From bakery cafes to boba tea spots, new restaurants are reshaping downtown Evanston for students, workers and the wider community.
Over the past four months, Praline Cauldron, Mr. Cachito and Paris Baguette have opened locations in Evanston.
Owned by French pastry chef Remy Ruiz, Praline Cauldron offers croissants, brownies, cookies, baguette sandwiches, quiches and croque monsieurs. Ruiz opened his bakery in Evanston after considering several locations and ultimately choosing Davis Street.
“I loved the location and size of the building–not too large or too small,” said Ruiz.
While Praline Cauldron brings a taste of France to Evanston, Mr. Cachito is the city’s first Venezuelan bakery. Customers can order bakery items like housemade muffins, cheesecakes and drinks like hot chocolate and matcha tea. The bakery’s name comes from the Venezuelan cachito, which is a savory stuffed pastry shaped like a croissant with a variety of fillings.
Continuing the trend of diverse bakery options for students, Paris Baguette is a Korean style bakery and coffee shop, with multiple locations in the Midwest and Chicago area. The downtown Evanston location has a substantial selection of pastries including several types of croissants, donuts, cookies and brownies. They also offer a range of cakes by the slice or for special order.
“I’ve tried the mochi donut and milk bread, which were both very good,” said freshman Henry Smith.
In addition to new openings, downtown dining has also lost a few eating options. Peppercorns Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant, shut down operations at the end of August and is merging with Koi, another Asian restaurant a few doors down. Also in August, bubble tea and waffle cafe Happy Lemon closed down its Evanston location.
Restaurant Olive Mediterranean Grill (OMG) closed during the pandemic but reopened across the street from its previous location this summer. Customers start by choosing a base–either a sandwich or a plate–then select from proteins such as chicken shawarma, steak or falafel, along with sides like hummus, Mediterranean salad, yogurt and baba ghanoush.
“I’m glad OMG is downtown again. It’s a healthy lunch option, and it’s something a little different from everywhere else,” said senior Oscar Lopez.
At last month’s meeting, the Economic Development Committee–a 14-member group that advises the City Council on Evanston’s business district–discussed several ideas for supporting downtown businesses.
Downtown community leaders emphasized the need for flexibility of sidewalk rules as regulations have complicated outdoor dining, which affects business sales. Committee members also highlighted the importance of making the permit process easier and reducing fees for small business owners to help support their growth.
Evanston’s ever-changing downtown offers Northwestern students, local high school students, residents and professionals a variety of new options. Recently opened bakery cafes provide additional choices for those looking for lunch downtown.
