The green analog numbers on the cash register at Perfect One Hour Photo have remained unchanged since the store shut its doors last January: $0.00.
The photo developers that occupied 1638 Orrington Ave. for about six years are essentially a snapshot of how business goes on that block of Orrington Avenue, where “we have moved” and “space available” signs decorate the windows.
Recently, though, a new sign has appeared: “Coming Soon.”
If applicants get their way, two new restaurants will open by the end of the summer. Mediterranean restaurant Pomegranate will go into the spot vacated in the summer of 2004 by Chicago Style Carry Out. Omaggio, an Italian restaurant and deli, will fill the space down the block that was the Miro Center for Integrative Medicine, a holistic medical center, until 2001.
Empty storefronts are a problem Orrington Avenue has faced for the past several years, ever since Borders Books and Music moved to Maple Avenue in 2003. Today, the east side of the street shows how Borders’ departure closed the book on business vitality.
Diane Williams, executive director of EVMark, a downtown marketing organization, said the closing of businesses took a toll on the street.
“Certainly we acknowledge that that’s a block in particular that has some weakness,” Williams said. “There has been minimal foot traffic, (but) things appear to be looking up.”
She said the arrival of Pomegranate and Omaggio is not going to be a cure-all, but it may be a good first step.
“I think it’s a little more complicated than two businesses moving in,” she said. “Based upon what I understand from owners over there, there’s more interest in some of those spaces than there had been.”
Rashad Moughrabi, a resident of Lincoln Park, likened opening his new restaurant, Pomegranate, to the restaurant he opened near the University of Illinois at Chicago. When he opened The Nile in 1991, that area was also going through trouble.
“Once you get a couple of good things in an area, it can really bring the area up,” he said. “When we started The Nile, the area was a bit drab, but other restaurants came in after us and we picked it up. Other people see that and they’ll want to come in as well.”
Robert LaPata, who opened La Petit Amelia, 618 Church St., earlier this week, is the pioneer behind Omaggio. LaPata, who also co-opened Koi Chinese & Sushi, 624 Davis St., said Evanston is “becoming the dining destination of the North Shore.”
Executive Director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce Jonathan Perman isn’t surprised to see two new restaurants entering the downtown dining scene.
“Restaurants like to be close to other restaurants,” Perman said. “It creates a feeling and culture that says to the customer that this is a place for restaurants.”
Two restaurants won’t fix all of the streets problems, however. The large building that used to be home to Borders still awaits an owner. But the other side of the street, with businesses such as Cafe Ambrosia, 1620 Orrington Ave., and Ben and Jerry’s, 1634 Orrington Ave., shows owners that a revitalized Orrington Avenue could be in sight.
With Sherman Plaza’s opening just around the corner, the new owners are optimistic that it will have a positive impact on the block’s business.
“Evanston is such a thriving community,” LaPata said. “With Sherman Plaza opening soon, that side of Evanston seems to be going through a kind of renaissance, that it’s coming back.”
Reach Laura Olson at [email protected] and Matt Presser at [email protected].
