New Restaurants in Downtown Glencoe: What’s Opening Now
September 3, 2026
September 3, 2026
Why has 667 Vernon seen six restaurant concepts since 2013 while 668 Vernon now houses Picnic and Mensch's Deli after two earlier concepts? The two addresses offer a snapshot of how downtown Glencoe's dining scene has changed.
Start with the two addresses that make the puzzle visible: 668 Vernon and 667 Vernon, directly across from each other, both inside a downtown that is walkable, well-trafficked, and has changed very little architecturally since the 1920s.
As The Record North Shore reported, the space at 668 Vernon Ave sits inside a 1927 building that Chicagoland philanthropist and entrepreneur Pete Kadens controls the lease on. In September 2021, it opened as Poppy's Social, a casual eatery that lasted nine months. It was replaced by Honey Butter Fried Chicken, a concept with a strong following in the city. Kadens later told The Record North Shore that Poppy's actually outperformed Honey Butter, which surprised him given the chain's popularity in Chicago. His read: the product simply did not fit Glencoe, where residents lean toward healthy, organic food and a good deli over fried chicken.
That diagnosis shaped what came next. In May 2025, Picnic, an order-at-the-counter salad and grain-bowl concept already running in Evanston, opened in half the space. A few weeks later, Mensch's Deli, a full-service Jewish deli with breakfast sandwiches, latkes, and matzo ball soup, opened in the other half, sharing a kitchen with Picnic and giving the combined space a large rear patio. Both are owned by a trio of New Trier High School alumni, Jack DeMar, Eric Kogan, and Kiki Eliopoulos.
The two concepts share one storefront. Downtown Glencoe draws from a village with a population density of roughly 2,341 people per square mile, which makes volume harder to generate than in a denser suburb or in Evanston. Running two smaller, focused concepts out of one address, rather than betting everything on a single big swing, spreads the risk across more reasons for a customer to walk in that day. So far, it has worked. Both restaurants were still open and drawing regulars as of this summer.
As The Record North Shore reported, 667 Vernon Ave has seen these six restaurant concepts since 2013:
The six concepts at 667 Vernon span roughly twelve years and include white-tablecloth Italian, upscale contemporary American, and casual pizza. At 668 Vernon, Picnic and Mensch's Deli now share the space.
The third piece of this year's downtown reshuffle is a story of succession. As The Record North Shore reported, Meg's Cafe, run for four decades by Barbara Lepman out of 317 Park Ave alongside her catering business, Apple A Day, closed on May 31, 2025. Lepman had served Glencoe diners for 40 years, and her farewell message to the community, posted on social media, described the closing as the end of a long-running family relationship with the village rather than a business collapse.
What happened to that space next is the most interesting local detail of the year. As The Record North Shore reported, Daniel Rakestraw, a Glencoe native, began his restaurant career at 15 washing dishes at Guildhall, the American bistro at 694 Vernon Ave that has anchored the block for years. He went on to train at Ron of Japan in Northbrook, Sushi-San in Chicago, Kendall College, the Michelin-starred Gage, and eventually Nobu, where he spent a year pressing rice before joining the sushi roster and later oversaw a rooftop sushi bar that grew from 400 to 650 covers a night. In August 2025, Rakestraw bought Lepman's Apple A Day catering operation, and in April 2026 he opened RDK Sushi in the former Meg's Cafe space, a 64-seat sit-down restaurant offering nigiri, family-style appetizers, and hot dishes influenced by his time under the Nobu system. Before RDK, the only sushi in town came from Tori Dasu, served inside Guildhall itself. Rakestraw has said the appeal of coming home is that the North Shore supports its own, a dynamic that matters more in a village this size than it would in the city.
The examples show different developments in Glencoe's downtown dining scene. 668 Vernon has hosted Honey Butter Fried Chicken and now Picnic and Mensch's Deli, while 667 Vernon has hosted several restaurant concepts. Guildhall, Hometown Coffee & Juice at 700 Vernon, and The Flower Shop in Glencoe have also remained part of the local business mix over time. The Flower Shop has operated since 1979. Hometown functions as much as a meeting spot for kids walking or biking over after school as it does a coffee shop. Guildhall gave a 15-year-old dishwasher his start and is still operating.
RDK Sushi is priced and positioned as a destination restaurant, and it opened to strong early reviews. Its arrival adds another option to Glencoe's downtown dining mix, alongside the deli, salad counter, and established local businesses.
For anyone walking Vernon and Park Avenues this fall, the practical map looks like this: Picnic and Mensch's Deli share the patio and kitchen at 668 Vernon, RDK Sushi has taken over the old Meg's Cafe space at 317 Park with a small 64-seat room that is already drawing weekend reservations, and Guildhall, Hometown Coffee & Juice, and The Flower Shop continue to anchor the block the way they always have. At 667 Vernon, the restaurant lineup has included six concepts since 2013.
Downtown's dining scene offers a snapshot of the restaurant and business mix on Vernon and Park Avenues. It includes long-standing establishments and newer concepts, with the mix continuing to change. That is worth knowing whether you are heading to Mensch's for a Saturday bagel or simply trying to understand what makes this particular stretch of the North Shore tick.
For a closer look at what else the village has going on this season, our guide to Glencoe's cultural calendar covers the Botanic Garden, Writers Theatre, and downtown's events lineup through the first frost. And if Glencoe's blend of small-town routine and lakefront character has you thinking about what it would mean to actually live here, our Glencoe neighborhood guide is a good place to start.
Jena Radnay has spent years watching how Glencoe's downtown evolves block by block, and that same attention to detail is what goes into every listing and every client conversation. Request a Private Consultation whenever you are ready to talk about what's next.
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Jena Radnay, and the focus of her real estate business, is all about people. Radnay’s love for real estate, houses, marketing, and people have allowed her business to grow organically, albeit explosively, in large part from referrals from her extensive network of contacts and connections.
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