A convenience store that will sell ethnic sweets and other prepackaged items has plans to soon open in Evanston.

Ad Val’s Sweet is looking to operate at 900 Chicago Ave., and sell “ethnic sweets, coffee and sandwiches,” according to documents submitted to the city’s design and project review committee. City Council is expected to approve the building permit Monday, said Mark Muenzer, the city’s director of community development.

“I think it will benefit the Main Street corridor in that it will be an ethnic shop that will offer different types of … Indian and Pakistani products, which (are) not such an entity in the Main Street area right now,” Muenzer said. “So that will provide some more diversity to that area.”

Ammar Khorjiya, the store’s owner, said once he receives the building permit, he hopes to open in about two months. There is a main branch of the store, called Ajwaah Sweets, located in Chicago at 2453 W. Devon Ave.

“A lot of customers, they come in, they ask for coffee and cakes and all that stuff, and around that area (in Evanston), I don’t think there is something like that,” Khorjiya said. “The customers recommended (the new location), and they told us to open something like this here, so that’s why we decided … to open something like that now.”

Khorjiya said the new location will be similar to a “European cake house” and will aim to serve people on their way to work, as the Main Street Metra and CTA train stops are close by.

The building the store would be in is also home to coLab Evanston, a collaboration space. CoLab co-founder Miguel Wong said he thinks Ad Val’s Sweet will positively affect the area.

“The area has a growing population of young professionals and young families, so I think this kind of service (is) what these kinds of demographics want,” Wong said. “And also, for coLab, I think this will be an amazing opportunity and an amazing addition to our lunch menu. My members will love it.”

Khorjiya said a location closer to Northwestern might open in the future to complement the south Evanston location.

“The morning public, they need some coffee, some breakfast stuff, so that’s why we thought we should open something like that,” Khorjiya said.

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