened the bakery in 2025 after two years of pop-ups in Lincoln Square. His pastries combine Filipino flavors with Midwestern comfort baking: longanisa-stuffed croissants, turon danishes and ube cream-filled cookie sandwiches. Block Club reported that people sometimes waited up to two hours for them.

Lerias describes the expansion in almost the same terms the Nugents use. "The whole idea of Del Sur was to kind of invite people into my home," he told Block Club. "We're going to set it up like a living room." The goal is to bake enough that lines stay indoors and the bakery sells out less often. Seating will be limited. The extra room will also host pop-ups for new small businesses, food or otherwise, much like the pop-ups Lerias started with.

The timing has slipped. In May, Lerias hoped to reopen in July and at the latest by the end of summer. In September, Eater Chicago listed the reopening as a fall estimate. As of early October, the bakery's own website says "Reopening Autumn 2026" and gives no specific date.

The Rest of the Avenue, Address by Address

Goosefoot is open and Del Sur is getting close. The other food spots people have been watching are at different stages, and some sources disagree about where they stand.

Et Chi is going into the former Market Square, which owner Ed Duman closed in November 2025. Duman also owns Oromo Cafe next door. According to WhatNow, Duman describes Et Chi as Turkish fusion built around slow-roasted meats from a gas-fired, stone-domed oven. He told Block Club in March he hoped to open as soon as this summer. The restaurant's website still says "Coming soon." Like Del Sur, it is a local owner adding a second business next to the first one.

Zimi's, a Balkan restaurant, is moving south from West Ridge into the former 016 space at 5077 N. Lincoln Ave. The Infatuation's Aug. 10 entry says Zimi's has moved to Lincoln Square, but gives no opening date. The restaurant's own site still says it will be "Re-Opening Soon." The quickest way to know is to walk past.

On Western Avenue, WTTW's Sept. 21 roundup lists Ai Ya Izakaya as a recent opening. It is a Japanese spot in the former Atelier space at 4833 N. Western Ave.

October Around the Square

Apple Fest wraps up today, Sunday, Oct. 4, on Lincoln Avenue between Lawrence and Sunnyside. It runs until 6 p.m., and the Flat Cats play the Apple Core Stage at Leland Plaza at 4 p.m. After that, the month fills in around the Goosefoot opening:

1. Wednesday, Oct. 7, 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Spooky Bike Ride starts at Welles Park, a block south of Goosefoot, and ends at Demo Brewing, with food from Happy Lobster.
2. Saturday, Oct. 10, 10:30 a.m. Old Town School of Folk Music holds a John Prine 80th Birthday Celebration in Maurer Hall. Goosefoot's grand opening is the same day.
3. Sunday, Oct. 25, 10:30 a.m. Old Town School hosts a family-friendly Spooky Sing-Along in Maurer Hall.
4. Sunday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber runs its free Lincoln Scared RavenswOOoooOod trick-or-treat through the business district.

The chamber's trick-or-treat page still shows the 2025 route maps, so check for an updated route before heading out on the 25th.

At Fogel Slate Group, we keep track of which storefronts on Lincoln, Western and Damen are open, which are still papered over, and who is moving in. If you'd like to talk about how these blocks are changing and what that means for your own plans, schedule a consultation with us.