This week on the 602, we’re joined by Kelly and Sam Mack of Mack’s Bike and Goods on Central Street. Sam is a fourth-generation Evanstonian and has been a professional bike mechanic since he was 13, and today he and Kelly run a family-owned bicycle shop that’s become a neighborhood fixture.

We talk about the joy of cycling, what it takes to run a small business in Evanston, and how Kelly’s work with the city is helping shape the 2026 Bike Plan Update. We (ahem, SARAH!) also get confused about the Chicago Avenue Corridor Project and what it could mean for protected bike lanes in town (which she wants her own kids to be able to use before they go to college!!). We dream about what our city could look like if it was truly safe and accessible for all children, pedestrians, and cyclists, of ranging abilities and motives.

Find Mack’s Bike and Goods at 2948 Central Street in Evanston.

Their website is here: https://www.macksbikeandgoods.com/

Mack's Bike and Goods is on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/macksbikeandgoods/?hl=en

This week Sarah and Maddie talk with Tom and Rachel Carlin, the husband-and-wife team behind Burl, Evanston's farm-driven, open-fire restaurant. We chat about all of their combined experiences in Chicago’s best restaurants, how they met, their first smooch, why they chose Evanston to be their home and the home of their first restaurant, and how Tom builds a menu around the farms they've worked with for years. We also get into what it's like to run a restaurant while raising a family in the community you serve. This one is full of good feels and mouth-watering food talk! Make a reservation at Burl’s website below! Get the cabbage!

Burl’s website: https://www.burlevanston.com/

Burl Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burlevanston/?hl=en

This week Sarah and Maddie chat with Stephanie Mendoza, Evanston’s city clerk running for mayor. She kicks off our mayoral series where we talk to every candidate running for mayor. In this episode, we ask Stephanie about why she's running, what she sees as Evanston's biggest challenges right now, and what her vision for the city looks like if she wins. Whether you've interfaced with her at the Clerk's office or are just getting to know her, this is a great primer on one of the names to watch in the upcoming race.

In this episode we do talk about District 65’s TWI program and how being bilingual can have real cognitive benefits. While this isn’t just folk wisdom, the studies we reference talk more about the effects that tend to be specific (number, gender, spatial/temporal metaphors, color categorization) rather than a wholesale "different worldview," and the strength of the effect scales with proficiency and how much a person is actively using each language. This was studied in John Lucy's Yucatec Maya Study (1992): https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/John-A-Lucy-2079095222

Please note: in our intro, we said that Stephanie was born in Tijuana. She was actually born in San Diego, CA and raised in Tijuana.

We should also note that in our conversation we talk about how the mayor’s salary is $25,000 a year; this is no longer accurate. There was a salary increase last year, up to 32,000 a year.

https://www.instagram.com/downtownevanston/

We also mention Stephanie’s most underrated Evanston spot! She references Sissy Mary’s Kitchen. Look them up here: https://www.facebook.com/p/Sissy-Marys-Kitchen-61565915276906/

Stephanie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestephaniemendoza/

Stephanie’s Campaign website: https://stephanieformayor.com/