The biggest growth number in Naperville right now belongs to Block 59. At the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce's State of the Naperville Commercial Real Estate event on Oct. 7, 2026, Naperville Development Partnership president Monica Conners said the city's Placer AI data showed downtown activity up 15% year over year. Block 59 was up 125% over the same period, as Naper Today reported. Since late summer, many of the city's new openings have landed along the same road.
The Rink at Block 59 opens its second season on Friday, Nov. 13. Here's how a skating night there fits with everything else that has opened, or will open soon, up and down Route 59.
The Rink opens Friday, Nov. 13
The Rink first opened in November 2025. NCTV17 described it as an outdoor rink with real ice. This year, the season starts with a grand opening night on Friday, Nov. 13, from 5 to 10 p.m. Block 59 lists the official tree lighting, live music, character appearances and giveaways. Real snow, courtesy of SnowBiz Chicago, starts falling at 6 p.m. A snowman character will pose for photos from 6 to 8 p.m. Grand opening tickets are on sale through Block 59.
The rink's address is 404 Illinois Route 59. Here are the details to know before you book, from The Rink's FAQ:
- Sessions: Each ticket covers a 1-hour, 45-minute skating session. The number of timeslots each day is limited, and Block 59 recommends buying ahead.
- Admission: $14 per skater, including people who bring their own skates. Anyone bringing skates still signs a waiver.
- Rentals: $5 per pair, added when you buy your ticket. Rental sizes run from children's 9 up to men's 13. There are no half sizes, so Block 59 suggests rounding down.
- Beginners: Skate buddies are on hand for new skaters during all open hours, first come, first served.
- Where to buy: Buy online at theblock59.com/therink or at the on-site box office. Block 59 says tickets from other sellers may be counterfeit or carry higher fees.
Regular hours are 2 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Thanksgiving week is different. The rink is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23 through Wednesday, Nov. 25. It closes Thursday, Nov. 26. It's open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Nov. 27 and 28, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29. Christmas-break and January hours are also on the rink page. Check them there before planning a visit over winter break.
Holiday events on the ice
After opening night, the rink has one event on the calendar roughly every other week through the end of December:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 13 | The Rink Grand Opening and tree lighting |
| Sun., Nov. 22 | A Visit from the Grinch |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Stan's Cocoa with Mrs. Claus |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | Skate with Santa |
| Wed., Dec. 30 | Glow Night |
Stan's Cocoa with Mrs. Claus ties in with a business that's already on site. Stan's Donuts is one of Block 59's restaurants, which brings up the other half of a rink night.
Before and after the skate
Block 59's growth comes from what surrounds the ice. The dining directory lists The Cheesecake Factory, Crisp & Green, Dumont Creamery & Cafe, First Watch, Lazy Dog, Piccolo Buco, Ruth's Chris, Shake Shack, Stan's Donuts, Velvet Taco and Yard House. CAVA appears in the store directory.
Those names sort themselves around a skating session:
- A weekend morning slot: The rink opens at 10 a.m. Friday through Sunday, which fits with First Watch for breakfast or brunch. Stan's Donuts covers doughnuts and coffee.
- Warming up after: Dumont Creamery & Cafe serves coffee and bubble tea along with ice cream.
- Dinner: Piccolo Buco specializes in Roman-style pizza, Velvet Taco serves globally inspired tacos and bowls, and Lazy Dog offers scratch-made comfort food with a bar.
- Making a night of it: Hollywood Palms Theater is a dine-in cinema with bar service. Pair it with a Friday or Saturday session, when the rink stays open until 11 p.m.
The rest of Route 59 filled in this fall
Block 59's 125% figure stands out against the citywide total of more than 400 restaurants. Conners gave both numbers at the same Oct. 7 event. A lot of what has joined that list since August sits on or just off Route 59. Here it is from north to south.
Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai, 1603 N. Aurora Road. The ramen shop held its grand opening Oct. 10. Patch reported that it serves Kitakata-style ramen with thick, springy noodles, plus rice bowls and customizable toppings.
Shinhwa Korean Steakhouse, 2856 Patriot's Lane. Open since Oct. 1, on the city's northwest side.
Cafe Purrfection, 1550 N. Route 59. This cat cafe is targeting mid-November. It plans a cafe and book nook on one side and a glass-walled play area on the other, with 10 rescue cats from the Wheaton-based Animal Rescue Foundation. All of the cats will be available for adoption, according to Naper Today.
FiLLi Cafe, 1316 N. Route 59, Suite 108. This is the brand's second Chicago-area cafe. FiLLi lists Zafran chai, karak and specialty coffee alongside buns, melts and wraps.
Aura Club & Conventions, 808 Route 59, Suite 100. This 75,000-square-foot venue replaced The Matrix Club. It has a ballroom that seats up to 2,200, a theater, a gallery, a recording sound lab, and dance and yoga studios. Naper Today reported that a 300-seat restaurant led by chef Yanni Sanchez is also planned.
L.L.Bean, Westridge Court, 336 S. Route 59. The outdoor retailer opened its first western suburbs store on Sept. 25, Positively Naperville reported. The store is more than 16,000 square feet, per NCTV17. It's a short drive from the rink if you need skating layers.
Vasco's Peri Peri, 3124 S. Route 59, Suite 146. This Indian-Portuguese restaurant began a soft opening the week of Oct. 6, NCTV17 reported.
BODYBAR Pilates, 2936 Showplace Drive, Suite 106. Scheduled for early December, in the southwest part of the city.
Some of these places are fully open, one is in soft opening, and two are still working toward a target date. Checking each business's own channels before you go will save you a wasted trip.
Behind The Cheesecake Factory, the next round is already underway
The construction crews you may have seen behind The Cheesecake Factory and Yard House are building the next wave of restaurants. In late September, Block 59 developer Brixmor Property Group started work on two buildings of about 11,000 square feet each, a $10 million project with CHOICE Construction Group. NCTV17 reported that all five tenants will be restaurants.
Rich Dippolito, Brixmor's vice president of Re/Development, described the lineup to NCTV17:
"We have a Japanese steakhouse. There'll be a speakeasy, which is a local group to Naperville, which is really fun. There'll be a specialty chicken place, a dumpling place out of New York, and then a bakery."
Brixmor marketing director Alix Karafiat confirmed to NCTV17 that the dumpling restaurant is Nan Xiang, the Michelin-recommended spot known for soup dumplings. The other four names haven't been announced. Nan Xiang is already marked "Coming Soon" in Block 59's directory.
The schedule is a long one. Dippolito told NCTV17 the first building should be finished in May 2027 and the second around June 2027. Tenants then build out their spaces and should open closer to the end of 2027. That puts the five new restaurants on track for The Rink's third season, so this year's skate night still runs through the current lineup.
If Route 59 has become your go-to weekend stretch and you're curious how all this new activity connects to the homes nearby, I'm always happy to talk it through with you. Book your session, warm up at Dumont, and reach out to Anthony Provinzino whenever you're ready. Let's Connect.
