Walk down Washington Street this month and order a drink at four different places, and there is a decent chance you are handing your card to the same company each time. Not a coincidence. Not a rebrand. One operator has spent the past ten years building a small empire on a few downtown blocks, and this summer it just took over the address that mattered most.
The Space That Sat Empty
For 21 years, 35 S. Washington Street belonged to Catch 35, the seafood restaurant that anchored that corner of downtown Naperville long enough to become a fixture rather than just a business. When Catch 35 closed on June 28, 2025, the space went dark, and for months it sat there empty in one of the most visible storefronts in the city, the kind of vacancy locals notice every time they walk past.
By January 2026, word got out that the replacement had a name and a plan. The Belmont American Steakhouse would take the space, and the company behind it was not new to the neighborhood. It was Empire Restaurant Group, run by Will Cullen, whose first Naperville project was Empire Burgers + Brew back in 2016.
What Actually Moved In
The Belmont opened for a limited early-access weekend in June 2026, then fully to the public shortly after, and it did not try to be Catch 35 with a new sign. Cullen told NCTV17 the goal was closer to a different era entirely.
"A lot of our places are quicker, more casual things. Our focus here on this one is to really slow things down. When somebody comes in, we want to know their name, know their drink."
That distinction matters if you are deciding where to go this weekend. The Belmont runs on reservations for tables, with bar seats open to walk-ins, and the menu leans into a scratch kitchen built around USDA Prime and Wagyu cuts, a 42-ounce tomahawk, and seafood that nods to the space's previous life. It is a slower night out, deliberately, in a building that used to move a lot faster.
One Operator, Six Concepts
Here is the part that a quick scroll through a restaurant roundup will not tell you. The Belmont is not a standalone opening. It is the sixth concept from a single company that has been quietly filling in downtown Naperville's restaurant map one storefront at a time since 2016.
The lineup, in order of arrival:
- Empire Burgers + Brew, the original, opened in 2016 at 48 W. Chicago Avenue
- Fiamme, a second concept added in the years since
- Northcott Liquorette, down the street at 40 W. Chicago Avenue
- The George, an upscale American tavern at 245 S. Washington Street that opened earlier in 2026, co-founded by Cullen and Dave Miller and built around Naperville history, down to a burger named for 20-year mayor George Pradel
- The Belmont American Steakhouse, the newest, at the former Catch 35 address
That is five different storefronts, four different price points, and one ownership group. If downtown Naperville's dining scene feels more cohesive than it used to, or if you have noticed the same polished, slightly retro design language showing up in more than one place, this is why. It is not a trend. It is one company's expansion plan playing out in real time, and The Belmont is the most ambitious swing yet, taking the address with the longest track record in town and betting that a slower, reservation-only steakhouse can hold that same kind of staying power.
Meanwhile, Elsewhere Downtown
Empire is not the only name adding tables this year. The Downtown Naperville Alliance tracked more than 15 new business openings in 2025 alone, and 2026 kept the pace going with a mix of concepts that have nothing to do with Cullen's group.
Lennon's opened in the old Craftsman building at 16 W. Jefferson Street with a three-floor layout, each level offering something different under one roof. The French patisserie Le Macaron landed at 23 W. Jefferson Street. A pizza and chicken concept called Slyce of NY arrived at 215 S. Washington Street. And CAVA, the fast-casual Mediterranean chain, opened its doors at 448 S Route 59 in January, hiring between 25 and 40 local staff and kicking off with a Community Day that raised money for Food Rescue US Chicagoland.
None of these overlap with Empire's footprint, which is the more interesting part. Downtown Naperville is not consolidating around one operator so much as it is absorbing two different kinds of growth at the same time: a single hospitality company deepening its hold on Washington Street, and a scattering of unrelated new arrivals filling in the gaps around it.
What This Actually Means for a Night Out
If you are trying to decide where to eat this month, the practical takeaway is less about any single opening and more about what the pattern tells you. If you want the newest thing with the most buzz, The Belmont is the reservation to make, and it is worth knowing going in that it is built for a slower night, not a quick one. If you want something more casual from the same team, Empire Burgers + Brew or The George are the lower-key options a few blocks away, both with the same design fingerprint and the same ownership behind the kitchen.
If you are after variety outside that one group's growing footprint, Lennon's three floors give you options depending on the night, and Le Macaron is worth the walk if you have not tried it yet. CAVA fills a gap downtown never quite had before, a fast, healthy option near Route 59 that does not require a reservation or a special occasion.
The bigger story is that downtown Naperville's restaurant scene did not grow randomly this year. Part of it grew because one company kept reinvesting in the same few blocks, storefront by storefront, until it controlled enough real estate to shape the character of the street itself. The rest grew because Naperville remains the kind of downtown where new operators keep betting on foot traffic, whether that bet comes from a French bakery or a national bowl chain. Both things are true at once, and knowing which is which changes how you read the next opening announcement.
Naperville residents do not need a reason to care about what is happening on Washington Street. It is where you already end up on a Friday night. But the next time a new sign goes up in a familiar storefront, it is worth checking who is actually behind it before you decide what kind of night you are in for.
If you are watching downtown Naperville change and wondering what it means for your own street, your block, or your next move in this market, Selling Suburbs with Steph knows this neighborhood block by block. Schedule Your Free Consultation and let's talk about what is happening where you live.
