Evanston officials celebrated Friday the downtown Starbucks’ move to a larger, eco-friendly location.
Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl and Ald. Judy Fiske (1st) welcomed the move to 1734 Sherman Ave., steps away from the old coffee shop and a few storefronts closer to Northwestern’s Evanston campus. The former location closed earlier in the week after 21 years in business.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony included live music, food and demonstrations of the store’s Clover brewing system, which allows baristas to make single cups of coffee in front of customers.
Carolyn Dellutri, executive director of the Downtown Evanston, said the new 90-seat coffee shop plans to have live entertainment in the evening.
“It will be a great place for people to hang out,” Dellutri said.
The new location is also LEED certified with brick walls and maple flooring.
Weinberg freshman Sonia Mirchandani, who attended the grand re-opening, said the old location usually could not fit students who wanted to study in large groups.
“It was kind of a small space,” she said. “That won’t be a problem, though, now.”
Dellutri said the ribbon cutting was an important event for the business community in downtown Evanston.
“We just want to make sure that we are showing them our support, and we are happy they are here,” Dellutri said.
The new location is open 5 a.m. to midnight daily.
