Pinto Thai Kitchen invites customers to slow down.  The restaurant’s interior is humble and cozy: Warm, pastel orange walls surround a dozen small tabletops. Large windows flood the dining room with...

When the pandemic first hit in March of last year, Chartjongkol Yodtheerak Ann, owner of Pinto Thai Kitchen, was worried her business might shut down — a fate many Evanston staples did ultimately face. But...