BizPulse tracked 409 new Chicago business licenses in the 28 days from October 1 through October 28, 2026, about 5% fewer than the 433 filed in September 1–28 and the 430 in the same window of 2025. Those counts exclude pop-up and transient permits and the 4100 S Ashland Ave outdoor swap meet, which alone added another 42 filings in New City. Volume is flat. The mix is where the sales opportunity sits.
Key stats — month through October 28, 2026:
- 409 new Chicago business licenses, October 1–28, 2026 (down from 433 in September 1–28, 2026 and 430 in October 1–28, 2025)
- 112 restaurant licenses, 27% of the total, versus 111 in October 1–28, 2025
- 54 licenses (13%) went to 44 expanding multi-location operators, October 1–28, 2026
- Loop (31), Near West Side (30) and Near North Side (22) led all neighborhoods, October 1–28, 2026
Which Chicago Neighborhoods Had the Most New Business Licenses in October 2026?
BizPulse's license database shows the Loop with 31 new licenses in October 1–28, 2026, followed by the Near West Side with 30, the Near North Side with 22, and West Town and Lake View with 20 each. Lincoln Park added 14. Another 45 licenses carry no neighborhood tag in the City's data, so treat the rankings as a floor.
The pattern is downtown-heavy. The Loop, Near West Side and Near North Side together account for 83 of 409 licenses, roughly one in five. A rep covering those three areas can reach more new storefronts per week than anywhere else in the city.
So what: if you sell on foot, build your October call list around those three areas first. Lake View and West Town are the best second tier.
What Types of Chicago Businesses Filed New Licenses in October 2026?
Restaurants dominated. BizPulse data shows 112 restaurant licenses in October 1–28, 2026, across 100 distinct restaurant locations, against 111 licenses in the same window last year. Next came Retail – Other with 57, Retail – Apparel with 25, Personal Care with 24, Convenience Store with 24 and Grocery with 22. Bar and nightlife licenses totaled 18.
We broke down the restaurant side earlier this month in our October restaurant license analysis. The new wrinkle is the expansion share: according to BizPulse's operator tracking, 44 multi-location operators opened 54 new locations in October 1–28, 2026. These owners already have a vendor stack, so you're competing with an incumbent, but they also open again.
So what: POS, food-safety, grease-trap cleaning and liquor-liability insurance vendors have 112 licensed restaurants to work. Merchant-services and security reps should look at the 24 convenience stores and 22 groceries, which rarely get called on.
How Many New Licenses Are Also Getting Built Out?
Only a few. BizPulse cross-referenced the 409 licenses against its permit database and found 12 licensed businesses at addresses with a building permit issued since July 1, 2026. That's about 3% of the month. Those 12 are the strongest buying signals: licensed and building out at once. We covered how that overlap works in our closed-address reopening analysis.
So what: signage, fixtures and low-voltage contractors should filter the license list for permits first. Everyone else should treat the license date itself as the trigger, because most new licenses arrive with no permit paper trail.
You can pull the current list on BizPulse's new business page, watch addresses before they open on the opening soon page, or filter by neighborhood in BizPulse search. The raw filings come from the City of Chicago Business Licenses dataset.
Bottom line: Chicago filed 409 new business licenses in October 1–28, 2026, flat year over year; restaurants and downtown neighborhoods drive the leads, and only 12 had permits.