Bookman's Alley
The central shopping district is off Davis Street, in downtown Evanston, but Dempster Street, just a few blocks south, is also a great place to shop. It has several small, fashionable yet unpretentious boutiques. The Central Street shopping area in northern Evanston, which runs 2 blocks from Green Bay Road to Hartrey Avenue, has a number of high-end boutiques, cafes, and bakeries, including The Spice House, Table Manners, Ritzlin Antique Maps, Urban Totem chandeliers and furniture and Tag's Bakery. Main Street in southern Evanston is in the process of gentrifying, and is currently worth a visit for Ten Thousand Villages, Dave's Down to Earth Rock Shop, and Vogue Fabrics. Several upscale restaurants have recently opened in this area as well.
Evanston has an improbably large number of Oriental rug stores.