Evanston didn’t do anything special to be called the diningcapital of the North Shore, said Jonathan Perman, executivedirector of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce.
“We gave ourselves that title, we claimed it,” Perman said.
But each of the new restaurants that have opened within the pastfew months only have raised the bar for the city — and incomingrestaurateurs share this feeling.
Evanston has seen many additions to the already 150 restaurantsin the city in the last several weeks, with the opening of placessuch as bistro Vive La Crepe, pizzeria Lou Malnati’s, Indian eateryBombay Garden Restaurant and Italian trattoria Gio.
Troy Thiel, president of the Evanston Small BusinessAssociation, said the city is at the top of the dining game in theNorth Shore.
“Evanston is definitely the suburb with the most restaurants percapita,” Thiel said. “There’s diversity — it ranges from fantasticfive-star restaurants to great cheap eats.”
Surrounding competition includes Old Orchard Shopping Center inSkokie and nearby suburb Wheeling, areas Thiel identified aspotential challengers for the dining capital title.
“All the nearby towns have good restaurants, and Skokie and OldOrchard are massive competition,” he said. “Evanston is not alonein the fact that our culture is eating out now more than ever.”
But Dick Peach, president-elect of the chamber, said thesuperior caliber of the city’s restaurants puts it in a differentleague.
“Evanston is better not only in numbers (of restaurants), butalso in quality,” Peach said. “No one is going to come close to us– we have exquisite gourmet stuff and everyday eats.”
Debbie Nolan, co-owner of the Vive La Crepe, which opened inMarch, said the move away from the kitchen and toward restaurantdining can only be seen as a plus for her business.
“More people are eating out and nobody wants to cook anymore,”Nolan said. “And word has gotten out that Evanston is the diningcapital of the North Shore, so more people want to come here.”
Nolan said she noticed the varied population in Evanston whenshe decided to open the restaurant, and also noticed that not manyrestaurants in the city specialized in dishes with crepes.
“This was something that hadn’t been available yet,” Nolan said.”There’s such a diverse crowd here — college students, residents,people visiting.”
And there’s going to be more diversity in coming years, Peachsaid. The five- to six-percent population increase the chamberexpectsthe city to experience in the next few years is something ofwhich Peach said restaurant owners — current and prospective –are taking notice.
“The speculation from the chamber is that there are new peoplemoving into town, with umpteen skyscrapers being built,” Peachsaid, “so there is a market draw.”
Perman said the growth and development of Evanston is naturallygoing to attract more businesses.
“There is a tremendous amount of success already,” Perman said,”which feeds on itself and gives it momentum.”
And as Evanston continues to urbanize and acquire morerestaurants, both chain and independently owned, Perman said therealm of potential customers also continues to expand.
“We do have a critical mass of customers that live withinwalking distance of the restaurants, but Evanston is being marketedto places even beyond Chicago, like St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit,”Perman said. “We are a destination.”
