Forest Park's Wine Walk Now Carries the Name of the Woman Who Helped Revive Madison Street

"Dorothy was always willing to roll up her sleeves and help wherever needed, and she knew the true meaning of collaboration." Laurie Kokenes, executive director of the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce and Development, said that to the Forest Park Review after Dorothy "Dot" Gillian died in June 2025.

This Saturday, Nov. 7, the Chamber's fall Wine Walk takes place under a new name, the Dorothy Gillian Forest Park Fall Wine Walk. The name fits. Over the next five weeks, Madison Street businesses will change hands, menus will shift and patios will close for the season. The calendar holding the street together is the same organized, storefront-by-storefront work that Gillian spent decades building.

The name on this Saturday's walk

Gillian lived in Forest Park her whole life. She was executive director of the Main Street revitalization project and sat on the Chamber's board for more than two decades, three of those years as president. In an editorial titled "The great Dorothy Gillian," the Review credited her with opening My Sister's Café and playing a leading role in Madison Street's resurgence through the Main Street program and the Chamber.

Former Mayor Tony Calderone grew up with Gillian. He was mayor during her years with the Chamber and the Main Street revitalization, and he told the Review she was "nothing short of very professional and personable with a strong love for the village of Forest Park." Kokenes put it more concretely: "Our chamber came out of the pandemic stronger than ever because she chose to share her time and talents with us."

Main Street programs exist to keep a business district working as a whole, so foot traffic at one door spills over to the next. The Wine Walk does exactly that, which makes it a fitting event to carry her name.

How the Nov. 7 walk moves you down the street

The walk's format is built to spread people across Madison Street instead of collecting them at one bar. Here's how the day works, according to the Chamber's event page:

• When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 1 to 5 p.m., rain or shine
• Check-in: Choose a 12:30, 1:00 or 1:30 p.m. slot, then pick up your wine glass and itinerary at Forest Park Bank, 7348 Madison
• Cost: $55 per person, including all tastings
• What you taste: Three wines at each stop, plus small bites at "taste locations" and restaurants
• The extra: A free bottle of your choice, picked up at Famous Liquors within 30 days
• Tickets: Transferable but not refundable, and day-of purchase isn't guaranteed

The event page lists "16+ locations." The Chamber's main events calendar says 17. Either way, you'll be walking past more than a dozen storefronts in four hours, and the stops are printed on the itinerary you get at the bank. Staggered check-in times keep the crowd from bunching up at the first few doors. The bottle pickup at Famous Liquors means at least one more Madison Street visit in the month after the walk.

The design does what a Main Street program is built to do. It turns a single ticket into a reason to cross dozens of thresholds.

7700 Madison, three tenants in three years

The corner at 7700 Madison shows why that kind of event matters more than any single business. In three years the building has held three different operations, as the Forest Park Review reported this month.

Sendero isn't a clean break from Casa Humilde. Lopez kept the top-selling dishes, and both head cooks from Casa Humilde now cook at Sendero. The big changes are a full bar with Mexican wine, agaves and tequilas, plus a menu with Oaxacan influence from a chef partner. The dish Lopez called "the most Oaxacan thing we have" is the tlayuda, a 14-inch corn tostada with black bean spread, Oaxaca cheese, pickled onions and salsa roja.

The patio that once held 30 picnic tables is closed for the season, so Sendero's cold-weather plan happens indoors. The weekly lineup Lopez described to the Review:

• Thursdays, 7 to 9 p.m.: Lotería, the Mexican game similar to bingo, with drink deals
• Fridays from 8 p.m.: Karaoke
• Saturdays: DJs and live bands on the small stage in back
• Bears Sundays: Games on the TVs, which the restaurant added more of after sports nights did well

In mid-October, Lopez said weekend brunch would start in November, along with Tazita coffee made from Mexican beans that Sendero processes itself. As of the Review's Oct. 13 story, Sendero was closed Mondays and Tuesdays and open 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 3 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Hours and brunch timing can change after a fall opening, so check Sendero's site before heading over for a weekend morning.

Next spring, the patio is set to get a 16-foot-wide LED screen for sports and movie nights.

Back to the bank on Dec. 4

Four weeks after the Wine Walk, the Chamber's Holiday Walk brings Madison Street back together around the same address. Forest Park Bank at 7348 Madison is the Wine Walk's check-in point, and on Friday, Dec. 4, it's where Santa sets up. The evening runs in this order:

1. 6 p.m.: Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive by fire engine at Constitution Court, at Madison and Thomas, to light the tree
2. 6 to 8 p.m.: Visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus at Forest Park Bank, 7348 Madison
3. 6 to 9 p.m.: Horse-drawn rides from two stops, Beloit and Madison, and Elgin and Madison
4. 6 to 9 p.m.: Balloon twisting and face painting from Sky High Balloon Guy

The Chamber also lists live window displays, merchant open houses and an ice sculpture photo op. With two ride stops at different points along the street, families end up covering the blocks between them on foot. It's the same storefront-to-storefront route as the Wine Walk, at a slower, colder pace.

The Park District of Forest Park fills in the weeks before and after, according to its fall and winter guide:

• Friday, Nov. 20, 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Holiday Movies Trivia at 7501 Harrison St.
• Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: A handmade craft fair at Roos Recreation Center, the morning after the Holiday Walk
• Saturday, Dec. 12, 9 to 10:30 a.m.: Breakfast with Santa at 7501 Harrison St.

On Roosevelt, a summer business going through winter review

One more change is on the way, on the other commercial street. Andy's Frozen Custard wants to replace the McGaffer's Saloon building at 7737 Roosevelt Rd. On Oct. 19, the village's Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-1 to approve its conditional use request for a drive-thru and to combine the lots east and west of the building, the Forest Park Review reported.

The commission attached conditions. It asked for an eight-foot fence on the north side of the property, a photometric and acoustics study to measure light and sound, no planters on the southwest corner near the 7-Eleven curb cut, and a monument sign instead of the optional 25-foot ice cream cone, which board members said didn't fit the village's comprehensive plan. The plan calls for a two-lane, face-to-face drive-thru with room for 17 cars in line, plus 27 parking spaces. Exiting cars would turn right onto Troost, which the village has already started converting to two-way traffic east of the site.

The proposal isn't final. The Review reported that the village council will likely vote on it at a meeting in November.

Our team keeps a close eye on how Madison Street and Roosevelt Road change from season to season, from which storefronts are turning over to what the village approves next. If you'd like to know how a street like this affects what a home nearby is worth, Cynthia Gajewski and Team Cynthia are glad to talk it through with you. Let's Find Your Perfect Home Together.