Who is the ground floor of Tribune Tower for? The Shops at Tribune Tower opened with a sprinkle pool, a Dresden watchmaker and a coffee bar facing a plaza full of tourists. The newest leases at 435 N. Michigan tell a different story. They include a fast-casual lunch counter, a family-run optician, a tax-prep office and an activewear flagship. If you live upstairs or a few blocks away, those are businesses you'd walk into on a Tuesday.
Most of them aren't open yet. On the leasing site's most recent update, October 22, Fare, Lululemon, Big City Optical and Intuit all still carry "Opening Soon" badges, with no dates. In the meantime, Pioneer Court gets ready for its biggest month. Here is how both sides of the plaza stand heading into November.
The first wave: built to be visited
The tenants that opened first all have one thing in common. You plan a trip to them.
- Museum of Ice Cream was scheduled to open in July 2022, according to the CIM Group announcement from that June. Entry is timed and the ice cream is unlimited. The museum's ticket page lists General Admission from $24, Flex from $32 and VIP from $49, with prices that change by day and time. It's still a reliable stop when guests are in town with kids.
- A. Lange & Söhne signed its lease in December 2023 with a 2024 opening planned, according to a Business Wire release. It's a boutique for a watchmaker whose roots go back to Glashütte in 1845.
- Rowan is the piercing studio where licensed nurses do every piercing.
- Blue Bottle Coffee is the one first-wave tenant that already works as a daily stop. Its storefront faces Pioneer Court, and CIM's plans for the plaza included benches and bistro seating. Blue Bottle's own listing gives hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
All four are listed as "Now Open." Apart from the coffee, each one gives people a reason to come to the building, and the tenants signed since then serve people who are already nearby.
The second wave: lunch, glasses, taxes, leggings
| Tenant | What it is | Space | Status and timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fare | Chicago fast-casual, founded by Kasia Bednarz | Foxtrot's former 1,800 sq ft plaza-facing shop | "Opening Soon," no date announced |
| Lululemon | Activewear flagship | 12,000 sq ft | Spring 2027 anticipated |
| Big City Optical | Family-run Chicago optician | Not disclosed | "Coming Soon" on its own site |
| Intuit TurboTax | In-person tax and finance help | Not disclosed | "Opening Soon," no date announced |
Fare is the one most likely to change a weekday routine. The brand started as a small counter in a downtown food hall, and its listing at The Shops at Tribune Tower sums up the idea as "fast food can be real food." Its current menu runs from breakfast through bowls and plates, with smoky chicken, turkey meatball, salmon and tofu bowls, plus smoothies and sweets. The Real Deal reported on September 30 that Fare had taken the former Foxtrot space. The building's site still shows it as coming soon. Check before you plan lunch around it.
Big City Optical calls itself family-run and founded in Chicago, and does both specialty lenses and frame fittings. Intuit says its Michigan Avenue flagship is a place to "sit down with a real local expert" about taxes and finances. Crain's Chicago Business described it in August as part of the company's push into in-person retail.
Lululemon signed a 12,000-square-foot lease, The Real Deal reported on September 30, following a Crain's story the day before. The brand already has stores at 930 N. Rush Street and in the 900 North Michigan Shops, according to The Real Deal. What Now Chicago puts the expected opening in spring 2027. That outlet gives a much larger square footage than The Real Deal does.
Why the corner went dark, and why it's filling now
The plaza-facing space Fare is taking has a short history. Foxtrot opened its Tribune Tower shop on April 20, 2022. It closed on April 23, 2024, when Eater Chicago reported the chain was shutting its stores. By the time Lights Festival Lane sets up outside on November 21, that corner will have gone 31 months without a food counter.
The new leasing push comes from new owners. North American Real Estate, the Chicago investor led by Savas Er, bought Tribune Tower's retail portion last year, betting on a Mag Mile rebound, according to The Real Deal. In June, Er told the outlet that much of the corridor's remaining space was on upper floors. Street-level space, the kind retailers want most, was getting harder to find. Tribune Tower's storefronts sit right on Pioneer Court at the river end of the avenue, and that is exactly the kind of space Er was describing.
The wider avenue supports the bet. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on October 24 that North Michigan Avenue's retail vacancy fell to 25.8% as of October 2026, down from 33.8% in 2025, citing Kirsch Agency data. The same article credits landlords' capital investments of more than $250 million. Uniqlo opened a flagship at 600 N. Michigan this year. American Eagle plans a 14,182-square-foot store at the same address next summer, and Garage is due at 625 N. Michigan this fall. Kimberly Bares, president of the Magnificent Mile Association, told the Sun-Times, "I think we are getting ready to go to our prom."
Most of those other arrivals are destination fashion stores. Tribune Tower's new list mixes in businesses people visit on a schedule: the eye exam, the annual tax appointment, the lunch break. For anyone living within a few minutes' walk, that changes what the plaza is good for.
November on Pioneer Court
The new storefronts open in their own time. The plaza's calendar is already set.
Saturday, November 14, through Monday, November 16. The Light the World Giving Machine comes to Pioneer Court. Its charitable vending machines "sell" food, hygiene supplies, clothing and school supplies on behalf of nonprofits, including the American Red Cross, Ronald McDonald House and Special Olympics USA. Partners receive 100% of the proceeds, according to Pioneer Court's events calendar.
Saturday, November 21. The 35th Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival takes over the avenue, and the plaza is where the day starts.
- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lights Festival Lane runs at Pioneer Court, 401 N. Michigan, per Choose Chicago. The festival's official page lists free Wintrust Photos with Santa and cheesecake decorating with Eli's Cheesecake, and says the 2026 performer lineup is still to come.
- 3 p.m. The Magnificent Mile Association's festival guide expects North Michigan Avenue to close from Oak to Wacker, along with Upper Wacker Drive from Michigan to the east turnaround, until 7:30 p.m.
- 5:30 p.m. Mickey and Minnie Mouse, this year's grand marshals, lead the parade off from Oak Street and Michigan Avenue. It heads south, lighting the avenue's 200-plus trees block by block. The route ends at Wacker Drive just past the DuSable Bridge, so the whole parade passes Tribune Tower.
- Around 7:30 p.m. The Wintrust Fireworks Spectacular goes up over the Chicago River at Michigan Avenue. The Association's separate guide lists 7:15 p.m., so it's safer to be outside before then.
Choose Chicago suggests the east side of Michigan Avenue toward the north end of the route as the less crowded place to watch. From a Tribune Tower address, the fireworks are a short walk south. If you're hosting family that weekend, ABC7 Chicago airs the festival on Sunday, November 22, at 6 p.m.
On festival day, Blue Bottle is the plaza's sure bet for a coffee before the crowds arrive. Its 7 a.m. Saturday opening comes four hours before Lights Festival Lane starts. Fare, the optician and the tax office will join it when their "Opening Soon" badges come down.
At RM Luxury Group, we track those changes in the downtown towers we know best, including Tribune Tower. If you're weighing what Tribune Tower's changing street level means for your residence, request a private consultation.
