Foster Avenue to Bryn Mawr Avenue
Andersonville is a Swedish-rooted neighborhood on Chicago's North Side, and its shopping runs along N Clark St from Foster Ave north to Bryn Mawr Ave. It is a walkable main street of independent shops: Chicago T-shirts, a feminist bookstore, stationery, furniture, records, kids' toys and a market of local makers. Give it a slow afternoon.
Most independents open around 11am and close between 5 and 7pm, with shorter Sunday hours. Many don't post hours at all, so call ahead if one shop is the reason you're coming. The walk below runs south to north, starting at Foster.
Start at the Swedish American Museum
The Swedish roots are still on display at the Swedish American Museum (5211 N Clark St). It was founded in 1976, moved to this address in 1987, and hosts Midsommarfest, Santa Lucia and the Julmarknad holiday market with neighborhood groups. Look up along Clark for the Swedish-flag water tower, which came down after winter damage in March 2014 and went back up in August 2017. Inside the museum, Mormors Café serves weekly specials and dishes for traditional Swedish food days, and the Kerstin Andersson Museum Store keeps the museum's hours. The museum is open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4pm and weekends 11am to 4pm, and closed Mondays. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for kids, students and seniors, and $15 for a family, and it is free on the second Tuesday of each month.
The 5200 Block: Denim, Paper and Chicago Tees
This block, at the Foster end, holds the most shops. Dearborn Denim (5202 N Clark St) sells Chicago-made jeans in a softer tri-blend or sturdier 100% cotton, and staff hem each pair to length in the shop. On the same block, Simon's Tavern (5210 N Clark St) has poured drinks since 1934; on a cold afternoon, order the glögg, a warm Swedish mulled wine. Paper & Pencil (5208 N Clark St) carries pens, notebooks, journals and planners. It is in-person only and cashless, so bring a card. RAYGUN (5207 N Clark St) prints Chicago and neighborhood T-shirts, including an Andersonville one, and Chicatolia Artisan Collective (5209 N Clark St) sells work from a collective of local artisans.
Two more tee shops follow. Strange Cargo (5216 N Clark St) has been a Chicago staple since 1983, with Chicago-themed and custom-printed shirts plus novelties like Garbage Pail Kids cards; on Tuesdays it does pickup and phone orders only. Transit Tees (5226 N Clark St), founded in 2001, turns CTA maps, street signs and city flags into shirts and gifts, and it is an official licensed maker for the Chicago Transit Authority.
Books, Antiques and the Galleria
Women & Children First (5233 N Clark St) is a feminist bookstore focused on underrepresented voices, with more than 30,000 books and a strong children's section. Check its calendar for weekly children's readings and evening author programs Listings disagree on its hours, so check before you go. Andersonville Antiques (5234 N Clark St) is next on the block; during the chamber's sale events, select pieces are marked down up to 50%.
Cassona Home (5241 N Clark St) is a large furniture showroom for custom sofas, sectionals and chairs in hundreds of fabrics, plus beds, rugs and lighting. Next comes the easiest gift stop on the street: Andersonville Galleria (5247 N Clark St) gathers more than 100 local artists and makers under one roof, with handmade jewelry, art, gourmet goods and Chicago apparel, and it opens at 11am daily. Booths rotate, so it is worth a second look if you were here last season. Buffalo Exchange (5252 N Clark St) closes out the block with secondhand and vintage clothing; bring wearable pieces to sell for cash or store credit.
The 5300 Block: Comics, Toys and Coffee
AlleyCat Comics (5304 N Clark St, in the rear) has new comics, graphic novels and manga, a kids' corner and Magic: The Gathering and board-game nights. ENJOY, An Urban General Store (5307 N Clark St) is the gift shop for cards, books, toys and home goods, and *play (5311 N Clark St) sells well-designed toys and kids' books. Note that *play is closed Monday and closes at 4pm on Sunday.
Take a coffee break at Kopi Cafe (5317 N Clark St), which has a small boutique section, or at Lost Larson (5318 N Clark St) for a cardamom bun or a slice of its marzipan-covered princess cake, the thing it is best known for. Then Alamo Shoes (5321 N Clark St) is the neighborhood shoe store, Sandbox Baby Boutique (5349 N Clark St) sells baby clothes from labels such as Rylee + Cru, and Gethsemane Garden Center (5379 N Clark St) has plants year-round and Christmas trees each December.
The North End: Records and Home
Rattleback Records (5405 N Clark St) sells new and used LPs, 45s, CDs and cassettes, mostly rock, blues and jazz, plus vintage barware. District (5430 N Clark St) is a furniture store that moved here from Ravenswood in spring 2025. Rare Form (5438 N Clark St) is an Art Deco-inspired concept store for art prints, candles, books and barware. Violet Hawthorne (5447 N Clark St) is a boutique near Catalpa, and Lilla Barn Clothing (5535 N Clark St) is the last stop before Bryn Mawr. The strip keeps going past both ends: Milk Handmade and Foursided sit just south of Foster, and Winifred Grace and FOLK just north of Bryn Mawr.
Where to Eat
Svea (5236 N Clark St) is the small Swedish breakfast and lunch room: order the Swedish pancakes with lingonberry jam, falukorv sausage or meatballs with gravy. Big Jones (5347 N Clark St) cooks Southern food with Louisiana influences, using ingredients from more than 40 local farms; get the pimento cheese with tasso ham and the crawfish étouffée, or come for brunch beignets. Farther north, FIYA (5419 N Clark St) cooks Levantine food from a wood-fired oven, and Uvae Kitchen & Wine Bar (5553 N Clark St) pairs a long bottle list with dishes like short rib wellington. Just south of Foster, Hopleaf (5148 N Clark St) is a Belgian-leaning beer bar for adults only; order the mussels steamed in Blanche de Chambly with frites. It takes a limited number of reservations through Tock.
When to Come
December is the most Swedish month on Clark Street. The Swedish American Museum holds Julmarknad, its holiday market, over a weekend early in the month, with vendors selling items such as Dala ceramics, lace and woodworking, plus Swedish treats and visits from Tomten. On the evening of Lucia, a crowning at the museum is followed by a procession from the museum to the Christmas tree on Catalpa Avenue. The museum also hosts a Julmiddag Christmas dinner with a smörgåsbord from Tre Kronor Restaurant; registration is required. Check the museum's holiday page for this year's dates.
Two chamber events are also worth planning around. The Insidewalk Sale runs Friday to Sunday in late March, when about 30 Clark St shops run sales; in 2026 (March 27 to 29) Violet Hawthorne took up to 80% off and Buffalo Exchange 75%. Late Night Andersonville in December keeps Clark St shops open into the evening, with sidewalk pop-up vendors from 4 to 8pm and roasted chestnuts.
The Red Line and the #22 Clark Bus
Take the CTA Red Line to Berwyn or Bryn Mawr, then walk west to Clark Street, or ride the #22 Clark bus, which runs along the whole shopping stretch.
If you drive, there is metered street parking on Clark Street and the side streets.
