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/

He's led Evanston for years — now he's setting his sights on Washington. In this episode, we sit down with Mayor Daniel Biss for a wide-ranging conversation about his time in City Hall and what people misunderstand about the role and responsibilities of mayor, what he's most proud of (and what he'd do differently), and why he's decided to run for Congress in the 9th District. He takes our concerns about getting better Evanston merch seriously (thank you!), talks about what it was like growing up in Indiana and running out of math classes by 8th grade, and doesn't take offense when we tell him dads are annoying!

We talk through some of the issues that have defined his mayorship (Ryan Field, D65 drama, Envision Evanston) and why he has to leave us for Washington D.C. It's part retrospective, part campaign preview and a candid look at a local leader stepping onto a much bigger stage.

This episode is the first in our mayoral series where we speak to our current mayor, and then in subsequent episodes to the candidates running to replace him in the new year. We hope you enjoy!

Daniel Biss for Congress: https://www.danielbiss.com/

Daniel Biss Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniel.biss/?hl=en

Welcome to our first 602 Sidebar -- a type of episode where it's just us, Sarah and Maddie, catching up on all things Evanston and the podcast. No guest this week! We're pulling back the curtain on our summer of recording and launching The 602, including a good laugh at how rough those first few episodes were. We talk about what's coming up: new guests, the new mayoral series we're excited to launch, and how our content schedule is shaping up going forward. We also share what we're looking forward to around Evanston for the rest of summer and what's got us excited for fall. Thanks for riding along with us...more Sidebars to come!

This week Maddie and Sarah sit down with Claire Seizovic, a beloved designer, entrepreneur, and the creative force behind Ensemble, Space to Place, and Mom Brain, to talk about what is missing in Evanston and how to bring it here! Claire shares her journey from art history major to NYC gallery worker to launching a pop-up market company in Tucson, and how all that experience shaped her vision for Evanston's retail landscape.

They talk about how Space to Place is lowering the barrier to entry for local entrepreneurs with a subsidized incubator launching this October, and why Mom Brain has become a special gathering spot for parents craving real conversation. Plus: Claire's dream businesses for Evanston, her late arrival to the deliciousness of NaKorn, and why she thinks there's room for everyone's ideas in this town.

Find Claire on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/claire.seizovic/

Ensamble Market Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ensemble.place/

Info on Space to Place: https://www.cityofevanston.org/business/retail_incubator___pop-up_program.php

Mom Brain Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mombrain.salon/

This week Sarah and Maddie sit down with Maggie Peng, owner of Pink & Tan, the design store on Dempster Street. We talk about all things small business with Maggie, but also her (crazy) journey to Evanston during the COVID lockdown, the gift that is Daniel Burnham's architecture, and the local small business community that helped her find her footing when she was just starting out. Maggie is candid about the hard parts and the really amazing parts of running your own store, and her take on why Evanston should be focused on growing the pie rather than dividing it. It's a conversation about starting over, building something from scratch, and what it means to invest in a community rather than compete within it.

You can find Pink & Tan's online shop here: https://www.pinkandtan.com/

Pink & Tan's Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/_pinkandtan_/

This week, Maddie and Sarah chat with Emma Huntley and Meera Sinha, the founders of ParentConnect, a local app built to help moms find real-life friends, trusted recommendations, and a genuine village nearby. As lifelong friends and Evanstonians, Emma and Meera have a lot to say on some of the pitfalls of modern parenting (even here in our hometown), what they understand about motherhood now that they have their own families, and why their business is so important to the wellbeing of our community. Enjoy!

Learn more about ParentConnect here: joinparentconnect.com
And find them on Instagram at: @joinparentconnect