Lake View holds more licensed taverns than any other Chicago community area: 77 premises carried an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, by the city’s own license file — down from 100 on the same date in 2003. The Near North Side (65) and West Town (61) follow, and the twelve areas below — the list runs to twelve because three areas tie at 18 — hold 437 of the city’s 758 licensed taverns, 58 percent. Every count is premises holding the license, never bars open on a given night, and eleven of the twelve sit below their own 2003 count; Rogers Park, 17 then and 18 now, is the only one above it. Our full analysis tracks all 23 years — the citywide slide from 1,386 licensed taverns to 758, and the package-goods crossover of 2013. These are license records, and this page takes no position on where anyone should live, drink, or invest.
1. Lake View — 77 licensed taverns
Lake View held 77 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 100 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
2. The Near North Side — 65 licensed taverns
The Near North Side held 65 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 88 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
3. West Town — 61 licensed taverns
West Town held 61 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 81 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
4. Logan Square — 44 licensed taverns
Logan Square held 44 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 49 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
5. Lincoln Park — 42 licensed taverns
Lincoln Park held 42 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 72 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
6. North Center — 27 licensed taverns
North Center held 27 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 36 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
7. The Near West Side — 23 licensed taverns
The Near West Side held 23 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 36 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
8. Avondale — 22 licensed taverns (tie)
Avondale held 22 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 35 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
9. Irving Park — 22 licensed taverns (tie)
Irving Park held 22 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 36 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
10. Edgewater — 18 licensed taverns (tie)
Edgewater held 18 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 25 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
11. The Loop — 18 licensed taverns (tie)
The Loop held 18 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — down from 28 on July 1, 2003. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
12. Rogers Park — 18 licensed taverns (tie)
Rogers Park held 18 premises with an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026, per the city’s license file — the only area on this list with more than in 2003 — 17 then, 18 now. A license is permission to serve liquor on the premises; the file cannot say whether any door was open.
Questions these numbers can answer
Which Chicago community area has the most licensed taverns? Lake View, with 77 premises holding an active Tavern license on July 1, 2026 — ahead of the Near North Side at 65 and West Town at 61. All three held more in 2003.
Is the number of taverns in Chicago growing anywhere? Barely. Citywide, premises with an active Tavern license fell from 1,386 in July 2003 to 758 in July 2026, and among these twelve leading areas only Rogers Park sits above its 2003 count — by one. The full analysis found exactly one of the 77 community areas above its 2003 count.
What counts as a tavern here? The license class the city itself calls “Tavern” — permission to sell liquor for drinking on the premises — counted as distinct account-and-site pairs active on a July 1 snapshot, the parent analysis’s unit. Restaurants serving liquor under other license classes are not in these counts, and a held license says nothing about whether the establishment was open.
Where these numbers come from
City of Chicago Business Licenses file (r5kz-chrr), retrieved August 8, 2026: every license row with description “Tavern,” deduped to premises as (account number, site number) pairs, counted as active on July 1 of each year when that date falls inside a license term and the file’s own status codes allow it. The 23-year slide, the package-goods crossover, and every caveat: Chicago Had 1,386 Licensed Taverns in 2003. This July It Has 758.
Computed by KCM Desk from records current to August 8, 2026. If you spot an error, corrections come first.