"In restaurants, especially here in Chicago, it's very difficult to be in the middle," Jeremy Leven told Eater this summer. "You're either a venture capital-backed group, or you are a hot dog stand." Leven is one of the chefs behind Gilda, the Basque pintxos tavern that opened July 23 at 1421 W. Chicago Ave., almost directly across from Eckhart Park. His team found a third way to pay for it. On the Saturday before it opened, and every Saturday since June, a group of volunteers set up a farmers market across the street that does much the same thing for the park.
The common thread on this block of Chicago Avenue this year is who put up the money. The answer is mostly the people who live nearby.
A funding gap closed by future regulars
WBEZ reported in April that Leven estimated Gilda's opening costs at $120,000 if they were "pinching every penny" and $180,000 if they were "comfortable." Family support had raised about $70,000. The rest had to cover kitchen and bar inventory, staffing, loan repayment, and about four months of operating cushion. Then the federal Small Business Administration denied the team a loan.
Inés de Haro, Gilda's beverage and culture director, proposed the fix: the Compañero Card. Anyone could contribute, with a suggested minimum of $250, and get a discount on every bill until the full contribution was paid back. The discount went up with the size of the contribution:
- Up to $499 earned 8% back.
- $500 to $999 earned 10% back.
- $1,000 earned 12% back, along with reservation and event perks.
Block Club reported that the campaign reached its $20,000 goal, which kept renovations going and covered other opening costs. Leven told Eater that as many as 40 "compañeros" helped close the gap. That works out to a small crowd of regulars who had a stake in the place before the first anchovy toast went out.
It worked fast. In opening week, Leven said the first two weekends were fully booked, with reservations "all the way up into October." The team also held one night back for people nearby. When Gilda opened, Mondays were walk-in only with a waitlist, and de Haro explained why:
"Mondays will be walk-in only with a wait list, so that people from the neighborhood after work can come home, walk their dog, then come over to this third space to decompress at the end of their day."
The opening schedule was 5 to 11 p.m. Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and reservation-only Thursday through Sunday, with the last seating at 9:30 p.m. Those were July's hours, so check the current schedule before you walk over. Leven's recommendations are a gilda, the matrimonio anchovy toast, and the cod croquettes, then the Basque cheesecake with a seasonal fruit sauce, which he called "the best in the city." Bar seats come with a first-come, first-served secret burger. The Working-Class Muscle cocktail swaps a "whisper" of Malört in for Campari.
Across the street, a market that funds the park
Eckhart Park's farmers market launched in June at 1330 W. Chicago Ave. and runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It was first planned to end in September, but the market has extended its season through October 17.
It is run the way Gilda was financed. A group of volunteer neighbors called the "Market Gnomes" builds, organizes, promotes, staffs, and cleans up after the market every week. The Eckhart Park Advisory Council says it is one of only three volunteer-led farmers markets in Illinois. The council is a nonprofit, so all market proceeds go back into the park as capital improvements, free programming, and community events. Block Club named Mark Litton as one of the volunteer organizers.
The market's vendor graphic includes Fehr Brothers Farms, Dee's Banana Bread, Viva la Horchata, John Bailey Honey, Roma's Kitchen, Wholesome Harvest, Yer's Cut Flowers, and Parkside Roasters, though the lineup changes week to week. The market accepts SNAP benefits. At participating markets, the Link Match program run by Link Up Illinois matches SNAP spending dollar for dollar, up to $25 per swipe, at the SNAP/Link booth. Two one-hour outdoor fitness classes start at 9 a.m., and the market asks for a small donation to support the instructors. The market goes on rain or shine and cancels only for lightning or severe weather.
What that money has paid for before
The market is new. Neighbors paying for this park is not. The Advisory Council keeps a public list of its projects, and it shows the scale of what market proceeds join:
| Year | Project | What the council reports |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Playground | More than $525,000 raised from multiple sponsors and donors |
| 2018 | Softball diamond | About $45,000 total, with the council's $20,000 matched by Cubs Charities and $5,000 from the Park District |
| 2021 | Pool lane lines | More than $2,000 for five lane lines spanning 75 feet |
| 2022 | Water fountain | $1,600 for a refrigerated, ADA-accessible fountain |
| 2024 | Boxing gym | Nearly $10,000 in new equipment for the fieldhouse basement program |
| Over the past three years | Benches and picnic tables | More than $18,000 raised, with eight benches and three all-weather picnic tables installed |
| Early 2026 | Fieldhouse appliances | About $2,000 for a washer and dryer, microwave, stove, and deep freezer |
The appliance line shows what the money is for. The council says it used programming funds to help offset Park District budget constraints by replacing failing equipment used by park staff, students, and summer camp kids. Five more matching steel benches are planned for the next phase. Each summer movie screening costs $1,300, and 2026 was the first year the council asked the public to co-sponsor them. A weekly market adds a steady revenue stream for exactly these kinds of costs, and the council's July minutes describe it as "successful," though they report no attendance figures.
Three blocks west, a bakery whose founders dog-sat first
Guillotine Bakery opened June 17 at 1711 W. Chicago Ave., and its founders also started at street level. Before committing to Chicago, co-owner Vincent Didry took short-term dog-sitting jobs around the city. "I needed to live in the neighborhoods to understand them," he told Eater. Co-owner Alizé Bikard did the same whenever she could get time off from her job in Paris. In early May, a one-day pop-up at Mindy Segal's Mindy's Bakery sold through its baguettes and more than 700 pastries in a few hours.
The bakery sits in a former art gallery. Siren Betty Design, which also designed neighboring Brasero, did the space. Bakers work in a glass-walled kitchen with windows on two sides, and a 10-seat high counter looks straight into it. Head baker Vince Le Bec is from Brittany, where the kouign amann was invented, and the butter for those and the croissants comes from Normandy. There is also a hot dog in a croissant. Coffee comes from a blend developed with Chris Chacko of Chicago's Sparrow Coffee. At opening, the hours were 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Monday, and Thursday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with the bakery closed Tuesday and Wednesday. When Eater Chicago updated its heatmap of the city's best new restaurants in August 2026, both Guillotine and Gilda were on it.
Two market Saturdays left, and the rest of the fall
As of today, October 4, two market days remain: October 10 and October 17. Both run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Eckhart Park. Here is what else is on the calendar nearby.
- Friday, October 9, 5 to 7 p.m. The Advisory Council's events page lists Transilience: Chicago Trans Pride Festival, rescheduled at Eckhart Park. The Park District page for its original August date still shows it as canceled, so confirm with the organizers.
- Weekdays through December 11. Open swim at Eckhart runs Monday through Friday, 11:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
- Wednesdays and Fridays through December 11. Pulaski Park, 1419 W. Blackhawk St., runs youth and teen archery sessions.
- Saturday, October 31, 4 to 9 p.m. West Town Social Club's Halloween Crawl is a host-guided walk to four bars along Damen Avenue, from Chicago Avenue up to Division Street.
- Saturday, December 5, noon to 5 p.m. The West Town Chamber's Sip & Shop, with carolers and refreshments, kicks off "It's a Wonderful West Town," which runs through December 24.
After the market closes on October 17, nothing is set yet. At its July meeting, the Advisory Council discussed a possible indoor farmers market or holiday artisan market. The minutes don't announce either one or a 2027 outdoor season.
At Chicago Home Partner, we follow how blocks like this one change, from who opens across from the park to what the park's own neighbors pay to keep up. If you're thinking about what the Eckhart Park stretch of Chicago Avenue means for your next move, schedule a complimentary market consultation.
