Bell Works Chicagoland is easiest to use on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between about 3 and 8 p.m. The food hall listings, the October events calendar and the June 2026 news about the expansion all line up with that window. A Hoffman Estates resident who drives over on a Saturday expecting a downtown-style afternoon will find the food hall closed. A resident who comes after work midweek will find the building at its busiest.
The food hall serves the workweek
Bell Market opened at the former AT&T campus in summer 2025. It brought five food concepts under one roof: Honeybell Bakery & Cafe, Broadfork Greens + Grains, Jozu, Yeeroz and Beef & Bird. On the Bell Market menu site, Jozu offers poke, ramen and robata bowls. Broadfork does salads and grain bowls, Beef & Bird does burgers and chicken sandwiches, Yeeroz does gyros and sides, and Honeybell carries the coffee menu.
The hours depend on which page you check, but every version points to the middle of the week.
- The vendor pages on bellmkt.com list Honeybell, Broadfork, Jozu and Beef & Bird at the Hoffman Estates location Tuesday through Thursday, 3 to 8 p.m.
- Bell Works' own On The Block directory lists Bell Market at 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday and Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and closed Saturday and Sunday.
The directory entry dates from before the opening. It describes Bell Market as "coming soon" with a pop-up space, and the hall has now been open for more than a year. Still, the two listings agree on the main point. The evening food hours run Tuesday through Thursday, and neither listing shows weekend service. Before you plan dinner around a particular counter, check that vendor's own page on bellmkt.com, since the counters may not all keep the building's breakfast hours.
The schedule follows the building's main users. The east side of the old headquarters became Class A office space with lots of amenities. The Daily Herald reported in June that this space was "nearly fully leased." The Chicago Sun-Times put occupancy of that eastern portion near 100%. The food hall keeps its tenants' hours, and the public calendar is built around the same days.
The public calendar uses the same window
Bell Works posts a monthly Calendar of Happenings. Every public October event is on a weekday, and the evening events sit inside or just next to the food hall's Tuesday-through-Thursday hours.
By the time this post reaches you on Thursday, October 22, two of those events are over. Vinyl Night with DJ Groove Thang was on October 15, with a vinyl record pop-up. The Crystal Clean x FitLab blood drive ran the morning of October 20. Here is what is left in the month:
| Date | Event | Time | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Oct. 22 | Sundown Session feat. Riley Brothers Duo | 4 to 7 p.m. | Bell Market | Live music and drinks |
| Wednesday, Oct. 28 | Trick-or-Treat Around The Block | 3 to 5 p.m. | The Square | Kids in costume trick-or-treat with participating tenants |
| Wednesday, Oct. 28 | 90s Night! Halloween Party | 5 to 8 p.m. | Bell Market | Free admission; food and drinks for purchase |
Tonight's Sundown Session
The Riley Brothers Duo plays Bell Market from 4 to 7 p.m. today. Bell Works bills it as a way to "set the tone for your evening with great music, refreshing sips." It fits inside the Tuesday-through-Thursday dinner hours listed on the vendor pages, so you can have dinner during the set.
October 28 is the date for families
The Halloween double bill is the one October event with a clear invitation to people outside the building. The trick-or-treat listing opens with "Calling all tenants and the community!" and asks parents to bring kids to The Square to show off costumes and collect candy from participating tenants between 3 and 5 p.m. When that ends, the annual Halloween party starts in Bell Market at 5 p.m. This year it has a 90s theme. Admission is free, and food and drinks are for purchase until 8 p.m. October 28 is a Wednesday, which keeps it on the building's midweek rhythm. The 3 p.m. start is early enough that it won't clash with evening trick-or-treating on your own block.
On weekends, the tenants keep the hours
Several tenants on the On The Block directory list Saturday or Sunday hours, and most of them work by reservation or membership rather than walk-in traffic.
| Tenant | What it is | Weekend hours listed | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swing Loose | Indoor golf simulators | Sat 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sun 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Bays |
| Game Night Out | Game experience | Daily, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. | Reservations required |
| Legenda | Indonesian foods and handmade goods | Sat 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sun | Walk-in shop |
| Party Cycle Movement | Cycling classes | Sat and Sun, 8 to 11 a.m. | Booking through its app only |
| It Gym | Small-group fitness classes | Sat 7 to 9:30 a.m.; closed Sun | Limited class sizes |
| FitLab | Full-service fitness center | 24-hour access for members | Open to the local community |
Swing Loose is the tenant with a documented weekend draw from outside the building. The Sun-Times reported that the golf simulator business invites office tenants over for happy hours and team-building events, and that it also brings Hoffman Estates residents to Bell Works on weekends. Its listed hours also run latest Thursday through Saturday, when it is open until 8 p.m.
Legenda is the easiest weekend stop without a booking. The shop carries Indonesian foods and textiles and crafts from across the country, including Sumatran Songket, Balinese woven fabrics, Sumba weavings, Papuan Noken bags and Javanese Wayang. Its directory listing shows Saturday hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
FitLab, on the lower level, is powered by Kinema Fitness and stocked with Precor equipment. Bell Works describes it as open to tenants "as well as the local community," and members get 24-hour access. Most tenants here keep business hours, but members can use FitLab at any hour.
The west side could change the weekend schedule
The current schedule reflects a building that has been half open. In June, officials ceremonially took down the wall between the renovated east side and the west side. Mayor Bill McLeod told the Daily Herald it was "the beginning of Bell Works phase two" and "the last phase of the whole Bell Works saga." The same report said more than 500,000 square feet would open on the west side "within the coming months." That includes 430,000 square feet of office space and 70,000 square feet of retail.
The plans for that space include several things designed for non-office visitors. In June, the Sun-Times reported that developer Inspired by Somerset Development expected the west side to open in the third quarter. The plans it described were:
- West Side Square, a turf courtyard with furniture that would host family-friendly events.
- Bar Bella, an outdoor bar on the building's existing patio.
- Bell Lounge, a public space with free Wi-Fi that would host public workshops.
- New retail, which Ralph Zucker, the company's president and CEO, said could include a pizzeria and other eateries, with food and drinks "across all price points."
The developer did not name any west-side tenants at the June event. McLeod told the Daily Herald he expected a proposal for at least one more restaurant. Until Bell Works announces openings, treat the courtyard, the bar and the lounge as plans. Bell Works does not list them on its On The Block directory, and the October calendar holds its events at Bell Market and The Square.
Zucker described the goal in plain terms to the Sun-Times: "Our house is your house. Come in. Make yourself at home." He said people "who live down the block" walk in and say they "never knew this place was so cool." A public lounge, an outdoor bar and a courtyard for family events are the kind of spaces that would let the building open its doors on weekends too. For now, the October calendar keeps those invitations midweek.
The campus is also adding residents of its own. The Daily Herald reported that the first of 164 townhouses on the east side of the 152-acre campus was expected to be finished in 2026, with about 300 apartments to follow in a later phase. Once neighbors live on the property itself, the weekday-heavy schedule may have more reason to stretch into the weekend.
For this month, the plan is simple. Come Thursday for the Riley Brothers Duo, come Wednesday the 28th with the kids in costume, and book Swing Loose or Game Night Out if you want to be there on a Saturday.
If you live near Bell Works and want to talk through how the west side and the new townhouses could affect your corner of Hoffman Estates, Alka Patel is happy to share what she's seeing and answer your questions, with no pressure. Let's Connect.
