Our Evanston, Dear Evanston and Evanston Rules are three local media organizations that aim to engage the immediate community through resident-first reporting. These emerging outlets have been established amid an existing crisis in local news: According to research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, nearly 1,800 local newspapers have closed since 2004..
Gina Jacobson is a writer for Our Evanston, a new magazine that focuses on local businesses and experiences. Her column features recipes she’s perfected in her home kitchen and includes ingredients sourced from different Evanston retailers. After receiving a stage IV colon cancer diagnosis over three years ago, Jacobson sought to give back to her.
When people hear you’re going to Northwestern, they might think you’re going to school in Chicago. The billboards throughout the Chicagoland area that call NU “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” might lead to even more confusion. However, NU is in Evanston, and it’s important to learn about the community you’ll be entering and staying in for.
Ayla’s Originals
is a bead and jewelry boutique which offers a variety of crystals, beads, glass and other arts and crafts items. Located at 1511 Sherman Ave., the shop also repairs broken jewelry, provides private lessons and hosts jewelry-making parties. The Daily sat down with Joe Pizzo, co-owner of Ayla’s Originals, to talk about how COVID-19 has affected the shop and what the path forward looks like. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
The Daily: A year into the pandemic, how has the boutique adjusted?
Pizzo: Because of the safety protocol, there are less hours and less days that we’re open, and that has been a major blow. Also, the fact that a lot of our employees were older meant that they could not or would not be able to come back to work, so those two things alone severely affected how we could do business. One of the things that we’re doing since the pandemic is selling through Facebook Live that’s really one of the things that kept us go
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 drawing from her Buddhist faith, Ann said she stuck to the mantra, “the more you give, the more you get back.”
The restaurant started partnering with Connections for the Homeless to provide meals to people in the community. Currently, Ann and her staff of seven work with Connections to provide up to 140 meals each night to families experiencing food insecurity .
Staff at Connections will reach out to Pinto Thai with the number of meals the organization is hoping to deliver that day. Sometimes, families will also directly call the restaurant to ask for food. Other times, customers call in and offer to pay it forward, buying meals for those who need it.