If the average American drinks 3.5 cups of coffee per day, then how many coffeehouses are needed to support Evanston’s caffeine habit? Eight.
And if Americans drink, on average, two cups of tea per day, how many teahouses does Evanston need? Apparently, at least one more.
On June 20, the City of Evanston Zoning Board of Appeals recommended approval of an application by Argo Tea Davis LLC to construct a teahouse at the Sherman Plaza development, at the intersection of Sherman Avenue and Davis Street.
Argo Tea already has four branches in downtown Chicago. The Sherman Plaza location, set to open in late August, is its first house outside the city.
The chain is not worried about competition from other Evanston cafes because Argo Tea focuses solely on tea drinks, not tea in addition to coffee, said Argo Tea manager Daniel Lindwasser.
“We have a number of unique concoctions on our drink list for people who prefer tea,” Lindwasser said.
The list includes new summer drinks, such as Teappuccino and MojiTea, a tea drink flavored with mint and lime.
Lindwasser also said the teahouse’s atmosphere will differ from the run-of-the-mill coffeehouses already located in Evanston.
“We have a unique offering because we’re introducing a new way of drinking tea that differs from the traditional teahouse,” he said.
Local businesses are not concerned with the new competition either, despite the cafe’s proximity to Evanston staples such as Cafe Ambrosia, 1620 Orrington Ave., and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, 1622 Chicago Ave.
“People will be curious to see what it’s like at first, but I thinkwe’ve set ourselves apart,”said Jett Weiner, assistant manager ofPeet’s.
This coffeehouse sells “more coffee by far” and has a loyal base of regular customers who won’t be pulled away by Argo Tea, Weiner said.
The new teahouse won’t have the late night hours offered by cafes such as Kafein, 1621 Chicago Ave., either. While Kafein remains open as late as 3 a.m. on weekends, the different Argo Tea locations often close as early as 9 p.m.
Aldermen will vote on Argo Tea’s application at the next City Council meeting July 10.
Reach Christina Alexander at [email protected].
