Gyros Planet And Taqueria Plans To Remain Open On Church Street

EVANSTON, IL — After providing thousands of free meals to families in need during the coronavirus pandemic, the husband-and-wife owners of Gyros Planet and Taqueria were this week considering shuttering their restaurant across the street from Evanston Township High School.

Pablo Sanchez and Erika Castro, who took over the location in March 2019, thought they may need to give up their lease and re-open elsewhere in the future, perhaps via a food truck or a "ghost" kitchen. But online community fundraisers stepped in and helped the couple cover about $30,000 in debt accumulated ahead of the anticipated closure.

Amid the first public health emergency orders associated with the spread of COVID-19, the Evanston residents, parents of three and first-time restaurateurs realized it might mean the end of their business. But, Sanchez told Patch, they decided they were not going to go out without doing everything they could to support local families in need.

"If we lose, we lose," he recalled thinking. "But do something now for the people."

Sanchez and Castro met in an English class in Chicago. He was born in Guatemala, she comes from Colombia, and both are active in the local Latino community, which has run into barriers when trying to access support amid the pandemic. After local schools shut down in March 2020, the couple started giving away free lunches, at first covering the cost out of their own pockets.

The high school has remained closed ever since, and has no plans to resume on-campus instruction before the end of the year. As of next month, it is set to become the only suburban public high school offering only remote learning. Students and staff from ETHS and the neighboring nonprofit Youth and Opportunities United usually generate about 85 percent of the restaurant's revenue.

"We are selling $60 a day," Sanchez said. "Tell me what I do with that."

Without staff on payroll, the couple were ineligible for forgivable loans under the federal paycheck protection program, or PPP, last year, and their restaurant was not among the Evanston businesses that received business interruption grants last year from the state.

"I have to pay rent here, rent in my apartment. Bills here, bills in my apartment, you know, it's just double bills, and there's no money for my salary or my wife's salary," Sanchez said. "This time was heartbreaking, that's the truth."

Sanchez said he was thought he would need to take some time to determine the next steps, which may mean getting another job until pandemic-related economic pressures subside.

In the meantime, Castro has taken a part-time position with Evanston/Skokie School District 65 helping to supervise the children who returned to the district's elementary schools this month for the first time since the pandemic began.

A new tenant had been set to take over the lease next week.

"All I can tell you," property owner Sam Frentzas told Patch via email Friday morning, "is that they found somebody else with a business plan to take over the place." (Friday afternoon, Frentzas had been notified of the couple's plan to stick with the lease.)

Last year, some of the business's free meal distribution was supported by the Evanston Community Foundation, which used COVID-19 relief funding to cover the cost of free meals for about 110 families from St. Nicholas Church and District 65. That source of funding ended nearly three months ago.

“When I think of the people who are emerging as superheroes during the pandemic, Erika and Pablo are at the top of my list,” the foundation's vice president told the Chicago Tribune's Balancing Act column. “They’re beautiful souls. This has been their ministry.”

Bob 'N Grill closed in the location in 2012. It was followed by Fatty's Burgers & More before Gyros Planet opened under previous owner Mohammed Khan, according to city records.

In 2018, the City Council allocated over $77,000 for storefront improvements, which added awnings and lighting fixtures. According to city staff, that was the first time any Fifth Ward businesses had benefited from the city's storefront modernization program.

“We don’t know what will happen with the restaurant,” Castro told the Daily Northwestern about a month into the pandemic. “We are doing this because we want to help the community. Maybe we are just pushing ourselves but the cost doesn’t matter. This is the time to step up and help, so that is what we are going to do.”

Those seeking to support Castro and Sanchez may donate via GoFundMe or by entering #gyrosplanetfund at Klavalabs.com.