Clarke’s Off Campus, a go-to Sunday brunch spot, closed its doors in February 2023 — after serving in Evanston for over three decades.

Since the 1980s, the longtime downtown diner proudly welcomed the Northwestern and broader Evanston community with staple breakfast and lunch foods, such as omelets and sandwiches.

Clarke’s even moved to a more modern storefront location on Davis Street to accommodate for larger parties in 2019. Yolanda Ewing-Tsatas, Clarke’s owner, decorated the new interior with pictures of NU football players and newspaper cutouts of the restaurant.

With their move to a new location, Clarke’s diversified their menu to include items like the “Avocado Abby,” wheat toast topped with avocado spread and melted cheese, the “Tommy Burger” served with special sauce, melted American cheese, pickles and lettuce, and the Impossible Burger. Customers also enjoyed the Mediterranean skillet, cinnamon roll pancakes and classic breakfast burritos.

Despite securing a liquor license, Clarke’s failed to survive multiple closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually closing, Clarke’s and its rich breakfast foods and Ewing-Tsatas’s kind energy and aura will always be missed.

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