When Village President Howard Roin stepped up to the microphone at the Glencoe Golf Club ribbon-cutting on Friday, Oct. 23, he started with a memory of the old building. At his first official event in the century-old clubhouse, he said, "We all were hoping that the ancient thing wasn't going to fall on us before the event was over." The Record North Shore counted more than 100 people at the event, standing in front of a $15.7 million replacement.
Three days before that, the same outlet reported that Mensch's Deli and Picnic will close their Glencoe locations at 668 Vernon Ave. on Nov. 22. Building owner Pete Kadens explained the change by naming something he says downtown Glencoe still lacks: a warm, comfortable place where people sit down and stay a while.
Read together, the two stories describe this winter in Glencoe. The building that fits Kadens's description best is the new public clubhouse at 621 Westley Road, and its restaurant opens in mid-November.
The Storefront That Keeps Starting Over
The coming change will be the fourth reinvention of 668 Vernon since 2021. The Record traces its history since Kadens took over the building:
| Concept | Opened | Closed | Reason Kadens gave The Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poppy's Social | September 2021 | Less than a year later | Not the right financial formula |
| Honey Butter Fried Chicken | Early 2024 | October 2024 | Product-market fit was off |
| Mensch's Deli and Picnic, sharing the room | Mid-2025 | Nov. 22, 2026 | Too much takeout for the community goal |
| A new full-room concept | Targeted for early spring 2027 |
According to The Record, Mensch's and Picnic reportedly held their own financially, and the Evanston flagships of both restaurants will stay open. Kadens said the two concepts leaned heavily on takeout, which worked against the reason he bought the building. "I actually built this business … for the purpose of convening people and having a space that was activated for eight to 10 hours a day," he told The Record.
His next plan comes from more than 100 local survey responses. It would fill the whole room with a full bar, thin-crust pizza, salads, comfortable flexible seating and plenty of televisions. It would also add an upstairs event and private-dining space and possibly live entertainment such as comedy nights. Kadens has applied to the Village for a Class B-2 liquor license, and Deputy Village Manager Nikki Larson told The Record that the Village "is supportive of the project."
The target is early spring 2027. Until then, Kadens plans to rent the empty space for private events through the holidays. Downtown's most-watched restaurant room will have no daily dining service from late November into the new year.
The Lakefront Is Also Offline
In most years, Glencoe's other big gathering spot is the beach, and it is closed as well. The Glencoe Park District started construction on Sept. 8. The beach, lower ramp, beach house and playground are all closed during the work, and reopening is expected in May 2027.
West Park is the one finished project nearby. As of the Park District's Oct. 7 update, its renovation is complete, with a new ballfield, racquet courts, bocce and shuffleboard, and improved paths, drainage, parking and accessibility. The outfield grass stays closed while it grows in.
So the lakefront is closed until spring and 668 Vernon is between concepts until spring. Over the same months, the village has a new building designed for people to spend long stretches of time in.
What Opens on Westley Road
The new clubhouse at Glencoe Golf Club holds up to 300 people across the building and its outdoor spaces. That includes a main dining room for 100, a bar seating 60, a terrace for 75 and a 50-person private event room. Roin said the 126-acre club is not only for golfers or only for Glencoe residents, since it sits on both Village and Cook County Forest Preserve land. The Record reports that it is open to all Cook County residents.
The restaurant, The Westley, is expected to open Nov. 11. It is run by Clubhouse Group, which also operates Grill House and Cabo Grill in Northbrook and Backyard Grill in Highland Park. The Village Board approved the group unanimously in August. The Record's early report described classic and fine American fare, local draft beers, fine wines and signature cocktails. Coverage of the vendor approval describes year-round restaurant and bar service with brunch, lunch and dinner menus, cocktails and a children's menu.
The pre-opening OpenTable listing, still marked "Coming Soon," gives a few more details. It shows daily lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. Dishes include a Maryland crab cake, ahi tuna tacos, a prime-beef burger and a lobster roll. Reservations open one day ahead at midnight Central. Treat the hours and menu as expected rather than final until the doors open.
The club advertises two TrackMan simulator bays with golf, swing analytics and optional TruGolf multi-sport arcade games. Food and drinks can be served to the bays. The simulator booking page lists one-hour rentals starting at $60.
Matt Siebert of the Village's Golf Advisory Committee told The Record that the building and course upgrades allow for year-round activities, even after the course closes for the winter. The old clubhouse could not do that. "You could never host an event like this there," he said.
A Building the Village Voted For
The clubhouse is a public project, and Glencoe paid for it in public. Voters approved the $18 million project in a 2023 referendum, and a reported $15 million of that comes from taxpayers. The original clubhouse was torn down in May 2025. Six change orders since March 2025, driven partly by a wet summer and an unknown underground storage tank, brought the contract with W.B. Olson to $15.7 million.
Private support added more. The Friends of the Glencoe Golf Club have raised more than $2.3 million toward a $3 million goal and gave the Village a $1 million check at the ribbon-cutting. That money paid for a regulation croquet court, an event lawn, a pollinator garden, a community garden, a monarch butterfly sanctuary and 32 new trees. Village Manager Philip Kiraly noted that the building has Silver LEED certification, geothermal heating and cooling, and bird-safe glass.
Listeners saved their loudest applause for general manager Stella Nanos. Kiraly said she had treated the building as a personal mission for nearly 20 years.
The croquet court is one of the outdoor features waiting for warmer weather. The croquet page lists nonmember rentals at $15 an hour with 72 hours' notice, but its schedule is still listed as pending.
November, Mapped Around the Change
Glencoe's other November traditions still happen in their usual places. In date order:
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 10:30 a.m. The free Pumpkin Smash at the Glencoe Community Garden, 380 Old Green Bay Road. That morning, the golf club's sold-out Hard Course Chili Open, billed as the season's final and toughest event, is on the course.
- Through Nov. 8. Final performances of Sisters at Writers Theatre.
- Wednesday, Nov. 11. The Westley's expected opening day.
- Friday, Nov. 13. Lightscape opens at the Chicago Botanic Garden and runs through Jan. 3, 2027, with new installations and special family and adult evenings.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. The free Turkey Chase at the Weinberg Family Recreation Center.
- Sunday, Nov. 22. The last day for Mensch's Deli and Picnic at 668 Vernon.
- Friday, Nov. 27, 5 to 7 p.m. Light the Lights downtown. The lighting ceremony is at 5 p.m., with live music, reindeer, rides, photos with Santa, library crafts and vendors.
- Through Nov. 29. The Royale at Writers Theatre, which opened Oct. 22.
Light the Lights comes five days after 668 Vernon closes, so the holiday crowd will walk past a storefront between restaurants. The new restaurant on Westley Road will have been open for about two weeks by then.
If you live near the golf club or downtown Glencoe and are curious how new gathering places like these tend to show up in a home's story, Nicole Fabiano is happy to walk through it with you over coffee. When you're ready, request a complimentary home valuation.
