Eric Schlickman never seems to run out of ideas for downtown Wheaton.

The architect-turned-restaurateur converted a former auto repair shop into 302 Wheaton, a burger place and outdoor family hangout with picnic tables and vacation vibes. Schlickman also has created Dough and The Backyard behind it, rolling out pizza, hosting game watches and creating another downtown gathering space. And you can credit Schlickman and his buddies for saving Shane’s Deli in the old Cock Robin.

“Eric is one of what we love to call our serial entrepreneurs, so we love working with Eric and seeing what’s next for him,” says Allison Orr, executive director of the Downtown Wheaton Association. “And he always does an exceptional job and is really tuned in to the community, the Wheaton community, and what’s needed and what’s missing here.”

Schlickman is teaming up with Bob Davidson, the owner of Blackberry Market in Glen Ellyn, to answer what’s next: The Guild.

It’s expected to offer counter service for breakfast, transition to a lunch menu and then serve both small and shareable dishes for dinner in a historic Front street building with an outdoor patio.

“Maintaining the integrity of a lot of these buildings that he’s opened businesses in is really important to him, and we’re grateful for that, too,” Orr said, “because you’re able to hang on to parts of that history and what people remember from their childhood growing up in Wheaton, but also making it modern and something that’s really applicable to our community today.”

Schlickman and Davidson see The Guild as more than a restaurant in a space previously occupied by Maypole, Emmett’s Brewing Co. and The Bank.

“Books will be sold there,” Schlickman said. “But it will be also a place where you can dine and also hold various events, kind of surrounded by bookcases.”

There certainly is demand for space for birthday parties, showers and other events that aren’t necessarily to the degree of a wedding, Orr said.

“People want to be social and they want to gather. So giving people an opportunity for things to do in downtown Wheaton is great, and we’re happy to welcome more of that.”

What’s for breakfast? Davidson’s Blackberry Market is known for its pillowy cinnamon rolls and cinnamon roll rounds.

“We obviously have multiple full-service restaurants for breakfast in Wheaton. There’s, I think, an opportunity for more of a quick-service restaurant,” Schlickman recently told the city’s liquor commission. “So coffee, espresso, other coffee drinks in the morning, but then also croissants, breakfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, oatmeals … and then maybe on the weekends, looking at like a brunch menu.”

Wheaton has a “ton of amazing restaurants in downtown, but we have very few that do a quick-serve, grab-and-go kind of thing,” Orr said.

“We have some exciting things on the horizon for downtown in terms of perhaps some additional office space and some additional bigger businesses coming in, so we want to make sure that we can serve all of the employees in those offices,” she said Monday. “And I think having an additional grab-and-go option really, really hits the nail on the head.”

Subourbon, a private craft cocktail lounge, will remain as is in the lower level, as it did when the previous Maypole restaurant was in the same Front Street building, Jim Kozik, Wheaton’s planning and economic development director, said.

“We’ll call it The Guild bar, The Guild cafe, Subourbon at The Guild, events at the Guild, and then the bookstore will have a slightly different name that we’ll unveil,” Davidson hinted at the commission meeting.

They hope to open before the end of the year, he said, because it’s the 150th year of the building.