The walk along Orrington Avenue includes more “For Rent” signs this fall than it did before school ended last June. Craig Scott Opticians (1642 Orrington Ave.) was one of a slew of shops to close on the stretch between Church and Davis, whose spaces are now for rent. Meanwhile, Unicorn Café on Sherman Avenue is open longer each day than ever before, with customers overflowing to outdoor tables. New Evanston restaurants, including a no-menu style of dining, have opened, while more are still to come.
The economic slowdown has changed downtown Evanston in unexpected ways. It has caused some businesses to close, new, more specialized ones to take their places and existing establishments to change their models to weather the storm.
Cafe Ambrosia, a cozy study space, closed its doors at 1620 Orrington Ave. last spring. It was among the first of a number of popular Evanston retailers to close in the past six months. Dunkin’ Donuts, Pita Pete’s and Omni Salon also closed over the summer.
But the closings have come hand in hand with openings — creative new businesses that want to find a niche in the Evanston market.
Taking Ambrosia’s place is Enigma Café. The café is similar to its predecessor and opened two months ago. Executive Director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce Jonathan Perman hopes that Enigma will use its space more efficiently than Café Ambrosia did.
“Ambrosia had a bunch of couches, a fireplace, the whole downstairs area, an art gallery — none of it generating revenue,” Perman said.
Enigma employee Miguel Mayeli said business has been slow so far because people don’t know about it yet. “It’s picking up now that school has started, though,” he said.
The former Gary Poppins popcorn shop space (1739 Sherman Ave.) is under construction in preparation for Chicken Bar, a restaurant that serves various types of grilled chicken. The same is true of 1745 Maple Ave., soon to be home to Buffalo Wild Wings.
These new openings don’t surprise Perman, who said Evanston is one of the most appealing places to open a business right now.
“[Because] the demographic of young educated people is shrinking around the country, [Evanston has] a distinct advantage […] of rich human capital,” Perman said. “That’s helped build some resiliency. Evanston is not down as far as many other places.”
According to Illinois Department of Employment Security statistics released last week, the Evanston unemployment rate is lower than the statewide rate. It remains one of the lowest in the state. The Illinois unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in August, down from 10.5 percent in July. Evanston’s August and July rates were 7.2 and 7.7 percent, respectively.
Due to the economic climate, rent prices have decreased, making it a good time for new business owners to buy space.
David Lee, chef and owner of What the Food!, a new restaurant at 822 Clark St., moved to Evanston after previously running a restaurant in Wilmette. He wanted a more intimate, specialized space; What the Food! only has six tables in its dining area. Lee’s Wilmette restaurant, Chinoiserie, seated 150.
The new restaurant has no fixed menu or style of cooking. Lee creates a variety of dishes based on seasonal ingredients. He acknowledges that his experiment is risky.
“It’s kind of confusing for new customers because there’s no one concept,” he said, “So that’s a challenge.”
What the Food! is an example of a new Evanston business with narrow appeal that hopes to make its way by serving a specific niche. Lee hopes his customers will be a combination of NU students and adults looking for more sophisticated fare.
With so many openings and closings, Evanston businesses that have been around for a while have looked for ways to alter their models. Unicorn Café, for example, extended its business hours.
“Once Ambrosia closed, we had a lot more people in here that needed to have a café open late,” said Weinberg junior Julia Detchon, a Unicorn employee. “We tried it out as an experiment.”
The strategy has worked. “I really think we’ve gained business in the past year,” said Unicorn barista and manager Rebekah Albert.
The café is usually full during the day, she said, and at night students bring their laptops and books.
“The feel of this place has changed,” Detchon said.
Unicorn Café is not the only business to tweak its approach.
“There’s been a lot of discounting, specials offered, and in some cases, closing off sections that aren’t used during certain hours,” Perman said.
Through poor economic conditions, retail in Evanston has taken a new shape and even improved. The closings, openings and redesigned operations suggest that Evanston businesses will be as creative and adaptive as necessary to continue to serve their markets.