November's two West Loop markets were scheduled for the same weekend. Randolph Street's Holiday Market set its November edition for Nov. 14 and 15, and Chicago Artisan Market set its Fulton Market Sunday for Nov. 15 at Morgan MFG. In November, that was one weekend. In December, the same two venues host most of what's on the calendar, along with one Thursday on Randolph Street, and everything fits between Dec. 10 and Dec. 20.
December's holiday shopping in the West Loop happens on one street and in two halls: the market space at 1340 W. Washington Blvd. and Morgan MFG at 401 N. Morgan St. This fall's new restaurants opened mostly around the second of those.
The Calendar, Start to Finish
Here are the dates, in order, with the hours each organizer has posted:
- Thursday, Dec. 10: West Loop Community Org.'s third annual Holiday Stroll, with deals at participating shops all day along Randolph and the side streets off it.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Randolph Street's Holiday Market at 1340 W. Washington, with early buying from 9 to 10 a.m. and general admission from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 13: Randolph Street's Holiday Market, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., plus Chicago Artisan Market at Morgan MFG, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 18, through Sunday, Dec. 20: Renegade Craft Fair at Morgan MFG.
Sunday the 13th is the day to plan around. That afternoon, both buildings are open at the same time.
Thursday on Randolph Comes First
The Holiday Stroll is the only event of the four that takes place in the shops themselves. The West Loop Community Org. event page says participating businesses along Randolph and the nearby side streets will offer deals all day, along with seasonal treats. The page also has a sign-up form for businesses, so the list of participating shops is still being filled in.
It falls on a Thursday, so it suits a lunch hour or the walk home from work rather than a weekend outing. It's also two days before the big Saturday market. If you're shopping for gifts, the Stroll is the time to hit the storefronts you pass every week before the weekend crowds arrive.
1340 W. Washington Runs the Ticketed Weekend
Randolph Street's Holiday Market is indoors, ticketed and spread over two days. The organizer bills it as a mix of vintage, modern and handmade goods, with food and drink, music and a children's workshop. The ticket options are:
- General admission: $19 online or $20 at the gate. One ticket covers both days, and you can ask for a re-entry ticket at check-in if you plan to come back. Kids under 12 get in free.
- Early Buying Saturday: $35 online or $40 at the gate, with doors at 9 a.m., an hour before general admission. A percentage goes to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boys and Girls Club.
- Treasure Hunt for Two: $70, sold online only. It covers admission for two, one Prosecco or other drink per person and a jumbo market tote.
Because general admission covers both days, you can split the market in two. Go Saturday to look around, then come back Sunday morning to buy whatever you're still thinking about, before the Morgan MFG market opens at 11.
Parking is free in the surface lot, which you enter at 1340 W. Washington Blvd. Overflow parking is in a garage entered on Randolph Street just west of Ada Street, at $7 an hour. If you're driving in, the surface lot is the cheaper option, and it costs nothing.
Morgan MFG Hosts Two Markets in One Week
The building at 401 N. Morgan St. is the busiest holiday shopping address in the neighborhood this month. Chicago Artisan Market uses it on Sunday, Dec. 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Five days later, Renegade Craft Fair moves into the same space from Dec. 18 through Dec. 20. Time Out Chicago's December calendar describes it as more than 170 vendor booths selling candles, screenprints, jewelry and pottery, with food and drink from local restaurants.
With two craft markets in the same hall a week apart, it's easy to plan in stages. Shop the smaller Artisan Market for the first round of gifts, then cover whatever is left at Renegade the following weekend.
Morgan MFG isn't only a December venue for these markets. The Chicago Artisan Market calendar brings the market back to 401 N. Morgan on Sunday, March 7, 2027, and again on Sunday, April 25, 2027, both from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where to Eat Near the Morgan Street Door
This is where the new openings come in. Most of the West Loop restaurants that opened this fall are within a few blocks of Morgan MFG, so one of them can easily follow an afternoon at the market.
Black Briar, 201 N. Morgan St.
Black Briar is on the same street as Morgan MFG, a couple of blocks south. Chef Jimmy Papadopoulos and co-owner Tim Anderson opened it on Saturday, Sept. 26, Eater Chicago reported. It's open 4 to 10 p.m. daily, and reservations are on OpenTable. The gastropub has 110 seats in the former Bar Takito space, including a 20-seat U-shaped bar, and an open kitchen. The menu runs from oysters and hamachi crudo to snail toast, sourdough cavatelli and a pork short rib finished on the grill. On Dec. 13, Black Briar opens at 4, an hour before the Artisan Market closes at 5.
Victory & Vice, 318 N. Carpenter St.
Victory & Vice is a block west of Morgan. It opened Sept. 9, from the team behind Dearly Beloved, Machine Cocktail Bar and Headquarters Beercade. Eater Chicago's fall preview describes 30 screens, a 17-by-10-foot viewing wall, an island bar and a 1,000-square-foot patio. The food includes a bulgogi cheesesteak and tavern-style pizza, and the drinks include a margarita soft serve. If someone in your group would rather watch a game than browse pottery, it's the closest new option to the Renegade weekend.
Pizzeria Gabbo, 834 W. Fulton Market, Suite 200
Lettuce Entertain You opened Pizzeria Gabbo on Thursday, Oct. 22, according to Eater Chicago's openings roundup. It serves both New York- and Chicago-style pies. On the Chicago side, standouts include the square-cut fennel sausage and giardiniera pizza, and gelato comes in roasted pistachio and milk chocolate. The dining room has 60 seats and the bar has eight, so it's a small room for a busy market weekend.
Berenjak, 113-125 N. Green St.
Berenjak, the U.K. Persian restaurant, opened its Chicago location inside Soho House on Friday, Oct. 2, Eater Chicago reported. The menu has black chickpea hummus, kababs, charcoal-grilled prawns and fish stew, and the wine and cocktail list includes drinks previously served only at its U.K. locations.
Gibsons Tavern, 925 W. Fulton Market
Gibsons Restaurant Group's newest restaurant is a 14,000-square-foot space with cathedral-vaulted ceilings, designed to feel like the turn of the century. The menu covers steaks, seafood and desserts. Eater Chicago listed its timing as November.
A Morning Option on Randolph
One fall addition is aimed at mornings rather than dinners. Susu, at 652 W. Randolph St., set Saturday, Oct. 17 as the opening date for a weekend bakery, Eater Chicago reported. Orders are placed ahead and picked up at the restaurant's back entrance. The announced menu centers on a wagyu sujuk breakfast sandwich on hand-rolled sourdough pita, with pastries like a shakshuka danish, tahini chocolate chip cookies and tahini canelé.
Susu is on Randolph, the same street as the Thursday Stroll, and a weekend bakery there would overlap with the Dec. 12 and 13 market weekend.
For more of what's around you, our West Loop neighborhood guide covers the streets between those addresses, and our August look at the West Loop's three-park week covers the neighborhood's summer calendar.
At The Kelly Ladewig Group, we keep a running calendar for the West Loop, and the markets on Morgan and West Washington are the dates we're watching this month. If a December walk down Randolph has you wondering what your own place is worth, or what's for sale a few blocks from Morgan MFG, we'd love to talk it through with you. Let's Go House Hunting.
