Illinois diners have already said goodbye to several treasured local restaurants this year, and another long-running favorite is preparing for its final service. Flo Cafe & Bar, a fixture on Chicago Avenue in West Town, will close on December 20, 2026, ending a 27-year run.
The restaurant opened in 1999 and built its identity around traditional Southwestern cooking, especially the flavors of New Mexico. In a city crowded with brunch choices, Flo gave diners something unmistakably its own: green and red chiles, hearty breakfast plates and an easygoing room that felt lively during the day and intimate after dark.
A little New Mexico in Chicago
Flo’s Southwestern character was more than a theme. Early owners Renee and Rodney Carswell met at the University of New Mexico, and the restaurant became known for using chiles sourced from the state. When Chicago public television’s Check, Please! visited in 2004, the show highlighted Flo’s folk-art-filled café, New Mexican cooking and peppers brought in directly from a New Mexico farmer…