The rising cost of rent has Evanston dim-sum restaurant Lulu’s planning to leave its current location at 626 Davis St.
The restaurant will move to its new space at the corner of Sherman Avenue and Davis Street in August, owner Daniel Kelch said.
“It got to the point where it was cheaper to buy than to rent,” Kelch said. “So we’ll just be buying our own space instead of renting.”
Kelch said Lulu’s, which has been operating at its current location for 10 years, is required to be out of the current building by the end of August.
He said he hopes to have the restaurant fully operational in its new location by the end of September.
“It’s a better location,” Kelch said of the new building at 804 Davis St. “It’s a brand new property.”
Kelch said the new space will be about 3,600 square feet, compared with 2,000 square feet at the old location.
But he said Lulu’s will not benefit greatly from the increased space because he plans to open a second restaurant in the same building.
“We’ve got enough space that we can actually open two restaurants,” Kelch said. Kelch said he plans to open an Italian restaurant, so far unnamed, next door to Lulu’s about two weeks after Lulu’s reopens.
The two restaurants will share some storage space and a bar.
“We’re going to have some smoothies and some frozen alcohol drinks,” Kelch said. “We’re also going to have some of those froufrou umbrella drinks as well.”
The benefits of the new space include added parking for Lulu’s carry-out customers, Kelch said. Lulu’s will share with the building’s other retail spaces.
“We’ll have a few 15-minute spots and in-and-out spaces,” Kelch said. “This will be better than having our customers double-parked on Davis Street when they come for a pickup.”
Lulu’s also will benefit from the new Evanston parking garage going up on Sherman Avenue, which will have more than 1,000 spaces, Kelch said.
He plans to keep 80 percent of Lulu’s current menu but will add some more stir-fry and seafood items.
Kelch said he doesn’t anticipate any loss of Lulu’s customer base, despite the new look of the restaurant.
“It’s going to look a little different and it’s going to feel a little different,” Kelch said. “There might be some customers who say, ‘Oh, I liked your old space better,’ but I don’t think there will be too many of those.”
Evanston resident Kristina Waldron said the move won’t keep her from eating at Lulu’s in the future.
Though Waldron said in the past there has been a wait to sit down at the restaurant, she is not concerned that the new location will have even less space for seating.
“The line always moved pretty quickly,” Waldron said. “And I like a crowd, so the space doesn’t bother me.”
The least of his worries is the notion that Lulu’s fans will get lost trying to navigate between the restaurant’s old space and its new location, Kelch said.
“We’re only moving across the street,” he said. “I think people will find us.”
