Glencoe's Lakefront Is Closed Until May. Its Off-Season Room Opens on Westley Road.

Glencoe Beach closed on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, for a renovation the Glencoe Park District expects to finish in May 2027. Six and a half weeks later, on Friday, Oct. 23, the Village holds a ribbon cutting for the rebuilt Glencoe Golf Club clubhouse at 621 Westley Road. The building has a fireplace dining room, a 64-seat bar and two golf simulators.

So the lake goes quiet while a new public room opens on the west side of the village. This winter, the place with Glencoe's name on the door, a bar, a kitchen and a schedule is the golf club, not the beach house.

What Closed at the Lake, and for How Long

The closure covers more than the sand. According to the Park District, these are now closed to all visitors while work continues:

• The lower ramp
• The beach
• The beach house
• The playground

The upper road stays open to walkers and runners outside construction hours. At the boating beach, a modified schedule runs through Oct. 11. After that, boats go into winter storage and owners can't get to them.

What comes back next summer is a different lakefront. The Park District lists interior renovations to the beach house, a new playground with spray features, a new trellis and sun shelters, new boat storage, boardwalk improvements and infrastructure upgrades. Until then, the village's gathering places for the rest of 2026 are inland.

The Clubhouse Was Planned for the Months the Beach Can't Cover

The building on Westley Road isn't a summer pro shop with a grill attached. The Village's project page describes a year-round, full-service restaurant with these spaces:

The club's own project page adds an indoor dining room with a central fireplace, a sports bar, private event and meeting space, and areas for indoor-outdoor events. The grounds plan includes an event lawn, a croquet court, a short-game area, community and pollinator gardens, a bike repair station, nature programs and "winter recreation areas." The plan doesn't say what those winter areas will hold, and the club hasn't posted a winter program calendar yet.

Getting the building finished took longer than planned. In August, Public Works Director Monica Sarna told the Village Board that a very wet summer had held up exterior work. Crews had also found an "unknown underground storage tank" during construction, which was removed but threw off the contractor's schedule. The target for substantial completion moved from Aug. 14 to Sept. 11. That delay is why the building opens in the same season the beach closes.

The Westley, and Why the Village Wants It Busy in January

The restaurant has a name now. On Oct. 5, The Record reported that it will be called The Westley and will serve classic and fine American fare, local draft beers, fine wines and signature cocktails. The Village's newsletter says it is "opening soon." No regular first day of service has been announced, and the Oct. 23 event is a clubhouse celebration, not the restaurant's opening night.

The operator is Clubhouse Group, which also does business as Housepitality Group. North Shore diners know its other restaurants: Grill House and Cabo Grill in Northbrook and Backyard Grill in Highland Park. The group has served food at the club on an interim basis since March. Golf club general manager Stella Nanos told trustees the plan includes brunch, lunch and dinner menus, children's menus, an extensive wine and cocktail list, and an on-site special event manager for private celebrations, community gatherings and Village-sponsored events.

The contract explains why year-round use matters to the Village. Starting in 2027, Clubhouse Group pays the Village a $45,000 annual base fee plus a share of revenue:

• 8% of net food sales
• 10% of net alcohol sales
• 12% of net catering and private-event sales
• All private room rental fees, which go straight to the Village

The agreement runs five years, with options for two more five-year terms. Every meal in November and every holiday party in December adds to that revenue share, which gives the Village a financial reason to keep the fireplace room busy through the winter. Village President Howard Roin's comment at the August meeting was brief:

"[I'm] looking forward to going there."

The grand opening starts with a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. on Oct. 23. Tours and an open house run from 4:30 to 7 p.m., with light refreshments from The Westley, and the Village asked guests to RSVP by Oct. 17.

Tudor Court Carries the Evenings in the Meantime

Downtown, the block around Writers Theatre at 325 Tudor Court has gained new tenants since summer. Ford General, founded by Patrick Ford, celebrated a ribbon cutting on Aug. 13 for its second location, a few doors away at 342 Tudor Court. Inside the theatre building, sisters Sara Mungovan and Melissa Vincent opened Roots Music Academy for children from birth to age 4, with Glencoe classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

On the theatre's stages, two productions overlap for about two and a half weeks. Sisters, by Matthew Libby and directed by Jessica Thebus, follows a human girl and her AI sister and runs through Nov. 8. The Royale, by Marco Ramirez and directed by Tyrone Phillips, opens Oct. 22 and runs through Nov. 29. It follows a Black boxer chasing a title fight during the Jim Crow era. The Royale opens the night before the clubhouse ribbon cutting, so both ends of the village start their fall season the same week.

Two restaurants announced in 2025 have since opened. Elyon, the Mediterranean concept at 667 Vernon Ave., is taking reservations. So is RDK Sushi at 317 Park Ave., run by Glencoe native Daniel Rakestraw.

The Calendar Between the Beach Closing and the Lights Going Up

With the lake closed, the rest of the season's events are spread among downtown, the parks, the library, the Chicago Botanic Garden and, starting late this month, Westley Road:

1. Oct. 7–11, 14–18 and 21–25: Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns at the Chicago Botanic Garden. This year's new piece is Monarch Skull, a 20-foot sculpture by Alyse Gamson.
2. Oct. 13, 1–2 p.m.: Glencoe Public Library's online author program with David Epstein, "The Power of Limits."
3. Oct. 16, 7 p.m.: A free Movies in the Park screening of Monsters, Inc. at Shelton Park.
4. Oct. 23, 4–7 p.m.: Glencoe Golf Club clubhouse grand opening.
5. Oct. 30, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.: Halloween Hello downtown, with trick-or-treating, Village Hall-oween and the Historical Society's "Ghosts of the Garden."
6. Oct. 30, 6 p.m.: Boo Bash After Dark at Kalk Park, with a trick-or-treat trail, hayrides, games and live entertainment.
7. Oct. 31, 9:30 and 11 a.m.: The library's Trick or Tales Halloween Show.
8. Nov. 7: Two events on the same Saturday. The Glencoe Community Garden Pumpkin Smash starts at 10:30 a.m., and the Hard Course Chili Open, listed as the last event of the golf club's season, is also that day.
9. Nov. 13: Lightscape opens at the Botanic Garden. New this year are a walk-in snow globe and a light sculpture of a dancing ballerina.
10. Nov. 20, 6 p.m.: Turkey Time Bingo, hosted by the Park District.
11. Nov. 27, 5–7 p.m.: Light the Lights downtown, with a 5 p.m. lighting ceremony, live music, character visits, a trackless train, Santa photos, reindeer and food vendors.

The Chili Open on Nov. 7 is the last scheduled golf event of the season. After that, the clubhouse's plan relies on the parts that don't need a fairway: the fireplace dining room, the bar, the two simulators and the event room for 150. Those rooms were built for the months between now and May 2027, when the Park District expects the beach to reopen.

A new Village-owned clubhouse and a lakefront that comes back in May with new shelters and a spray playground both shape how a Glencoe home will be described when it's listed next spring. If you're thinking about selling in 2027, Deb Baker Homes can show you how this season's changes are likely to affect your home's value. Request a complimentary home valuation.