Chicagoans have always had their food favorites, like deep-dish pizzas and beef sandwiches. But eating those culinary staples for lunch? That’s less common because the traditional midday mealtime concept has taken on a different flavor.
Indeed, several professional, personal, and even societal trends have changed the way that people live their lunch lives. Accordingly, eateries and grocers across Chicago are making adjustments to ensure they remain both relevant and profitable.
Trend #1: The Working Lunch
Taking a chunk out of the middle of the day to enjoy a leisurely meal doesn’t work as well as it once did. In fact, a 2024 survey showed that a full third of workers don’t take at least two of their weekly lunch breaks. This doesn’t mean they’re not fueling themselves up around noon. But they’re more likely to bring food to the office, illustrating a “pack and snack” attitude.
To accommodate this new lunching habit, food sellers are quick to offer buyers pre-made grab-and-go items. Alternatively, they work with e-delivery platforms to attract people who don’t take the lunchbox route and would rather have a driver bring food to them. Additionally, some restaurants are offering lunch items over broader timeframes (not just 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) to attract workers who eat lunch at different times.
Trend #2: The On-the-Go Lunch Bunch
Some people still take lunches, but they often use their hour to run errands or fit in their steps. What they want is dining concept flexibility from eateries, including meals that are portable, quick to order, and adaptable to any dietary needs.
Brands like FARE are part of a new wave of fast casual brands reshaping what fast food looks like. With multiple locations across Chicagoland, FARE serves better-for-you bowls, seasonal sides, all cooked from scratch daily with real, recognizable ingredients. Their menu and service are built for busy lifestyles without compromising on quality.
Trend #3: The Liquid Lunch
It’s hard to miss the proliferation of smoothie bars, juice options, and other drinkable meal options that have arisen across Chicago. For many people, being able to get their lunch in a cup makes it simpler to get their nutrients. (This may be particularly true for those on GLP-1 medications that eliminate appetite.)
An example of a beverage-based lunch-food scene leader in the Windy City is the juice bar Level Up Nutrition. It’s a one-location entity but a great magnet for the liquid (or near-liquid) diet lunch crowd that’s looking for sugar-free, protein-rich drinkables. Level Up Nutrition offers tasty meal-replacement beverages, smoothies, and more. It’s definitely aimed at a very specific audience that’s probably spending their lunch exercising. However, its popularity on social media shows that it’s meeting a need.
Trend #4: The Food Truck Lunch
What about all those people who like to dash outside during their lunchtimes? Food trucks have them covered, at least in some of the more corporate neighborhoods in Chicago and its suburbs.
The food truck phenomenon has made it possible for lunchers to sample different meals every day. And while many food trucks sell staple, street-based items like hot dogs or pretzels, others bring more ethnic and exotic flavors to passersby. In fact, food trucks can introduce workers to cuisine they might otherwise never encounter, turning them into somewhat of a roving culinary United Nations.
Trend #5: The Retro Leisurely Lunch
Does the conventional lunch still exist? Absolutely, because you’ll always find someone who wants to have a sit-down meal. Maybe it’s an executive who’s meeting with an investor. Perhaps it’s a romantic couple who wants to celebrate by taking a longer lunch together some days (and not just wait for the weekend). These are people whose meal boundaries aren’t blurred, and who want to go through the traditional motions of sitting at a table, having a waitstaff cater to their needs, and being tempted by a tray of sweets.
These retro lunchgoers will find welcoming spots to eat a slower meal that doesn’t necessarily have to end within 30 minutes or an hour. Although they’re not quite as commonplace as they once were, they’re definitely still part of the overall lunch scene.
Will Chicagoans always love eating their unique hot dogs and ethnically driven culinary classics at lunchtime? You can bet on it. However, lunch doesn’t have the same meaning as it once did. And the variety of lunch choices across Chicago is geared toward appealing to just about any style of contemporary dining.
