Downtown Evanston Now Runs on a Theater Calendar

Since Sept. 9, a 287-seat auditorium at 1012 Church St. has had performances on most evenings. The Front Page, the first show in Northlight Theatre's new home, was meant to close Oct. 18. Northlight has since extended it through Oct. 25.

Northlight's arrival gives downtown Evanston a printed schedule. The season page lists the weeks when the block around Church and Benson will fill before an evening curtain, and the weeks when the stage is dark. The restaurant pipeline on nearby Sherman Avenue is moving on a timeline that fits closely around those dates.

A theater that left in 1997 came back to one particular block

Northlight was founded in Evanston in 1974 and moved to Skokie in 1997. The way back took years. The Evanston RoundTable reported that the Church Street site was identified in 2018. A purchase option and capital campaign followed in 2019, Northlight closed on the property in 2021, and construction started in March 2025. The ribbon was cut on the morning of July 28. Evanston Now reported that dozens of city officials, trustees, donors and elected leaders attended.

The auditorium is called the Finnegan Theatre. WBEZ highlighted three things about it: a transparent glass facade, larger seats with extra legroom, and acoustics designed to keep street noise out. The public got a backstage tour at a Monday night open house, covered by the RoundTable. Staff showed the semicircular stage, the acoustic paneling and the accessible entrances. They also showed panels that open to reveal caption monitors for open-caption performances, and the costume shop, dressing rooms and catwalk.

For people who live downtown, the address matters as much as the building. A regional theater now sits half a block from the Davis Purple Line stop, and its house fills for an evening start time.

The season, including the weeks between shows

The season page gives the run dates. The weeks between shows come straight from those dates, and they shape how busy the Church Street block will be on any given evening.

The Front Page has under two weeks left. It is an adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher of the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play, directed by BJ Jones. It is set in a 1930s Chicago press room, where ace reporter Hildy Johnson is trying to quit the paper and her editor won't let her go. A September review in Buzz News called it an effective, funny first show and the new building sleek and beautiful. After it closes, the stage stays dark for about two weeks until All the World opens Nov. 11 and runs through the holiday season.

The longest dark stretch runs from late December to early February. That window matters again in the next section.

Next door, a gastropub opened three weeks before the first curtain

The Addled Bunny opened Aug. 18 at 1010 Church St., next door to the theater. It took over the space of That Little Mexican Café, which had been closed for a long time. In its first-look review, the RoundTable quoted owner Jeremy Adler's description of the place as a "gastropub where the bar is as strong as the kitchen, and guests can come for either or both." The same review praised the room. Designer Tom Ullo of Ullo Designs used deep blue walls that suggest an evening sky, with moon-like globe lights hung through the space.

The RoundTable said the timing lined up with Northlight's first season. It advised anyone holding Front Page tickets to book dinner early, before theatergoers took the early tables at The Addled Bunny and other nearby sit-down restaurants. It named The Barn, Alcove, NaKorn, LeTour, Tian Bistro and Chengdu Bistro. None of those restaurants has announced a pre-theater menu or special hours so far. The advice is simply about demand. On a show night, the 6 p.m. table on Church Street now competes with a sold theater house.

The block itself has changed in that time. Two neighboring storefronts that were dark for years now hold a theater and a bar-restaurant. Both are open in the evening, and both draw the same people on the same nights.

Sherman Avenue's empty restaurant spaces are filling on a similar timeline

One block east, three well-known Sherman Avenue spaces have new plans. None of these restaurants is open yet, and each timeline below is the operator's own estimate as reported.

1557 Sherman Ave., the former Reza's. Reza's Restaurant and Lounge closed in May 2025. The RoundTable reported on Oct. 1 that Carlos Arechiga has leased the southern part of the space, about 7,000 of its 10,000 square feet, for Boca Brava. The restaurant is planned as a 200-seat Mexican restaurant serving tacos, burritos and enchiladas, plus dishes from cities such as Guadalajara and Mexico City. Because the space is being split, the front entrance has to move. Arechiga filed a food license application on Sept. 18 and is aiming for January or February 2027. Giordano's still plans to take the other side of the building.

If Boca Brava hits that target, it opens either during Northlight's longest dark stretch or during the run of The American Five, which begins Feb. 3. Andy Vick, executive director of Downtown Evanston, told the RoundTable he expects "a stylish, upscale Mexican restaurant," adding, "I think that sounds like a great addition to the current mix of restaurants in downtown Evanston."

1710 Sherman Ave., the former Guzman y Gomez. Guzman y Gomez closed suddenly in May 2026. The RoundTable reported that Talkin' Tacos, a chain that began as a food truck in Miramar, Florida, in 2020, is planning to open in the 3,000-square-foot space. It will be the chain's first Illinois location among 35 nationwide. The company filed its food license application on Sept. 9 and says the restaurant could open by the end of the year.

1596 Sherman Ave., Wafflavor. This is the one closing in the group. The Korean waffle and frozen yogurt shop opened in July 2025 and closed Oct. 4. Owner Song Park told the RoundTable that another Korean-inspired business will take the space, though she was asked not to name it. Before Wafflavor, the storefront was empty from the spring 2024 closing of Cinnaholic until 2025. This time a replacement is lined up before the old tenant has left. Vick said Downtown Evanston was "encouraged that the property owner already has another tenant lined up to fill that highly visible space."

Put these together and two of Sherman Avenue's largest empty restaurant spaces have named incoming operators with 2026 or early 2027 targets, one under a signed lease and the other with a food license application on file. A third storefront has a successor before its last day. This is all within a few minutes' walk of a theater with a fixed season schedule.

Show-night logistics from Northlight's own guide

Northlight's location page has the details, and they apply whether you're seeing a show or just having dinner nearby.

• 1800 Maple Self Park: free for Northlight patrons for up to four hours with validation at the theater. It is about 0.2 miles, or roughly a block and a half, from the entrance.
• Public lots 25 and 27: right next to the theater's back entrance, which is open for every performance and event. $2 an hour, with ADA spaces.
• Church Street meters: $2 an hour, enforced until 9 p.m. The theater's own example is arriving at 7 p.m. for a 7:30 show, which costs $4.
• Sherman Plaza garage, 821 Davis St.: $6 for up to five hours, with entrances on Davis Street and Benson Avenue.
• Sundays and holidays: all public parking is free, including meters, lots and garages.
• Transit: the CTA Purple Line Davis stop and the Metra UP-North Evanston station are both half a block east of the entrance.

For downtown residents who walk over, the main detail is the date. The Front Page's last performance is Oct. 25, the stage goes dark for about two weeks, and All the World opens Nov. 11.

At HL2R Group, we follow how openings like Northlight change the blocks around them, from Church Street to the empty spaces on Sherman being re-leased. If you own nearby and want to know how downtown Evanston's changing evenings could affect what your home is worth, request a home valuation and we'll take you through the numbers.