After a Decade in Wicker Park, Urbanbelly Has Moved On — and a Beloved Brewery Is Moving Back In
By Socialhood News · Wicker Park ·
Change is coming fast to Wicker Park's restaurant corridors this September, and two stories — one a goodbye, one a homecoming — are capturing the neighborhood's attention at the same time.
Urbanbelly, the Asian fusion restaurant that spent a decade in Wicker Park, has closed its long-running location in the neighborhood and quickly reopened in a new Fulton Market home. The move, confirmed by The Infatuation, ends a ten-year chapter for the restaurant on its Wicker Park block. For longtime regulars who built a habit around its hot chicken bao buns, chicken wonton ramen, and udon noodles with bulgogi, the menu travels with it — the Fulton Market location carries the same classic dishes that made Urbanbelly a neighborhood staple.
Urbanbelly's departure leaves a real vacancy in a corridor that has been stacking up arrivals all year, but it also opens a door. And separately, another familiar name is working its way back toward the neighborhood it called home before the pandemic: Links Brewing. Owner Michael Quinlan operated a Links location in West Town for six years before the pandemic forced it to close, and he has been building out a new space ever since. The plans call for 36 handles of American craft beer plus six taps of the brewery's own brews, along with Malört, cocktails, wines, and spirit-free options. Quinlan's target opening has shifted more than once — a "late spring 2026" goal noted in an Instagram post has since slipped — but the build-out is underway and neighbors have been watching the space closely.
Taken together, the two stories capture something true about Wicker Park's commercial corridors in 2026: the neighborhood is simultaneously saying goodbye to a decade-long tenant and welcoming back an operator who never fully left in spirit. That rhythm — loss and return, churn and loyalty — has defined Milwaukee Avenue and Division Street for as long as either has had a restaurant scene worth talking about.
For neighbors curious about what comes next in the Urbanbelly space, or eager to track the Links Brewing build-out, the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce at wickerparkbucktown.com is your best source for updates as both situations develop. In the meantime, the neighborhood's fall calendar is full: the Wicker Park Farmers Market continues every Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 1425 N. Damen Ave. through October 25, and free community programming at the Wicker Park fieldhouse runs through December.
Sources:
1. https://www.theinfatuation.com/chicago/guides/new-chicago-restaurant-openings
2. https://stephanieturnerchicago.com/blog/whats-new-to-eat-and-drink-in-wicker-park-and-bucktown-this-late-summer
3. https://www.choosechicago.com/event/wicker-park-farmers-market/2026-09-20/