Five New Restaurants Opening in Downtown Evanston

Downtown Evanston is seeing a burst of restaurant activity this spring, with five new restaurants already open or coming soon. See what else is new in Evanston in our regular listing of business comings and goings.

Downtown Starbucks Triples In Size
After 21 years at 1726 Sherman Ave., Starbucks recently moved a few doors down and reopened in a new store that’s three times the size of the original, at 1734 Sherman Ave. The new location is just as packed as the old one and is filled with cutting-edge updates, including outlets at every table and a Clover coffee machine that brews one cup at a time. The new location also has a Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) certification. 

New Women’s Clothing Store Comes to Central Street
Selling women’s sportswear, dresses, jewelry, accessories and gifts, Gracie’s held a ribbon cutting at the new women’s clothing store at 1939 Central St. this May. The store carries brands such as Yoga Jeans, Love Quotes, Minnie Rose, Bailey 44, Planet, Bryn Walker and Weston Wear, among others. 

‘1717’ Apartments Opening Soon on Ridge
A new apartment building at 1717 Ridge Ave. holds its grand opening this June. The $43 million building will have 175 units on eight stories, with two levels of below-ground parking, according to Crain’s Chicago. Floor plans include studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and the building is expected to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification, according to its website. 

Regus Opens Flexible Work Center On Orrington
Regus has opened a flexible workplace at 1603 Orrington Ave., providing office space, meeting rooms and membership to drop-in business lounges. Customers can also take advantage of common areas, including stocked kitchen spaces, as well as client networking events.

Big Twist Restaurant Opens on Howard
Big Twist opened this May at 1805 Howard St., selling Eastern European healthy fast food like rice bowls and pita pockets. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Lao Sze Chuan Coming in August
Restaurateur Tony Hu will be opening another location of his famous Lao Sze Chuan this summer in Evanston at 1637 Orrington Ave., adding to the 11 restaurants that make up the Tony Gourmet Group, which has locations in China Town, Schaumburg and Chicago, among others, the Daily Northwestern reported. Hu says he plans to bring authentic Chinese cuisine to Evanston with dishes such as spicy hot pot and boiled beef in spicy Sichuan sauce.  

Farmhouse Anticipates June Opening
Farmhouse co-owner TJ Callahan says he expects to open an Evanston location of the "farm-to-tavern" restaurant in June. Callahan and co-owner Ferdia Doherty opened the first location of the restaurant in River North in September 2011, with cuisine focused on locally sourced tavern food and craft beers. Farmhouse Evanston will be located at 703 Church St., at the 5,500-square-foot space in the Hilton Orrington building that formerly housed the sushi restaurant Futami.  

Forever Yogurt Opening Downtown
Forever Yogurt, a Chicago-based chain of roughly 30 self-serve frozen yogurt shops, is opening an Evanston location in June. Taking over the space at 1739 Sherman Ave. formerly occupied by Bento Express, the store will have six machines, each offering two flavors of frozen yogurt or a blend of both. The offerings will be regularly rotating to take advantage of the company's collection of 96 varieties including red velvet, cake batter, pistachio and salted caramel popcorn. 

Veteran Restaurateur Opens Mexican Sandwich Shop
Juan Jiminez, former owner of Tanzitaro in Chicago, opened Aguas Tortas at the former Uber Burger Location, 618 Church St., this December. True to the restaurant's name, the focus is on tortas – a type of Mexican sandwich. Meats like grilled steak, Mexican sausage and the especially popular marinated pork are topped with avocado, poblano peppers, jalapenos and tomato and served on a crusty roll reminiscent of French bread. The aguas are water flavored with tamarind and horchata, though Jiminez plans to add more varieties like watermelon, cantaloupe and orange for the summer. 

Leonidas Café Chocolaterie Moving to Evanston
Leonidas Café Chocolaterie, a chocolate shop located in downtown Wilmette, will be moving to Evanston after 8 years at 1157 Wilmette Ave. The store's current location will be closing at the end of May, and the Evanston location, at 1907 Central St., is set to open in July.