The Walk In Is Back — Through the Cooler: Logan Square's Beloved Bar Reopens With a Speakeasy Twist, Plus the Farmers Market Gets Two More Outdoor Days
By Socialhood News · Logan Square ·
Logan Square closed out its first week of November with two stories worth celebrating: a bar that has been part of the neighborhood's fabric for a decade quietly reopened its doors — through the most unexpected entrance on Milwaukee Avenue — and the Logan Square Farmers Market announced it isn't quite done with the outdoors yet, squeezing in two more pop-up Sundays before the winter indoor season begins.
The Walk In, the cocktail bar at 2727 N. Milwaukee Ave., reopened Friday, November 7, after more than a year of closure for a full remodel. And it did not come back quietly. Owner Esam Hani has given the bar an entirely new identity: a speakeasy. The only way in, at least for now, is through the walk-in cooler of Red Star Liquor and Deli next door at 2725 N. Milwaukee Ave. The original front door on Milwaukee Avenue is still there, but Hani confirmed it won't be in use until at least spring. "That will be a special experience for a speakeasy," Hani told Block Club Chicago.
The entrance isn't just a clever gimmick — it's a homecoming story. The Walk In has been in the neighborhood for a decade, and the bar itself was named after the walk-in cooler at Red Star Liquor and Deli, which originally occupied the space where the bar now sits. By routing guests back through that cooler, Hani is literally taking the bar back to its roots. "It's also a way to support the deli and liquor store," he said. The soft opening weekend featured DJ Billa on Friday and DJ KOZ spinning on Saturday, according to the bar's Instagram announcement.
For neighbors who have been watching the darkened storefront on Milwaukee Avenue for over a year, the return of The Walk In is the kind of neighborhood continuity story that matters. Milwaukee Avenue has absorbed a remarkable amount of change in a short window — new streetscaping, new residential towers, new grocers on the way — and the return of a 10-year-old bar, in a reimagined but unmistakably Logan Square form, is a reminder that not everything on the corridor turns over. The Walk In is back at 2727 N. Milwaukee Ave.; walk into Red Star Liquor and Deli next door and keep going.
Meanwhile, neighbors who assumed the Logan Square Farmers Market's outdoor run was finished got a welcome surprise this week. Block Club Chicago reported on November 4 that the market is extending its outdoor season with two "Surplus Sundays" pop-up markets in Humboldt Park — one happening today, Sunday, November 8, and one more on November 15. Both run from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Erie Family Health Center parking lot at 2418 W. Division St., with parking available across the street.
The pop-ups come after a landmark outdoor season for the market. This year, the Logan Square Farmers Market settled into what its organizers call its permanent home at the redesigned Logan Square plaza, with more than 100 rotating farmers, food vendors, and vintage sellers filling the space each Sunday since May 10. The final regular outdoor Sunday at 2620 N. Milwaukee Ave. was October 25, but the two Humboldt Park pop-ups extend the outdoor window a few precious weeks further into fall. For neighbors who want one last taste of the open-air market before the season fully turns, today's pop-up at Erie Family Health Center is the one to catch. The indoor winter market at Avondale Collective, 2800 N. Milwaukee Ave., kicks off Saturday, November 28, running Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through spring 2027 — note the day-of-week shift from Sunday to Saturday for the indoor run.
There was also a quieter but consequential piece of civic news out of the neighborhood this week. Block Club Chicago reported that roughly 74 percent of 35th Ward constituents voted yes to a non-binding ballot question signaling strong support for limiting new short-term rentals like Airbnbs in Logan Square and Humboldt Park. The result, while non-binding, gives Ald. Anthony Quezada a clear mandate from neighbors as he weighs potential legislation on the issue — and adds another data point to the neighborhood's ongoing conversation about who the housing stock is for.
Sources:
1. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/11/05/logan-squares-the-walk-in-reopens-friday-just-enter-through-the-cooler/
2. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/11/04/logan-square-farmers-market-keeps-season-going-with-two-more-pop-ups/
3. https://blockclubchicago.org/latest-stories/