John Albright, the general manager of the Evanston branch of coffee chain Colectivo, said the cafe made over $9,000 on Saturday, $1,000 more than it usually does on Saturdays. The reason may be Northwestern’s family weekend, he said.
Albright said he looked at Northwestern’s event schedule before the school year started because the NU community makes up most of Colectivo’s business. He said he planned ahead to have between 10 to 12 staff members at the store throughout the weekend.
“I specifically saw that this weekend’s gonna probably be busier just due to the parents’ weekend,” Albright said. “When their whole family comes, it tends to pick up. They tend to be larger orders. So I think because of that, we have to have all hands on deck.”
The annual NU Family Weekend took place Friday, Nov. 8 through Sunday, Nov. 10, where parents of NU students are invited to campus to attend lectures, special tours and performances and connect with faculty.
Parallel with NU’s event, Downtown Evanston hosted its Sneak Peek Holiday Shop and Stroll this weekend. The event aimed to encourage shopping at local businesses, offering snacks and drinks and hosting a raffle.
Gearhead Outfitters held their Puffers and Popcorn event where the store windows were decorated with snowflakes and pine trees, customers were served popcorn and hot chocolate, and a 20% off sale for any insulated jacket was available in store.
The store almost doubled its typical Saturday traffic due to the event and because students are beginning to stock up on winter gear, Store Manager Alex Gookin said. He added that he enjoys connecting with the Evanston community and seeing families shopping together in the store.
“We get to really make (an) impact while we help them,” Gookin said. “They save money and get geared up. Kids are coming from warmer climates like California, so it’s really nice to be able to get them geared up and make them — the parents and the kids — feel comfortable about the winter we got coming up.”
Hilton Orrington Evanston didn’t see a major change in business due to Family Weekend, according to Front Office Manager Alexis Vargas.
She said the hotel has been at near full occupancy since the beginning of this year’s fall season thanks to various events at NU and in Evanston. The hotel’s ongoing renovations could also be the reason for the hotel’s increase in bookings this season, she added.
“We’re getting more guests to come in … who want to come and see the new hotel,” Vargas said. “We’re expanding our horizons in that way.”
Albright said he wished there would be more of an effort from Downtown Evanston to promote business growth in the city through utilizing Fountain Square and introducing more restaurants.
He added that, potentially due to the pandemic, the types of business that have opened in downtown Evanston have changed dramatically and the restaurant industry is being pushed out of the area.
“I just wish there were more food culture going on in (Evanston),” Albright said. “Also more of a pull to get non-students and get working adults to come to Evanston from the city and try food and things like that. Obviously, you can’t coordinate that, but Evanston has a lot of potential.”
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