As throngs of curious customers buzzed inside downtown Evanston’s brand-new restaurant Guzman y Gomez Tuesday, dozens of employees manning the kitchen occasionally erupted in a hearty hurrah.
“Hola!” they shouted as people poured into the Australia-based eatery’s newest U.S. location for its grand opening.
That camaraderie forms the cornerstone of founder and co-CEO Steven Marks’ concept for fast-casual Mexican food, he said. Tuesday’s official opening of the restaurant on Sherman Avenue’s downtown stretch inaugurated the Australian sensation’s sixth U.S. location.
A lively VIP preview event Sunday presaged the grand opening. Minus Tuesday’s lengthy line that snaked to the end of the block, the Sunday bash featured the same boisterous welcome and even a mariachi band.
“Everything you see at GYG is ours,” Marks told The Daily, pointing to artwork from Mexico. “We don’t copy anybody in anything we do. And I think the most important thing is that you can feel it.”
The New York resident-turned-Aussie opened the first Guzman y Gomez in 2006. Marks found the Mexican restaurants on Australia’s east coast were “all horrible,” he said, so he decided to change that.
He brought in chefs and authentic recipes from Mexico. At first, “Australians didn’t know what black beans were,” he said, and the business had a rough start.
“When you build something and if you’re an entrepreneur, there gets a point where it wasn’t going well,” Marks added. “So either you compromise, or you don’t. And I said to myself, ‘I’d rather go out of business. I’m never compromising on the quality of my food or my people.”
Soon, the restaurant garnered a following. Its fast-food model focusing on serving “clean food” and fresh ingredients, Marks said, took off as the chain introduced drive-thru locations. And in 2020, Guzman y Gomez traveled from down under to the U.S., staking an outpost in Naperville, Illinois.
As the chain looked to expand in the Chicago suburbs, Evanston always beckoned.
Marks said the college-town success of the brand in Australia meant it could succeed in Evanston too. However, it took years to find the perfect spot.
“I wanted to open up first in Evanston,” Marks added.
The opening follows other recent entrants to the downtown district’s Mexican cuisine scene, such as Taco Bell and Dos Bros. Yet Guzman y Gomez’s perch along Bookman’s Alley lends it special significance.
It sits in a building called The Varsity, the once-vaunted Varsity Theater that real estate investor Steven Rogin has helped redevelop into stores and apartments. Guzman y Gomez sits in one of its street-facing storefronts, and the eatery’s tables spill outside into the alley.
“We’re really looking for them to help leverage making Bookman’s Alley something that people can frequent,” Rogin said.
The restaurant could help kickstart making the alley into what Downtown Evanston Executive Director Andy Vick called a “gathering spot.” The downtown organization could help fund putting up a mural there, he added.
Back inside Guzman y Gomez on opening day, Julian Weber dined on a steak burrito and complimented the free churros and low prices.
Marks, however, didn’t want his customers to eat too much. He pointed to his menu’s small portions.
“I actually think people should eat less food,” Marks said. “So you can have a regular burrito. And, I don’t know if you’re a big eater, but you can have a regular bowl — or you can have a mini.”
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