Gibsons Tavern lands city licenses ahead of a planned November opening in Fulton Market

The City of Chicago issued four business licenses to Gibsons Tavern on October 28, 2026, including a retail food license and two liquor licenses, for the Gibsons Restaurant Group’s new restaurant at 925 W Fulton Market in the West Loop, according to city business license records. The restaurant has not opened yet, and a Fox 32 segment with the group’s CEO and The Infatuation’s fall openings guide both point to November.

No exact opening date has been announced. In a September 2, 2026, Fox 32 Chicago segment, Gibsons Restaurant Group CEO Steve Lombardo talked about the new Fulton Market restaurant, which the station described as slated to open in November. The restaurant’s own website still lists the opening as fall 2026 and asks visitors to join a mailing list for menu previews and opening announcements.

The Infatuation lists Gibsons Tavern for November in its fall openings guide, updated September 23, and describes an upscale take on American staples alongside new versions of classic cocktails. The outlet’s preview page calls the tavern the third Gibsons-related restaurant in Chicago, after the original Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse at 1028 N Rush St in the Gold Coast and Gibsons Italia at 233 N Canal St.

What Now Chicago reported on August 21, 2026, that the group had named the project and set a fall 2026 timeline, describing a casual tavern format built around steaks, comfort food, cocktails and American favorites. The menu had not been released. The group was recruiting hospitality and culinary staff and had held an invitation-only event for selected candidates, What Now reported. The tagline on the restaurant’s website reads “Classic Tavern Spirit, Legendary Hospitality.”

Key facts about Gibsons Tavern

City records and published reports confirm these details so far.

• The address is 925 W Fulton Market, on the ground floor of the 11-story office building at 919 W Fulton Market, at the corner of Sangamon Street.
• The licensee is GRG Fulton Market LLC, and the restaurant’s website names Gibsons Restaurant Group as the company behind the tavern.
• The space is about 15,000 square feet, the size of the ground-floor lease the group signed in 2023, according to REjournals.
• The licenses cover retail food, liquor served on site, catering liquor and public amusement, and all four expire November 15, 2028.
• The expected opening is November 2026, according to The Infatuation and Fox 32, and no exact date has been posted.

What the permits and licenses show

City building permit records show a $12 million permit issued October 3, 2025, for a first-time restaurant buildout on the ground floor of the 11-story building, whose base address is 217 N Sangamon St. The permit names Joseph M. Antunovich as the architect and is now marked complete.

Sign permits name the tavern directly. A permit issued September 25, 2025, covers an illuminated, double-faced projecting sign reading Gibsons Tavern at the corner of Fulton Market and Sangamon Street. Nine more sign permits issued between February 3 and March 4, 2026, cover awnings carrying the Gibsons name on the building’s north and west sides, which face Fulton Market and Sangamon Street.

The license application was created April 14, 2026, and the city marked its requirements complete September 14, according to the license records. Along with the retail food license, the city issued a consumption on premises liquor license, a caterer’s liquor license and a public place of amusement license. The licenses do not mean the restaurant is open, and the group has not announced a date.

The address is in the 27th Ward, represented by Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., according to the City Clerk’s council directory.

Four years from lease talks to licenses

Gibsons has been working toward this corner since at least 2022. What Now Chicago reported in February 2022 that the group was negotiating for about 15,000 square feet in a development that had not yet been built, then addressed as 917 W Fulton Market. The developer’s co-founder, Alex Najem, said at the time that the concept would likely be some kind of bar and grill, and the restaurant was then expected to open in spring 2024.

The lease was signed the next year. REjournals reported on October 16, 2023, that the group had leased roughly 15,000 square feet on the ground floor of a planned 400,000-square-foot office building at Fulton Market and Sangamon Street, with about 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail in all. Najem and fellow developer Ross Babel negotiated the deal directly with the group, which had not yet picked a concept. The report said the restaurant would be the group’s 13th location in the Chicago area.

Construction ran longer than the first timeline. Chicago YIMBY reported in May 2024 that the building had a ceremonial groundbreaking in November 2023 and received its full building permit March 5, 2024, with plans for multiple outdoor terraces and a fitness center.

By January 2025, the exterior glass was nearly complete, and the commercial space was set to include a Gibsons restaurant buildout, Chicago YIMBY reported. A WGN Radio item from December 12, 2025, citing a press release, said the tavern would open the following fall in a vintage-inspired space.

An earlier plan called for two restaurants. A Restaurant Business profile of the Lombardo family, which listed the group’s 2023 sales, said the group then planned two Fulton Market concepts, a casual, tavern-like restaurant and a luxury supper club compared to New York’s Grill Room, both projected for the second quarter of 2026. The 2026 announcements and the city’s license records for 925 W Fulton Market name only Gibsons Tavern.

The group behind the tavern

Hugo Ralli and Steve Lombardo opened Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse on Rush Street in May 1989, according to the steakhouse’s website. The steakhouse has two suburban locations, Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse Rosemont on North River Road and a Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse in Oak Brook on South Spring Road. Restaurant Business has identified Steve Lombardo III as CEO and reported that the Lombardo family runs the company.

The Gibsons name is also growing outside Illinois. What Now reported on August 14, 2026, that the group plans the first Tennessee Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse at 414 Union St in downtown Nashville, with more than 150 jobs, more than $10 million in investment and a spring 2028 target cited from the Nashville Business Journal. The same report said Restaurant Business ranked Gibsons Italia, at about $32 million, and Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse, at $30.9 million, among the country’s top-grossing independent restaurants of 2025.

Getting to Fulton Market and Sangamon

The tavern sits on a corner with several transit options, and Chicago YIMBY’s construction coverage lists these connections near the building.

• The CTA Morgan station on the Green and Pink lines is less than a block away.
• The #8 Halsted bus runs two blocks east of the building.
• The #20 Madison bus runs four blocks south.
• The #65 Grand bus and the Grand Blue Line station are each within about a six-block walk.
• The office building has a below-grade garage with space for 80 cars.

The restaurant’s website does not mention parking or valet service. The site does link to a careers portal with open positions and to a private dining booking page.

What is still unannounced

Several basics have not appeared on the restaurant’s website or in the coverage so far.

• The group has not posted an exact opening date beyond the November target.
• The group has not named a chef for the tavern.
• The group has not released a menu or prices.
• The group has not listed hours, a phone number or reservation details.

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