YoFresh
A lesser known restaurant than many near ETHS, YoFresh is a gem on the southside of Evanston that is a great place to relax and enjoy everything from frozen yogurt to soups and sandwiches. Decked out with recliners and fireplaces, YoFresh’s mission is to provide a comfortable and welcoming restaurant for the community. They cater to each customer’s tastes with their constantly rotating menu, as well as catering to events. Their all kosher frozen yogurt also has sugar-free options, dairy-free options, non-fat options, and more to ensure all customers can find something delicious to their taste and dietary needs while also finding a comfortable spot to enjoy their meal.
“We designed it so that it had a communal feel to it. That’s one of its attractions,” said owner Jean Murphy.
Jean and Larry Murphy started YoFresh after both retiring from being teachers in higher education, finding inspiration in starting a cafe that would bring people together and provide a tasty meal.
However, YoFresh’s food can be found beyond the cafe. They donate meals to many programs such as Books and Breakfast (a before-school activity in elementary schools), Connections for the Homeless, and Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU). Additionally, they donate regularly to many Evanston schools and educational institutes, including Park School, the Rice Educational Center, Fusion Academy, and Chiaravalle Montessori.
In the store, YoFresh makes an effort to offer meals at a reasonable price for students. On Mondays from 3-5 PM, they offer a student discount, designed for high school students looking for a place to grab a bite after Monday early dismissals.
Focused on comfort, community, and a great meal, make sure to visit YoFresh for a satisfying experience.
C&W Market And Ice Cream Parlor
Familiar to many ETHS students, C&W, located right across the street on Church, is a beloved one stop shop for snacks, meals, ice cream, candy, and drinks. Owned by Clarence and Wendy Weaver, C&W was founded in 2014 and has since been a popular place to go for high school students during lunch and after school.
The proximity to ETHS is very important to Clarence, who understands the importance of building connections with the local community, which in this case, is students.
“To be here and have an opportunity to meet you, coming in as freshmen, leaving out of seniors, and having, most of the time, a four year relationship, or at least two years, I think that helps us to consistently have a connection with the youth in the community, and to be honest, kind of helps us stay young,” said Clarence.
Always with a smile and friendly gesture, Clarence and Wendy often populate the shop and restaurant, keeping up with the goal of connecting with their customers and making a very welcoming environment. Another thing that helps welcome customers is C&W’s focus on affordability. Knowing teenage spending habits, having access to affordable lunch nearby is essential, so the discounted lunch special is a hot commodity.
C&W is more than just a restaurant and ice cream parlor; they also have a food pantry and grocery giveaway called the C&W Foundation.
“We knew that food insecurity was the issue that led before March of 2020… It was our responsibility to help them,” Clarence said.
C&W started the Foundation in 2020 during the pandemic to counteract food insecurity in the community and it has grown to help thousands of families, according to the Foundation’s website. At their grocery giveaway every other Saturday, they hand out bags of groceries full of produce, eggs, meat, and non-perishables so that families in need have help with access to food. Recognizing that food insecurity is constant, C&W also has a food pantry to feed people in need between the grocery giveaways.
Clarence sees the way C&W is run as a give-and-take relationship between the business and the community. Just as people help them stay open, C&W works hard to fulfill their mission to build connections, help people in need, and provide for students and families alike.
Soul and Smoke
Soul and Smoke has become a staple in the Evanston community by bringing southern home cooked BBQ to its customers. There are 3 locations across the Chicagoland area; in Avondale, West Loop and Evanston. Soul and Smoke started as an accident but has blossomed into a household name in the community. From being a popular choice for food trucks at Evanston events, a fan favorite for catering, to a place where people go to have comfort food. Soul and Smoke has it all.
Head Chef and partner D’Andre Carter started Soul and Smoke as a catering company alongside his partner Heather Bublick. From there their company just grew, once the pandemic started so did their business as a restaurant.
“During the pandemic, that’s when the general public really got an opportunity to try [the restaurant] out. Before the pandemic we were doing a bunch of corporate events and weddings…Now people just walk in, and once people were able to do that it pretty much started spreading like wildfire,” said Carter.
His menu is directly inspired by his grandmother’s home cooking. This food is so much more than BBQ, it’s the history of Carter’s family and childhood. Growing up he learned to cook from his grandmother in the southside of Chicago.
“She was the type of grandmother that would wake up at 6 in the morning, prepping for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time,” said Carter.
As the oldest grandchild, Carter picked up his grandmother’s cooking by being surrounded by these traditions all his life, and now it’s a part of him and his business.
Starting Soul and Smoke out of his apartment to having 3 locations in the area, this business isn’t just a testament to the amazing food, it’s a testament to the love and history that goes into the food and feel of the business. Soul and Smoke is so much more than another BBQ place- it’s a family tradition that is not only being passed down from Carter’s grandmother but it is also being shared with the community.
