Featured Evanstonian: Sandy Chen

Press release from the City of Evanston:

Many of us know Sandy Chen from her restaurant Koi, which has become a delicious Evanston staple. But what a lot of people might not know is that Sandy followed in her father and grandfather’s footsteps (both chefs) by beginning her culinary career in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago when she took over a restaurant called Chen’s in 1994 (a location now known as Old Crow).

As an immigrant from China who moved to Highland Park at the age of 16, Sandy has always loved sharing the best dishes from her native country. While attending the University of Illinois Chicago, she worked in a restaurant to help pay for school, sparking a passion for hospitality and building community.

After a successful run in Lakeview, Sandy decided to open Koi Fine Asian Cuisine & Lounge in Evanston in 2004. Koi specializes in fine asian cuisine, but mostly Chinese dishes, incorporating all eight regions of cuisine: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan and Zhejiang. The restaurant’s menu also includes a few asian fusion and thai dishes as well as sushi! Visit koievanston.com for pickup or delivery information or visit their dining room which is now open at 50 percent capacity in Downtown Evanston.

Sandy is also actively involved in the community and loves to give back! After opening Koi, she joined the Evanston Chamber of Commerce and served on it’s Board of Directors. She also created the Table 23 Charity Program, which encourages customers to give back to the community with small contributions that can collectively make a big difference. Each month, Koi donates 23 percent of Table 23’s proceeds to a different beneficiary. Past recipients have included Curt’s Cafe, Evanston Animal Shelter, Rotary Club, Evanston Lighthouse and more.

During the pandemic, Sandy worked with English Parker to donate food to low-income families at ETHS throughout the summer as a part of the Evanston Food Drive. She also donated meals to Evanston homeless shelters and directly to hotels that were housing the homeless.

"When I immigrated to the US from Mainland China with my parents and three younger siblings, I would never imagined that one day I had the ability to open my own business, help other people, and make positive impacts to my community in which I now call home. Making the journey to a new land means giving up everything from one’s first home. My family’s story was just like one of these, landing here in Chicago with $300 in my dad’s pocket to achieve our American dreams," said Sandy.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out her newest restaurants called Le Sud in Roscoe Village, specializing in French Mediterranean cuisine.

This press release was produced by the City of Evanston. The views expressed here are the author’s own.