Lake Bluff Brewing Company's last day at 16 East Scranton Avenue was its annual Oktoberfest Block Party on Saturday, Sept. 12. The band Käsekrainer played the farewell. The band's lead singer, Brett Kreiner, met his wife Kristen while both were bartending at the brewery, and the two were among its original employees. The taproom opened in March 2011. Its 15-year lease expired earlier this year, and the landlord rented the space to another party.
Most coverage has treated this as a well-liked business losing its lease. For anyone planning an October in Lake Bluff, a second part of the story matters more. For 15 years the brewery was where other local groups held their events, and the first month without it shows who is hosting now.
A Taproom That Booked Other People's Events
When the owners said goodbye, the thank-you list read like a directory of local organizations. Mike and Megan Dorneker thanked the Lake Bluff Public Library, the Lake Bluff History Museum, Abbott, AbbVie, fellow small businesses, charitable groups, and the local musicians who played the taproom and its summer block parties. Over the years the space hosted weddings, graduations, baby showers and after-work gatherings.
The library's tie went furthest. According to the Lake Forest Journal, the library called the brewery an incredible community partner and pointed to its Trivia Nights, summer block parties and the Totally Booked beer series.
The library felt the effect within weeks. Its Wednesday, Sept. 30 Trivia Night moved to the Grotto at the Gorton Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, which is in Lake Forest. In its first event after the closure, a Lake Bluff institution had to leave Lake Bluff to find a room that fit.
"This was not our choice. We were not even given a chance to counter. We were completely blindsided." Mike and Megan Dorneker, to the Lake and McHenry County Scanner
The October Calendar, Sorted by Who Hosts and Where
Below are the public October events posted this week on the village, Park District and History Museum calendars, with each one's host and venue. The last two columns matter most here.
| Date | Event | Host | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Fireworks Celebration | Lake Bluff Park District | Recreation Center, 355 W. Washington Ave. | Festivities 3 p.m., live music 4 p.m., fireworks 6:30 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 11 | "How Culture, Community and Faith Shaped Lake Bluff: The Lake Bluff Camp Meeting & Chautauqua" | Lake Bluff History Museum | Not yet listed | Sunday afternoon |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | Seasonal evening of games, movies, pumpkins and candy, with Trunk or Treat and a pet costume contest | Lake Bluff Park District | Not stated on the calendar listing | Evening, free, online registration requested |
| Thu., Oct. 22 | "The Promise of Liberty" | History Museum and Lake Bluff 250 Committee | Lake Forest High School auditorium | 7 p.m., free, reservations required |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Pumpkin Bash | Not named on the village listing | Not named on the village listing | 5:30 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Pumpkin Chase | Lake Bluff PTO | 31 E. Sheridan Place | 5K at 8 a.m., 1-mile fun run at 9:15 a.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | "Memories of the Lake Bluff Children's Home" | Lake Bluff History Museum | Grace United Methodist Church, 244 E. Center Ave., per the ticket page; the museum's schedule says Union Church of Lake Bluff | 2 to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Official trick-or-treat hours | Village of Lake Bluff | Village-wide | 4 to 7 p.m. |
Every event with a confirmed venue happens in a space the host owns, runs or borrows from another institution. The Park District uses its own Recreation Center. The History Museum borrows a church for one Chautauqua and a high school auditorium in Lake Forest for its biggest evening program of the month. None of these events takes place in a downtown business.
The fireworks are on the calendar because of the weather. The Park District moved the celebration to Oct. 10 after a forecast showed a 90% chance of heavy rain on the original Saturday. The event now runs from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and includes food, so it is the longest single gathering on the October calendar.
Pumpkin Bash has the fewest confirmed details. The village lists Friday, Oct. 23, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. but does not name a host or venue. In 2025 the Lake Bluff PTO hosted it at Artesian Park on Friday, Oct. 24, at 5:30 p.m. The time and the Friday slot match this year's listing, but check the 2026 location before heading out.
What the Calendar Does Not Cover
Read across the table and the evenings stand out. Three events are scheduled for the evening. Two of them are Halloween-season events. The Park District's Oct. 16 night centers on games, movies, pumpkins, candy, Trunk or Treat and a pet costume contest, and Pumpkin Bash follows a week later. The third is a history lecture that requires a reservation and is held in Lake Forest. Nothing on the October list matches a casual weeknight drink or the small, recurring gatherings the brewery's thank-you list described, such as trivia, after-work meetups and a beer series run with the library.
After Halloween the calendar gets even quieter. The village and Park District calendars reviewed for November list meetings, not public festivals or recreation events. Other events may still be added, but as of this week Oct. 31 is the last public gathering on the official calendars.
The History Museum carries more of the October calendar than any other group, with three programs in 15 days. Its Oct. 25 Chautauqua on the Lake Bluff Children's Home runs one hour, and seats are reserved through the museum. The ticket page lists Grace United Methodist Church at 244 E. Center Ave. The museum's own Chautauqua schedule lists Union Church of Lake Bluff, so confirm the venue before you go. Its Oct. 22 "Promise of Liberty" presentation, co-hosted with the Lake Bluff 250 Committee, is free but requires a reservation in advance.
Getting Around Green Bay Road This Month
The calendar falls during the final stretch of the Green Bay Road reconstruction. The village's Oct. 3 update says the project should be nearing completion within about 30 days.
- Oct. 5 to 9: Crews pour curb, gutter, sidewalk and driveway aprons on the west side of Green Bay Road from West Center Avenue to West Hawthorne Court. Pedestrians are asked to use the east-side sidewalk.
- Week of Oct. 12: The same concrete work moves to the east side, on the same stretch.
- Throughout: The village asks drivers to follow traffic control personnel and allow extra travel time.
The east-side pour lines up with the week before the "Promise of Liberty" presentation and Pumpkin Bash. If you are walking to an event along Green Bay Road, plan on crossing to whichever side is open.
The Storefront Question and the Rest of East Scranton
As of the Lake Forest Journal's Oct. 1 report, the new tenant at 16 East Scranton has not been named publicly, and the Dornekers have not announced a new location or a reopening date. The couple wants to stay in Lake Bluff, and they have asked anyone who knows of available space in the village to email [email protected]. The morning after the farewell party, the brewery posted that it was saying goodbye to 15 years at that address, "not the end of the story." The brewery's own website still lists the Scranton address, so local news reports are the more current source for now.
The rest of the block still includes long-standing names. The Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Chamber's 2025 guide lists Maevery Public House at 20 E. Scranton, Hansa Coffee Roasters at 24 E. Scranton, Venetia at 29 E. Scranton, Half and Half at 77 E. Scranton, and Bluffington's Café at 113 E. Scranton. Maevery, the brewery's next-door neighbor, was named in September's coverage, so it is still operating.
The street itself is still being finished. The village's Block One streetscape work on East Scranton added new sidewalks, seatwalls and underground utilities while businesses stayed open. The latest posted notice, from late May, scheduled repaving for May 27 and 28. It said decorative lighting, street furniture, planters, the remaining seatwall pieces and plantings were still waiting on materials. No later completion notice has been posted. The village is finishing a block built for people to linger on, during the same season that block lost its longest-running place to gather.
Whoever moves into 16 East Scranton will open on a newly rebuilt block, with a fall and winter calendar that has no regular evening gathering downtown.
If you're thinking about how changes like this on East Scranton affect day-to-day life in Lake Bluff, or what they mean for your own block, Anne Hardy follows this village one storefront at a time. Schedule a free consultation and bring your questions about downtown.
