Evanston resident Otto Ade remembers visiting The Spot, a pizza restaurant on Foster Street in the 1980s, for his sixth birthday. As a kid, he was wowed by the balloon animal artist, magician and game machines inside the restaurant.
“That’s where I fell in love with hospitality and dining and entertaining,” he said. “The old Spot made it fun, not just a restaurant to go sit down. It was magical.”
Now, Ade and business partner Fred Gale are co-owners of a new restaurant on Central Street, also named The Spot.
The duo is currently revamping the Ten Mile House, an American restaurant that closed in March, and plan to open it as The Spot in early June. Gale and Ade were introduced to each other about a year and a half ago by a mutual acquaintance and have been working on the project since, Ade said.
“I’ve known for 10 plus years that I wanted to bring The Spot to Evanston, and I feel like the stars aligned,” Ade said. “It’s a dream come true to have a place back home in Evanston.”
Ade specifically lauded the location’s proximity to Northwestern, especially the new Ryan Field, and the business that it will draw.
On game days or when other events are being hosted at the stadium, Gale hopes the restaurant will act as a representation of the city, prompting visitors to see Evanston as “such a great town.”
Beyond events at the new stadium, Ade said he wants to create a “neighborhood feel where people gather” at the new version of The Spot to recreate a similar atmosphere to the restaurant he experienced as a child.
“The name itself is exactly what we want to be,” Gale said. “We want to be the spot, right?”
In addition to incorporating live music and DJs at their restaurant, Ade and Gale plan to serve Italian food.
Matt Overpack, The Spot’s executive chef, said almost everything on the menu will be made from scratch.
“It takes a little bit of time and effort to do everything from scratch, but I think the whole point in a restaurant is to do that, so I am trying to keep that tradition alive,” Overpack said.
Overpack said the restaurant will serve “elevated comfort” food including tavern-style pizza in collaboration with Danny’s Pizza — a Chicago-based restaurant — sandwiches and traditional pasta dishes. He added that the restaurant will also feature unique twists on classic dishes that “you won’t see anywhere else.”
Anica Jasper, The Spot’s beverage and bar manager, thinks the restaurant’s hospitality will set it apart.
“We want people to be able to build relationships with their guests where it doesn’t feel like you know that there’s any sort of chore going in either direction,” Jasper said.
Gale said he and Ade are aiming to make The Spot an Evanston “institution.”
“l want The Spot to be a place where nights turn into stories and stories turn into traditions,” Ade said. “I want this thing to be around for a very long time.”
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