Welcome to June, Chicago!

BEST DATE NEWS

June 5, 2025: Best Date News Volume #129

Welcome to Best Date News, your favorite Chicago weekly newsletter! In this week’s edition, you’ll read about the Chicago Fire’s new stadium at The 78, Kennedy Expressway updates, a new giant mural, National Donut Day deals, what to do this weekend in Chicago and more!

June 5: National Holidays

• National Ketchup Day

• National Hot Air Balloon Day

• National Gingerbread Day

• National Veggie Burger Day

• National Moonshine Day

Sponsored by our friends at Punch Bowl Social

Summer Spritz Aperol Pop-Up

• Punch Bowl Social: Spritz season is here, and Punch Bowl Social’s new Summer Spritz Aperol Pop-Up has arrived just in time!

• Created in partnership with Aperol, this ground-floor patio and bar transformation features festive Spritz décor, swag, giveaways, entertainment and more. Take a look!

• One of the highlights? A seasonal Summer Spritz Menu with three $12 cocktails (pictured above): Aperol Spritz, Coconut Spritz and Kiwi Strawberry Spritz.

• You can enjoy the full Punch Bowl Social food and drink menu (scroll to the bottom), now available outside on the patio while the weather is warm.

• The pop-up is open on Friday and Saturday from 5pm to midnight, and you can try the Summer Spritz menu any day of the week at 310 N Green St in West Loop.

Chicago News

• New Soccer Stadium: Chicago Fire FC has announced a brand new $650 million stadium coming to The 78, the planned neighborhood along the Chicago River near Roosevelt. The 22,000-seat, open-air stadium will feature natural grass and anchor a larger district with restaurants, shopping, housing and public art. It’ll be fully privately funded, with hopes to open for the 2028 MLS season. Owner Joe Mansueto called it a “world-class home” for a world-class club in a Dear Chicago letter to fans.

• Highway Updates: It’s a big week for downtown Chicago drivers. As of June 1, the northbound express lanes on the Kennedy now provide direct access to I-90 and O’Hare, so you can head straight to the airport without backtracking. Outbound ramp closures begin today, including both the Ontario and Division Street ramps, and will last about two weeks.

• Giant Mural: A 24-story mural just went up on the back of the Prudential Building as part of the global Street Art for Mankind campaign. Painted in 10 days by artist Super A and his team, the new mural features a woman, a white-tailed deer and oak trees. The goal is to raise awareness about social justice and environmental issues.

• Dave’s Hot Chicken: Dave’s Hot Chicken, which opened a second Chicago location in River North at the end of last year, has been acquired for $1 billion by private equity firm Roark Capital. Roark also owns brands like Subway and Dunkin’ and plans to help Dave’s continue its growth.

• CHSN x Comcast: Exciting news for Chicago sports fans who have Comcast. Chicago Sports Network (CHSN), home to the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox, will finally be available starting tomorrow after reaching an agreement with Comcast. It’s being added to Xfinity’s Ultimate tier, ending the blackout that began when CHSN launched last October.

Just For Fun

• Donut Day: Tomorrow (Friday, June 6) is National Donut Day! There are free donut deals happening nationwide, and locally, Stan’s Donuts is giving away a free Chocolate Dipped Donut with any purchase of $2.30 or more while supplies last, plus the chance to win free donuts for a year. Firecakes is also giving away a free sprinkle donut with any in-store purchase while supplies last.

• Daddy Gang: Alex Cooper is bringing her Unwell brand to Chicago for 4th of July weekend. She is hosting a Star Spangled Banger at Recess on July 5 (tickets), and then on July 6 she’s collaborating with the Cubs at Wrigley Field, where she will be singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch. You can get special Big Al’s Takeover tickets that include an Unwell Cubs jersey.

• Double Rainbow: Yesterday’s rain and temperatures in the 50s might not have been the ideal June weather day, but it did result in one of the most incredible double rainbows that Chicago has seen in recent memory. Everyone was talking about it last night on social media. Did you see it?!

• SkyZone: A new 26,000 square-foot indoor trampoline park is coming to Roosevelt Collection in the South Loop, taking over the former Container Store space that closed in February. It will be home to SkyZone, marking their second Chicago location after opening near North/Clybourn in early March.

• Shawn Mendes: Chicago’s getting a stop on the On the Road Again tour, with Shawn Mendes set to perform at Huntington Bank Pavilion on October 8. General on-sale tickets go live tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. CST.

Weekend Plans

• Festivals: June has arrived, which means so have all the Chicago festivals. We are starting June strong with festivals like: Ribfest Chicago, Lincoln Park Greek Fest, Chicago Blues Festival, Gold Coast Art Fair and 57th Street Art Fair.

• Weekend Plans: Here is a list of 28 Things To Do in Chicago This Weekend, which includes festivals, a music series, walks, sidewalk sales, a White Sox food crawl, run through the zoo and more.

• JoJo and Jordan: JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers are coming to Chicago this Saturday, June 7 for a special pop-up at Target (2656 N Elston Ave) to promote their Saint Spritz brand from 11am to 1pm. You can meet them and try a spritz. No RSVP or ticket needed.

Poll Question of the Week

Last Newsletter's Poll Results

Poll Results: Last newsletter we asked if you planned on attending any Lollapalooza related shows this year. Here is how you responded:

• 15%: Lollapalooza only

• 17%: Aftershows only

• 4%: Lollapalooza + Aftershows

• 64%: Not attending any shows

Sunrise & Sunset in Chicago

Here is today’s outlook in Chicago (compared to last week):

• Sunrise: 5:16 a.m. (3 minutes earlier)

• Sunset: 8:22 p.m. (5 minutes later)

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