Andy Vick News Today

Rats scurried in broad daylight outside Insomnia Cookies in downtown Evanston. At night, the long-tailed rodents leapt out of trash cans. And around the clock, they forced nearby businesses to wage a “losing battle” to keep them away, store operations manager Laura Dundas said in early March. She estimated that hundreds had overrun the 1700...

When Lea Pinsky and Dustin Harris moved back to Evanston from Chicago in 2012, they were eager to spread public art in their hometown.  The married couple had been painting murals together in Chicago since 2005 and were hired to paint two murals in Evanston in 2016. Pinsky said positive reactions from the community inspired...

A new grant program launched in January by Evanston’s economic development office seeks to help small businesses still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic’s long-term economic impacts. The Small Business Recovery Program will award grants of up to $25,000 per applicant. The city will fund the program using $250,000 from the $3 million Evanston Thrives initiative....

For Evanston Games and Cafe, moving one block meant moving mountains. Long located on a quiet block of Maple Avenue just behind the Davis Street Metra station, the store — simultaneously a retailer, cafe and event space — struggled to attract walk-ins, co-owner Eli Klein said. “As of January, I had owned that location for...

Wrapped in glass and 10 stories tall, a new laboratory and office space nearing completion stands as the newest addition to the downtown Evanston skyline. Evanston Labs, set for completion this year, could herald the arrival of the life sciences industry in the city. Negotiations with potential tenants are ongoing as the Chicago region could...

Downtown Evanston business district stakeholders met economic concerns with optimism Saturday during a panel hosted by the League of Women Voters of Evanston. Hot-button issues including town-gown relations, safety and parking made up the majority of the discussion, which was held downtown at Asian fusion restaurant Koi.  Former Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who moderated...

Matthew Abitbol opened a specialty footwear store in downtown Evanston just before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the world down. “We would chase down a single sale,” said Abitbol, the owner of Commonwealth Running Company. “A single shoe sale meant everything. People take for granted when a business is doing well.” Since the store opened in...

In December 2022, after almost 10 years of operating the downtown restaurant Farmhouse Evanston, owners TJ Callahan and Ferdia Doherty decided to try something new.  The pair hoped to provide a more polished experience, spending “many, many, many hundreds of thousands” of dollars transforming the rustic location into the upscale Thomas & Dutch, Callahan said....

Over the course of just a few days, volunteers and artists have reimagined a vacant space in downtown Evanston into the third annual Evanston Made Holiday Market, set to open Dec. 1. Visitors can stop by the curated market of Evanston Made members’ art and handmade items at 1631 Chicago Ave. Thursdays through Sundays until...

The office vacancy rate in downtown Evanston has seen an uptick — and city officials warn the trend could continue unabated going into 2024. Evanston Economic Development Manager Paul Zalmezak said the downtown vacancy rate stood at 12.6% as of last week, compared to a rate around 11.3% earlier this year. Concerns have grown, Zalmezak...