"It's that collaborative effort to be able to create fun stuff, because honestly, that's where the best food comes out." Alexander Willis, chef and partner at Susu, said that to WTTW about a steakhouse on Randolph Street deciding to sell croissants. WTTW called the move a departure because this stretch is better known for evening fine dining like Oriole, Sepia and the former Grace, which is the space Susu now occupies.
That bakery fits a pattern in the neighborhood's 2026 openings. Over the past few months, the West Loop picked up a croissant counter on South Morgan, a café inside a luggage store, and a weekend pastry window at a dinner-only steakhouse. The famous dinner reservations are still here, and on several blocks there is now a reason to show up before noon too.
The Morning Counters That Arrived This Year
The new daytime spots sit a few blocks apart, so one morning walk can cover all of them.
- Goldn, 111 S. Morgan St. Eater Chicago reported that the pastry and coffee shop opened in mid-July with pastries, breakfast bagels, coffee, matcha, smoothies and croissants. Its signature is the "Goldy," a mini croissant filled to order, and the menu also lists traditional croissants, bagels, breakfast sandwiches and coffee drinks. Goldn's website links to advance pickup ordering, which helps if you're grabbing a box on the way to the office.
- Postcard, 170 N. Morgan St. Canadian luggage company Monos runs this Fulton Market café next to its first Chicago store. It pours Metric coffee and serves Publican pastries, matcha and toast.
- Susu, 652 W. Randolph St. Susu announced weekend bakery service starting Saturday, October 17: pre-order and pickup through the back entrance, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon. Susu's main site still shows dinner hours, so check susuchicago.com before walking over.
Susu's menu is the one most worth reading in advance. Eater Chicago listed the opening pastries as croissants, a chai cheesecake called Tea Tea Cheesecake, a shakshuka danish, tahini chocolate chip cookies, a tahini canelé and an occasional mystery item. The headliner is a breakfast sandwich with sujuk, a Turkish sausage the kitchen makes from wagyu beef. It comes with French scrambled eggs, American cheese, red shatta aioli and green chermoula on hand-rolled sourdough pita.
Willis's background explains the pastry case. WTTW reported that he grew up in Michigan, has family in Lebanon, and puts that heritage into classic French pastry. The tahini chocolate chip cookie combines both. He cooked savory food at Moody Tongue, Dusek's and Moto, and he and owner Paul Alqas modeled the bakery on what Genie Kwon built at Kasama: a casual daytime bakery that supports a destination dinner restaurant.
How the Morning Map Fits With Older Habits
The new counters join established spots that have added daytime menus. In June, Block Club Chicago reported that The Loyalist, at 177 N. Ada St., had added a breakfast sandwich served Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Put that next to Susu's Saturday and Sunday window and the West Loop now has two serious weekend breakfast sandwiches, both from kitchens built for dinner.
Geography matters here too. Goldn and Postcard are both on Morgan Street, on either side of the Randolph and Fulton corridors, and Susu works out of its back entrance. Much of the new morning activity sits on the cross streets, off the main restaurant rows.
For more on the area's streets and housing mix, see our West Loop neighborhood guide.
Dinner Is Still Opening on the Side Streets
The evening openings this fall followed the same geography. Most landed on cross streets rather than Randolph itself.
Black Briar, 201 N. Morgan St. opened Saturday, September 26, from chef Jimmy Papadopoulos and co-owner Tim Anderson. Eater Chicago reported that Papadopoulos wrote the business plan in 2009 while working as a hotel sous chef. He later led the kitchen at Bohemian House and then Boka Restaurant Group's Bellemore, which closed during the pandemic. Eater's short description is a "gutsy gastropub that's filtered through an American lens," with an open kitchen and seafood throughout the menu.
Victory & Vice, 318 N. Carpenter St. was open as of September 9, according to Eater Chicago's fall preview. The partners are Brian Galati, Chireal Jordan and Josh Howe.
Berenjak, 113–125 N. Green St., the Persian restaurant from the U.K., opened at Chicago's Soho House on Friday, October 2. Eater Chicago highlighted black chickpea hummus, kababs, charcoal-grilled prawns and fish stew, plus wine and cocktails previously poured only at its U.K. locations.
Pizzeria Gabbo, 834 W. Fulton Market St., Suite 200, is the main exception to the side-street pattern. Chicago Food Magazine reported an October 22 opening with Lettuce Entertain You partners Marc Jacobs and Andrew Ashmore, and Lettuce has since confirmed it is open.
Retail added one new name too. Set, the Los Angeles activewear brand, opened its first Midwest store at 946 W. Randolph St. on September 18, its third store anywhere, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. An activewear store fits a neighborhood that now has more reasons to be out in the morning.
Two Holiday Weekends That Start With Breakfast
The Randolph Street Market Festival's Holiday Market opens its doors at 9 a.m. and serves breakfast. It runs two weekends at Plumbers Union Hall, 1341 W. Randolph St., and its food lineup leans toward morning.
- Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15. The first weekend starts nine days after this post goes up on Thursday, November 5.
- Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13. The second weekend falls in the middle of gift season.
Hours are the same both weekends: Saturday early-buy shopping at 9 a.m., general shopping from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The organizer lists general admission at $20, good for both days of the weekend you choose. Early-buy tickets for the 9 to 10 a.m. hour cost $40, and 25% of ticket proceeds go to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boys & Girls Club. Children 12 and under get in free.
More than 125 vendors are expected, selling vintage fashion, estate jewelry, ornaments, mid-century furniture, vinyl and rare books. Named vendors include Eagles Eye Finds, KDR Curations, Revival A Go Go, Atlantic Poster and This Old Book. For food, the Market Bistro serves breakfast, lunch and new this year an afternoon high tea. Sunflower Coffee Café, Maggie's Sweets, 4 Suns Juice Bar, Brou'ne Desserts and Kracl Artisanal Toffee are also on the list.
The two halves of this guide fit together on a Saturday. Pre-order from Susu for its 9 a.m. pickup window, or stop at Goldn for a filled croissant, then walk west on Randolph to Plumbers Union Hall for 10 a.m. general admission. Confirm Susu's bakery hours online before you plan around them.
What's Still on the Way
Gibsons Tavern, from Gibsons Restaurant Group, is slated for November at 925 W. Fulton Market St., with a menu of steaks and seafood. It has been announced but hasn't opened yet, so check for a confirmed date before you plan a night around it. It would add another big dinner room to Fulton Market just as the neighborhood's mornings are getting busier.
If you'd like to talk through how the West Loop's daytime growth affects a home on these blocks, whether you're thinking of selling a condo near Morgan Street or buying close to the new cafés, The Kardosh Collection can walk you through it block by block. Let's Connect.
