15% of New Restaurant Licenses in Chicago Are Ownership Changes
Ora read every new restaurant license Chicago issued from October 2025 through September 2026, 667 in all, and sorted the new restaurants from the ones that changed owners.
The numbers
98 of the 667 licenses, or 14.7 percent, are an existing restaurant under new owners, at 97 restaurants. The name stays the same and the owners on the city's records change.
504, or 75.6 percent, are new restaurants. Another 23 are the same owners filing a new license.
Same name, new owner
14 of the 98 are Jimmy John's stores that changed franchise owners, 10 of them to one new owner.
To a license feed, an ownership change looks exactly like an opening. A new owner opens new accounts and often picks a new POS.
| What the license is | Licenses | Share |
|---|---|---|
| New restaurant | 504 | 75.6% |
| Same restaurant, new owners | 98 | 14.7% |
| Food hall, mall or office tower tenant | 42 | 6.3% |
| Same owners, new license | 23 | 3.4% |
Download all 667 licenses with what each license is and the restaurant at the address before it.
Ora tracks restaurant openings and ownership changes across the US. Contact us to learn more.