Fresh off the presses after the Governor’s announcement on Wednesday afternoon, there will be changes to Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan, which goes into effect after the current stay-at-home order expires on 5/29. The updates allow more businesses to resume more normal operations, including: 

  • Restaurants may open for outdoor dining in addition to pickup and delivery 
  • Retail may re-open for in-person shopping with precautions and capacity limits 
  • Hair, nail & personal care services may open with precautions and capacity limits

Memorial Day Staycation

Main-Dempster Mile, in partnership with Evanston Made, Downtown Evanston and Central Street has turned the business districts into an Open Air Art Gallery, with beautiful local art hanging in shop windows, and Picnic Packs to Go from local restaurants. Stores are open for curbside pickup and delivery too, so you if you see something you love in the window? Call the shop and have them wrap it up for you. Do some *literal* window shopping.

Get your masks on the Mile!

Pre-made masks available at: 

Evanston Stitchworks (purchase online, inventory frequently updated as the masks sell quickly)

Soapies Dry Cleaning & Tailoring (available by phone or in-store only, children’s sizes available, $1 for each mask goes to the Evanston Community Foundation’s Rapid Response Fund)

Free masks available with a $50 purchase at Secret Treasures Antiques & Collectibles (perfect for knocking out two birds with one stone for your Mother’s Day purchases!) 

Trattoria D.O.C. Employees are selling masks from the restaurant at 706 Main St.

Where are you getting your masks on the Mile? Let us know if we’ve missed someone who is selling them. We will continue to add to this list

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

Do you need help during the lockdown? Do you want to volunteer to help? Here are some sites to visit. 

Evanston Care Network (Request Help or Volunteer to Help — read more here) 

Make a donation to the City’s Emergency Food Pantry

Five Things You Can Do to help the City’s most vulnerable populations

Donate to Evanston Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, which funds local non-profits serving our needy

Please don’t neglect the 2020 Census. Evanston is ahead of the state average but trailing some of our neighboring communities in our 2020 Census response rate. You can help by encouraging everyone you know to respond and be counted. Let’s make sure Evanston receives its fair share of funding!


SHOP LOCAL. Visit THIS PAGE to see the status of many of your favorite MDM businesses (through 5/29), and make a list of all the places you’d like to visit and which shop owners you’d like to give a big unsafe hug (once it’s safe to do that again). 

 

Help support local businesses 



Our friends at Downtown Evanston have organized a fundraising campaign to help fund the Lend Evanston COVID-19 Emergency fund. 


Two winners will take home more than $2,000 in gift cards from Downtown businesses by entering Downtown’s Keep Evanston Awesome Raffle at $10 per chance. All proceeds will go to Lend. 

proceeds will go to Lend.