THE EVANSTON FOOD SCENE HAS TAKEN A HIT THIS YEAR. FIRST BOB’S PIZZA CLOSED DOWN, THEN CHILI’S, AND NOW PEET’S HAS BEEN SUDDENLY SET TO CLOSE BY THE END OF THIS MONTH. NORTHWESTERN STUDENTS ARE MOURNING THE LOSS OF THESE BELOVED LOCATIONS.
AS YOU MAY KNOW, MANY EVANSTON RESTAURANTS HAVE CLOSED DOWN. SO, I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THIS?
[JENNIFER LEE]: I’m definitely the most sad about Peet’s. It’s because I’ve gone there numerous times, maybe like dozens of times throughout freshman year and sophomore year. It’s definitely the most accessible Evanston study spot. There’s this one friend that I would always go to Peet’s with as a weekly or bi-weekly thing, you know, every Saturday or so. I just think it’s like a great community space. And it’s just so sad. I can’t believe it’s closing.
WHILE SOME ARE THINKING OF THE MEMORIES THEY MADE…
[CAROLINE PLACE]: I personally am extremely devastated about Chili’s closing. It was the first restaurant I went to with my parents when they moved me into Northwestern. Day one, we went to Chili’s and it was awesome. And I have since been with my friends many times since being here and it has become a staple of my life at Northwestern. I just think Chili’s is a great restaurant, and I’m really, really sad that it closed.
[AMIYA TESS]: I’m really sad that Bob’s is closing. I would go at least once a month for trivia with my friends, and it was like a big part of also how my Model UN team would bond and I’m going to really miss it.
[JEREMY FUNG]: When I was inducted into Boomshaka this year, as a freshman, they all kidnapped us and took us to Chili’s and got us Chili’s. So that was a great experience. And so I’m sad that Chili’s is closed.
OTHERS WILL MISS THE CONVENIENCE…
[AUGUST TANG]: I have noticed that it seems like a lot of places are closing down, temporarily, or permanently, but I definitely think Peet’s is going to be the one that has the biggest effect on my life, because it’s such a big study spot. Like, it’s one of the few coffee shops that gets a lot of student traffic. So I guess I’m just a little bit worried that it’s going to be gone.
[GRANT KAHLER]: I’m very sad that Chili’s is closing. I think it’s a great place to hang out with friends, and you can get cheap food, watch sports, and have fun. I feel like we don’t have many places like that in Evanston.
[KALEIGH MEDLOW]: When Chili’s closed, we were very, very distraught. I think it was a very nice neighborhood place that brought a lot of students together for celebratory things, even just casual lunch and catching up with friends. So it was really disheartening to see it closed down.
AND MANY STUDENTS ARE LEFT WITH QUESTIONS.
[AUGUST TANG]: I’m just wondering why everything seems to be closing all at once.
[LORI CUI]: There was a guy who started a petition that has a few hundred signatures to stop Peet’s from closing. They’re petitioning the company because there are a lot of people who work there, who mean a lot to the community, and they don’t want to see them get laid off.
[JENNIFER LEE]: I feel like it’s not even doing bad either. It’s been doing great. So it was very unexpected news. I didn’t expect it.