Downtown Cary Spent the Summer Building Places to Stay

"Traffic speed observations are made to provide information on the prevailing speed of vehicles traveling on a section of roadway," Illinois Department of Transportation spokesperson Maria Castaneda told the Northwest Herald in September. She explained that the right limit then depends on "pedestrian and bicycle activity, the number of intersecting streets and driveways, parking conditions, crash data and speed limits posted on adjacent sections of roadway."

IDOT studied downtown Cary with those factors in mind and lowered the limit. Around the same time, a few hundred feet from that curve, the Village opened a plaza with a gas fireplace on the old Metra depot site, and a longtime Main Street owner opened a dinner restaurant in a former bank. Taken one at a time, each looks like a small summer update. Taken together, downtown Cary was rebuilt in summer 2026 so people spend more time there.

A Fireplace Where the Depot Stood

Mayor Mark Kownick and members of the Gliniecki family cut the ribbon on the Gliniecki Community Plaza on July 8, 2026. The ceremony was first set for June 17 and then postponed. The Village's July 10 newsletter confirmed that July 8 was the official opening.

The plaza sits on the former Cary Metra Depot site. It has an open-air shelter, a gas fireplace, bike racks and landscaped seating. The state project record for the work lists artificial turf, built-in planters and new benches. It also lists sidewalk changes meant to improve walkability and pedestrian safety, plus a shelter for people waiting on McRide buses, ride shares, taxis and outbound Metra trains.

Construction funding came through the RTA's Access to Transit Program. The project record shows $468,410 in federal money, $58,551 from the RTA and $58,551 in local funds. Work finished in July 2026. The design follows the Cary Downtown Strategic Plan.

Most of that money is transit money, and the transit features are real: people waiting on a train or bus now have shelter. The fireplace, turf and landscaped seating serve a different purpose. The Village describes the plaza as a place for downtown residents and visitors to gather, relax and connect. October is the plaza's first fall, so this is the first season the fireplace has stood beside the tracks.

The Name on the Plaza

Greg and Dana Gliniecki raised three sons in Cary. In 2021 they donated $500,000 to the Village, and the Community Foundation for McHenry County manages the gift. The Village accepted the donation on September 21, 2021, and named the plaza for the couple.

The plaza is only part of what the gift paid for. According to the Cary-Grove Free Press, the money was spread across the Village's five-year Capital Improvement Plan. It also covered the Cary Lake Pavilion at Rotary Park, new village signs and a police drone. The plaza is simply the most visible piece because it sits next to the station.

The Free Press also reported that the plaza made Cary's weekly farmers market, Cruise Nights and Main Street Fest safer for all ages. The farmers market itself, run by the Rotary Club of Cary-Grove, was held on W. Main Street on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It opened May 31 and closed for the season on September 27. Shoppers were told they could park in the nearby Metra commuter lots.

Thirty Through the Curve

The plaza changed the station side of downtown. The speed limit changed how people drive through it.

IDOT lowered Route 14, also called Northwest Highway, from 35 mph to 30 mph between Jandus Cutoff Road and Borden Street. That stretch includes all of downtown Cary. Village Administrator Erik Morimoto said IDOT based the change on a speed study. The state let the Village know it was coming but didn't say exactly when the signs would change.

Route 14 curves sharply through downtown, right next to the Main Street rail crossing and near the Metra station. The northwest-bound lanes were also repainted with arrows and route signs to guide drivers through the bend. Castaneda said it was the only speed limit IDOT had recently lowered in McHenry County.

Five miles per hour sounds minor. But this is the one recent cut in the county, and it lands on the same blocks where people now walk to a fireplace, a farmers market and a festival.

A Dinner Address on Main Street

Leo Florio has owned Tracks Bar & Grill for more than 40 years. Its hamburgers have won Best of the Fox. In June he opened Leo's 121 on Main directly across the street at 121 W. Main St. It's a more upscale spot than Tracks, with custom cocktails and entrees like walleye, ribeye and prime rib. The building was a bank in the early 1900s.

The restaurant was announced in March 2025. Leo and Sharon Florio marked the opening with a Cary-Grove Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting in early July. With a sit-down dinner restaurant facing a burger bar on the same block, an evening on W. Main Street can now run longer than one stop.

Cary Out Coffee Breakfast and Lunch opened the same month at 62 Northwest Highway and serves a different kind of customer. It's drive-thru and curbside only. It took over the former Burger King building, which opened in 2016 as the country's first drive-thru-only Burger King and then sat empty for nearly eight years. Co-owner Tim Tath runs it with his sister Mae Chen, who owns several coffee shops in California. The menu includes breakfast sandwiches, wraps, pastries, burgers, custom coffees, iced teas and smoothies. A building that sat dark for most of a decade is busy again.

The Piece Still Waiting

Alfresco Alley is the outdoor dining space where the push for more downtown seating has slowed down. It opened for 2026 on May 1, closing Spring Street between W. Main Street and Cary Street to cars and filling it with tables.

A preliminary redesign shown in February proposed permanent streetscape features. It also included optional seasonal pieces such as shade structures, a wood deck and lawn tiles. By April, utility and electrical costs had pushed the estimate to about $1.36 million, and the Village put off the seasonal deck for 2026. On June 2, the Village Board approved a temporary tent for the alley while it's open. The Board's next meeting is October 6.

Here is the summer at a glance:

October on the Calendar

Main Street Fest ran September 25–27 with live music, food, games and family activities. Sunday added a 5K, a community breakfast and the farmers market. Most of October's events take place away from downtown, around the parks and the Northwest Highway shopping centers:

• Fall-A-Palooza, October 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Lions Park, 1200 Silver Lake Road. Hayrides, crafts, pony rides, a petting zoo and games. Entry is $10 for ages 1 and up. Infants under 1 and adults get in free.
• Trick or Trot 5K, October 17, 9 to 10 a.m., run by the Cary Park District.
• Crisp & Cozy Craft & Vendor Expo, October 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Cary Grove Park.
• Haunted House, October 17, 5 to 9 p.m., at Inspiration Dance Studio, 530 Northwest Highway. 5 to 6 p.m. is a non-scary hour, and full effects run from 6 to 9.
• Annual Halloween Walk, October 24, 11 a.m. to noon, from Tasty Sushi to Athletico in the Jewel shopping center at 630 Northwest Highway, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.
• Village trick-or-treat hours, October 31, 3 to 7 p.m.

October 17 is the busiest day, with three Park District events between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The haunted house is at 530 Northwest Highway, on the same road that now runs at 30 mph through downtown.

Living near the station now puts the plaza, Main Street dinners and, in season, the Sunday market a short walk away. If you're thinking about what a home within walking distance of the Gliniecki Community Plaza means for your budget or your long-term plans, Sandra Maldonado is happy to walk through the numbers with you, in English or Spanish. Let's Connect.