Executive Chef Dylan Patel wants the new Avec to feel like "the best dinner party you've been to," he told The Record North Shore at a September preview. That dinner party opens on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 250 Waukegan Ave. It is Avec's first location outside Chicago and its third overall.
Avec also finishes a pattern that took shape over the year. The new restaurants and shops Highwood gained in 2026 cluster on Green Bay Road and Waukegan Avenue. On Sheridan Road, a private developer is building on the former Nite N' Gale site, and the city sold a block of lots it had assembled for a second six-story apartment building. Together, those two buildings will bring new residents within a short walk of the new dining rooms.
Four arrivals, two streets
Here is what was announced, opened or scheduled to open in 2026:
| Business | Address | What it is | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelago Cafe | 325 Waukegan Ave. | Italian cafe and pasta shop | Announced in April for an early May opening |
| Juniper | 200 Green Bay Road | Modern American plus a sushi program | Opened Aug. 25 |
| Old Plank Antiques | 210 Green Bay Road | Antiques showroom relocated from Logan Square | Opened with Design Week, Sept. 15 |
| Avec | 250 Waukegan Ave. | Mediterranean and Midwestern shared plates | Opens Oct. 29 |
Pelago Cafe was the first to be announced. It is a family project from cousins Ruthie Amidei and Mada Ugolini Hitchmough, who told The Record North Shore in April that they planned to open in early May. The menu they described runs from coffee and panini to flatinis, antipasto platters, focaccia, crostini and biscotti. It also includes pastas such as lasagna and tortellacci, plus take-and-bake pastas to bring home. The name honors the family's Italian village, Pelago.
Over on Green Bay Road, the 200 block filled up in the space of three weeks.
The 200 block of Green Bay Road
Chef Todd Stein opened Juniper at 200 Green Bay Road on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The Record North Shore described a menu of American favorites alongside a sushi program led by executive sushi chef Akira Yang.
Next door at 210 Green Bay, Robin and Richard Buxbaum spent the spring renovating the former 210 Live space. They were moving their antiques business from Logan Square, and the City Council approved the store's appearance review on April 21. The showroom opened to the public on Sept. 15 as the sold-out opening night of the first Highwood Design Week.
That week ran Sept. 15 to 18 under the theme "Design Is Everywhere." The Highwood Chamber of Commerce hosted it with North Shore City Lifestyle, and local businesses across town featured lighting, craftsmanship, photography and design. At the Old Plank opening, Avec's kitchen served the first public tastes of its Highwood menu. The newest antiques dealer and the most anticipated restaurant shared one room, a few doors from Juniper. Taken together, these businesses put the center of Highwood's 2026 openings on Green Bay Road and Waukegan Avenue.
What Avec brings to Waukegan Avenue
Avec first opened in Chicago in 2003. It belongs to One Off Hospitality, the group that also runs Blackbird, The Violet Hour, Publican Quality Bread, Dove's Luncheonette and Big Star. The menu combines Mediterranean and Midwestern shared plates inspired by the wine regions of southwestern Europe. The Highwood kitchen will serve house signatures such as the chorizo-stuffed medjool dates, along with new dishes Patel is keeping as a surprise.
The two Design Week bites hinted at the approach. One was a tabbouleh salad with sesame, tahini, roasted corn, gold tomatoes and Parmesan. The other was a shrimp cocktail with harissa cocktail sauce, fresh horseradish and chives. The dining room has a U-shaped, marble-backed bar, booths along the walls and a wood-soffited ceiling.
Practical details for the first weeks:
- Reservations: taken online since Oct. 1.
- Hours posted on Avec's Highwood page: Sunday 4:30 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday 4:30 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4:30 to 11 p.m.
- Private events: a separate private-dining room is expected in spring 2027.
That 11 p.m. weekend close makes Avec a late-evening option on Waukegan Avenue as well as a dinner reservation.
Sheridan Road is getting residents first
On Sheridan Road, 2026 was a year of redevelopment approvals and construction, with few new storefronts.
The best-known loss came first. Nite N' Gale, at 346 Sheridan Road, closed on Sept. 28, 2025, and The Record North Shore reported plans for a six-story building with apartments and commercial space on the site. The developer said he hoped to find an operator to bring back a version of the restaurant. The developer now lists the project as under construction, with an opening planned for 2027. Published unit counts for the building range from 103 to 105.
One block north, the City Council voted 4-2 on June 2 to approve The Modena, according to The Record North Shore. The project is a $32 million, six-story building covering 412, 416, 420, 424 and 430 Sheridan Road. This is the clearest example of the city planning the street. Highwood bought the first of the five parcels in 2021 and issued a request for proposals in 2024. It then sold the assembled site to the development team for $2.75 million. Before the sale, three of the parcels were vacant lots and two were parking lots. The city ties the project to its 2013 Comprehensive Plan, which its own announcement says identified this part of Sheridan Road as a key opportunity for reinvestment.
The approved plans, as The Record reported them, include:
- 93 residences and 101 parking spaces
- 3,161 square feet of ground-floor retail
- A community roof deck and lounge, a 24/7 fitness center and bike storage
- Groundbreaking planned for 2027, with first occupancy expected in mid-2028
About 3,100 square feet of retail spread across five lots is a modest commercial footprint. The Modena is mainly a residential building. Combined with the 346 Sheridan project, the two buildings will add roughly 200 apartments to Sheridan Road, a short distance from the new dining on Green Bay and Waukegan. The Modena's developers still need permits before construction can begin.
One older Sheridan Road business is getting a second chance. On Aug. 4, the City Council approved Howard Hughes, owner of The Wooden Nickel, as the new operator of the tavern at 432 Sheridan Road, long known as Teddy O'Brian's. It will reopen under a new name, The Silver Dollar, according to The Record North Shore. A city rendering in that coverage shows a possible new outdoor space. The Silver Dollar sits right next to The Modena's site, so the street's next phase will include at least one familiar tavern address.
The next seven weeks downtown
Avec's opening night falls one day before Highwood's busiest stretch of the fall calendar:
- Thursday, Oct. 29: Avec opens at 250 Waukegan Ave.
- Friday, Oct. 30, 3 to 6 p.m.: The Highwood Chamber's Trick or Treat Trek starts at Bank of Highwood–Fort Sheridan, 507 Sheridan Road, and continues at participating businesses, according to the City of Highwood calendar.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 3 to 7 p.m.: Citywide trick-or-treating hours.
- Sunday, Nov. 15, noon to 2 p.m.: Bingo at Buffo's, listed on the city's November calendar.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 2 p.m. to bar close: Celebrate Highwood's Elf Invasion Pub Crawl, with participating venues, live music, food and drink specials, and raffle prizes.
The Trek starts at 507 Sheridan Road, on the same street as the lots where The Modena's 93 apartments are planned.
If you own a home near Sheridan Road and are wondering what two new six-story buildings, a reopened tavern and a growing restaurant district on Green Bay and Waukegan could mean for its value, Lisa Wolf Team | wolfpartners GROUP can review your address against these changes with you. We'll also walk you through how we prepare and present a Highwood home so buyers see what's opening around it.
