Gunny’s Pub Opens Sept. 16 in Lincoln Park Amid Lincoln Avenue Closure

A selection of cocktails from Gunny’s Pub, opening Sept. 16 in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. The bar program centers on classics done right alongside original drinks inspired by seasonal and Midwestern flavors.

Gunny’s Pub’s Market Days Salad features bitter greens, local apples, Prairie Breeze cheddar, roasted almonds and champagne mustard vinaigrette, reflecting the restaurant’s seasonal, Midwestern approach to familiar dishes.

Gunny’s roasted bone marrow layers rich, buttery marrow with deeply savory mushroom XO, onion honey jam and sea salt, served with toasted sourdough for scooping up every last bit.

Independent neighborhood pub debuts inside a restored 145-year-old building while major water main construction keeps Lincoln Avenue closed.

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, August 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Gunny’s Pub, a new independently owned neighborhood restaurant and bar at 2642 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincoln Park, will open Wednesday, Sept. 16, bringing thoughtfully made pub food, classic cocktails and a distinctly Midwestern point of view to a historic Lincoln Avenue storefront, even as construction keeps the street closed to through traffic.

Gunny’s has been more than a year in the making, with owners and husband and wife duo Mary Nedbalski and Marty O’Connor restoring and reimagining the approximately 145-year-old building as a modern neighborhood pub that still feels rooted in Chicago tavern culture.

The menu takes a familiar-first approach, pairing approachable pub favorites with more ambitious dishes and nods to Midwestern hunting and gathering traditions. Seasonal ingredients and regional wild game, including duck and pheasant, appear throughout the food program alongside dishes designed to make Gunny’s an easy choice for lunch, dinner or a late-night stop.

Behind the bar, the philosophy is similarly straightforward: classics done right. Martinis, Manhattans, Old Fashioneds and other familiar cocktails are built with careful technique and quality ingredients, joined by original drinks inspired by seasonal and Midwestern flavors. Beer and wine round out a beverage program designed to be thoughtful without feeling precious.

The space itself shifts in personality as guests move through it. The front room embraces the energy and familiarity of a classic neighborhood pub, while the rear opens into a lush, plant-filled dining room beneath a dramatic 20-by-20-foot skylight.

Gunny’s opening comes amid an unexpected complication for the surrounding corridor. Lincoln Avenue between Diversey Parkway and Wrightwood Avenue is currently closed to through traffic as the Chicago Department of Water Management completes a major water main replacement project. The project was originally expected to wrap in early October, though the construction schedule remains subject to change.

“Apparently the final step in opening a Chicago bar is having the city remove the street in front of it,” Nedbalski said. “It definitely wasn’t on the opening checklist, but we’ve spent the last year building a place we hope becomes part of this neighborhood for a very long time. We’re opening Sept. 16, construction cones and all.”

Rather than delay its opening, Gunny’s is leaning into the disruption with a simple message: The road is closed. The neighborhood isn’t.

“We didn’t build Gunny’s to be somewhere people visit once because it’s new,” Nedbalski said. “We want it to become the place you stop for lunch, bring a friend for a martini, wander into after work or end up staying longer than you planned. That only works if we’re genuinely part of the neighborhood around us.”

Gunny’s Pub will open Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 2642 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

About Gunny’s Pub
Gunny’s Pub is an independently owned neighborhood restaurant and bar at 2642 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincoln Park. Set inside a restored 145-year-old building, Gunny’s blends the warmth of a classic Midwestern pub with thoughtful food, carefully made cocktails and a few unexpected touches. The menu features familiar pub favorites, seasonal ingredients and regional wild game, while the space moves from a lively front bar to a lush rear dining room beneath a 20-by-20-foot skylight.
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Mary Nedbalski
Gunny's Pub
+1 440-539-8560
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