Walk down Front Street this week and you will pass three storefronts that all made local news in the past year for the same reason: a new restaurant was coming. One of them now has a full bar, a rotating brunch menu, and eighteen Yelp reviews posted since it opened. The other two still have paper in the windows.

The three projects offer a snapshot of how downtown restaurant plans can move from announcement to opening at different speeds.

Three Signs, Three Timelines

The public timelines for these projects appeared in a liquor commission hearing, a press release, and a social media post with a month attached. As of this writing, Bien Trucha is open, while the other two projects are listed as coming soon.

This is a status update on three downtown Wheaton restaurant projects: what is open, what remains listed as coming soon, and the announced timelines for each.

The One That Is Open

The corner of Hale and Front streets has changed hands more than once. Muldoon's Irish Pub was there, then Yia Mas Greek restaurant, then in September 2024 the Bien Trucha Group opened Sweetchilango, a fast-casual Mexico City taco concept, in the 4,800-square-foot space. It ran for about a year.

In October 2025, the Cano brothers who own the Bien Trucha Group announced Sweetchilango would close for good on November 1 and reopen as the second full Bien Trucha location, joining the original in Geneva. Chief business officer Julio Cano told the Daily Herald the fast-casual format just didn't fit a space that size, saying the concept had done well but "the space is underutilized." The plan was to reopen within a month, with a full bar and table service replacing the counter-order setup.

Bien Trucha Wheaton is open now at 133 W. Front St., with posted hours Tuesday through Sunday and a Yelp page updated as recently as this month showing an active eighteen-review profile and a "Try Our New Menu" banner. If you're looking for a sit-down dinner downtown with a full agave spirits list, this is the only one of the three projects currently open.

La Plaza Taqueria: Coming Soon

Four hundred and twenty-one Town Square, the former Nothing Bundt Cakes space, has had a different year. In February, Wheaton's liquor commission unanimously recommended a Class A liquor license for La Plaza Taqueria, a family-oriented Mexican concept from owner Isaac Sepulveda promising ribeye tacos, ceviche, and an all-day breakfast menu. Patch reported at the time that the restaurant was on track to open by April, with seating for up to 55 guests.

Patch reported that the Wheaton City Council approved the license on March 2. Days later, the project added a wrinkle: a separate request to serve alcohol in a roughly 50-seat courtyard carved out of the Town Square green space, with a public hearing set for March 12. Sepulveda told Patch he still hoped to open that April.

As of this writing, the Town Square Wheaton tenant directory lists La Plaza Taqueria as "Coming Soon." The restaurant's announced April target has passed. Check the directory for current status before visiting.

Avocado Theory: Coming Soon

In early March, Patch reported that Tinley Park-based Avocado Theory announced plans to open at 108 N. Main St., continuing its expansion into the western suburbs after a 2025 opening in Naperville. The chain bills itself as the country's first avocado-centered restaurant, with a menu that runs from avocado samosas to avocado cheesecake. The company told Patch it expected the Wheaton location to open by the end of summer 2026.

Avocado Theory's own website still marks the 108 N. Main St. address "Coming Soon," as it has since the March announcement. The listing does not indicate whether the stated target has changed or whether an opening is imminent.

Here's how the three compare as of this month:

A Regular Saturday Option

While those three timelines have played out at different speeds, one downtown fixture hasn't missed a beat. The Wheaton French Market, run by Bensidoun USA at the pavilion near Main Street and Liberty Drive, has been open every Saturday since April 11 and keeps its 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. hours through October 31, then shifts to a shorter 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. window from November 7 through November 28 to close out the season. No liquor commission hearings, no courtyard permits, no coming soon sign. Just produce, flowers, and a rotating vendor list that's been showing up on schedule all year.

The French Market provides a regular Saturday option downtown alongside the restaurant projects described here. Its schedule above lists its hours through the end of November.

What This Means for Your Saturday

For a weekend visit, Bien Trucha Wheaton is open now. La Plaza Taqueria and Avocado Theory are listed as coming soon as of this writing. The French Market's schedule runs through November 28, with the hours listed above.

Downtown Wheaton continues to see changes, including these three restaurant projects. Their announced timelines and current status provide a snapshot of how the downtown dining scene is developing.

If you're weighing what a neighborhood like this means for your own move, whether you're buying into downtown's walkability or selling a home nearby and want to know how these kinds of local changes affect buyer interest, Kathryn Pinto knows this stretch of Wheaton block by block. Let's Connect.