“I can’t believe it was just there and now it’s gone,” said one friend to another as they walked past the closed Marble Slab Creamery at 940 Church St. last week.
It’s a sentiment many Evanston residents and small business owners who are noticing changes in the city’s downtown business environment are sharing. After the Christmas season, businesses returned with for-sale signs for their storefronts – not their products.
Three downtown stores have closed recently, and two more have plans to close soon. Some owners said they are moving out because of high rents and not enough customers, possibly as a result of the enormous Sherman Plaza construction project or the chain stores that have moved in.
Kawalgit Singh, owner of Peacock, 706 Church St., closed his store last week after 33 years in business.
“I’ve been working here a long time and I think business is slow, rent is high, and I think that I don’t want to work any more,” said Singh, whose store sold Indian jewelry and clothing. “I am happy here and I am really appreciative of the residents that have given me a big help for the last 33 years. I am very appreciative of that.”
Steve O’Sullivan, Evanston’s license and measures inspector, has noticed more chain retailers coming into the downtown area filling storefronts vacated by closing independent shops.
“The reason given by some (for store closings) is that the rents have gone up,” O’Sullivan said. “Those that have (applied to move in) have been less of the independent types. It really depends on the area. Outside of the immediate downtown area are more independent (shops), and, as you move closer in, you have more chain franchises.”
But even chain stores are not immune. Ice cream chain Marble Slab closed unexpectedly Jan. 9 after opening in 2002, said Chris Dull, the company’s vice president for franchise development. In fact, after the store closed, it took about a week for the company’s headquarters to find out.
“That store closing for us was terribly disappointing because it was not a store that did poorly,” Dull said. “It did well. (But) the franchisee started his own food concept that’s not ice cream and, in doing so, lost his focus.”
Dull said Marble Slab is trying to reopen its Evanston store, but another store may take over the space.
“(The franchisee) didn’t notify us of the closing of those units until it was too late for someone to come in and pick those units up,” he said. “They were doing well, and to see them go away, we were a little bit shocked and taken back – the problem is when our franchisee abandons spaces, he also upsets the landlords, and now they’re not being real cooperative in assisting us to get someone else in there.”
Though a number of stores are closing, the spaces don’t stay vacant for long – at least in some parts of downtown.
“We typically find that another (store) comes in fairly quickly, especially in the area that surrounds the new development area,” said O’Sullivan, the city official.
Also moving out are career staffing service Randstad, formerly of 1734 Sherman Ave., which shut its doors recently and Something Wicked, 816 Church St., which has plans to close soon, although a date has not yet been set.
Upscale eatery Trio, 1625 Hinman Ave., plans to close its doors on Feb. 26 after more than 12 years. Owner Henry Adaniya calls it a “personal decision” and is planning three events for the restaurant’s final weekend so the restaurant can “go out in style.”
“If my work was incomplete at Trio, I would certainly be open to continuing on,” he said. “I have done everything at Trio. I’ve accomplished what I’ve set out to do and beyond that. The story is complete.”
Although he’s closing his restaurant, Adaniya isn’t worried about the city’s future.
“I’ve been in business in Evanston for the last 20 years,” he said. “I think it’s just going to continue to grow.”
Reach Matt Presser at [email protected].
