A breakfast eatery will join Evanston Corner Bistro at the Hilton Orrington/Evanston this spring.
Land & Lake Cafe is set to open late May, said LM Restaurant Group’s Director of Branding & Communications Lauren Hammond.
LM currently operates Evanston Corner Bistro and owns two other Land & Lake locations — one in downtown Chicago and another in Rosemont near O’Hare International Airport. Both serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Land & Lake Cafe will operate until 3 p.m. daily, focusing on breakfast and brunch. After the eatery opens, Evanston Corner Bistro will adjust its hours to serve only lunch and dinner, LM’s Director of Evanston Operations Bridget Houle said. The bistro will continue to serve brunch on weekends.
Hammond said the cafe anticipates more Northwestern student customers than Evanston Corner Bistro. She said most of the bistro’s NU customer base comes from faculty and staff, as well as parents during Family Weekend or graduation.
“We’re certainly not looking to compete with ourselves,” Hammond said. “We’re looking to offer people variety.”
Besides egg-based brunch dishes from the Land & Lake Kitchen menu, the cafe will offer grab-and-go options like pastries, salads and sandwiches. It’s also the first Land & Lake location with full coffee service, which include espressos, lattes and cappuccinos, Hammond said.
Houle said these options make the cafe a casual alternative to Evanston Corner Bistro, where guests may opt to have a candle-lit dinner instead.
“You may have a shot of espresso and a scone rather than a seared sirloin and chimichurri sauce,” she said.
Land & Lake’s concept draws inspiration from Midwestern diners. Hammond said the Chicago full-service locations offer regional dishes, like sausage breakfast sandwiches with Wisconsin brick cheese, and classics such as eggs benedict.
One item unique to Evanston’s menu is the Wildcat Lemonade, Houle said. The bright purple drink consists of pea flower tea, lemon juice and simple syrup.
“The purple of Evanston is iconic, and that’s something that we really wanted to recreate without using a lot of additives,” Houle said.
LM also opened The Lighthouse Room, a new private dining space at the Hilton Orrington/Evanston, in January. So far, the venue has held several wedding dinner rehearsals.
While weddings might become its standard use, Houle said she hopes to see yoga classes and especially post-wedding brunches there.
Land & Lake will join numerous other breakfast and brunch spots in Downtown Evanston. Cupitol Coffee & Eatery, Frida’s Breakfast and Lunch and Le Peep are all within a 10-minute walk from Hilton Orrington/Evanston.
Evanston Corner Bistro server Jewelia Rasheb said she often recommends local eateries like ice cream shop Kilwins to hotel guests.
Still, many of them eat at the bistro every day for breakfast, they said. Some stay for the entire morning to work.
“This is like a convenience thing for a lot of people,” Rasheb said. “Some people really like the service and the atmosphere, and some people like to explore and see what’s out there. It depends on what kind of stay people are looking for.”
Email: desireeluo2028@u.northwestern.edu
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