A new Mexican restaurant is coming to downtown Evanston, and it's aiming to fill a vacant dining space with steak, seafood and craft cocktails. Boca Brava, a brand-new concept from Indianapolis-based restaurateur Carlos Arechiga, is set to take over 1557 Sherman Avenue, the longtime restaurant space left empty after Reza's Restaurant closed more than a year ago.
According to WhatNow, Arechiga plans to open Boca Brava in December 2026 or January 2027, and he describes it as the first restaurant to carry that name. The menu will lean on classic Mexican dishes such as tacos and burritos alongside steak, fish and other seafood, paired with a dedicated cocktail bar concept. The address sits at the intersection of Sherman and Orrington avenues and Grove Street, putting it steps from Tealicious Bubble next door and near other neighborhood spots like Trattoria Demi and New Yolktown, per the same report.
Arechiga is no stranger to building out ambitious dining concepts across the Chicago suburbs. He manages Hacienda Real, Tia Carmen and Revolucion, with a Hacienda Real location having opened at 20 S Weber Road in Bolingbrook, the outlet notes. Construction at the Evanston building is already well underway, and Boca Brava is expected to release a social media presence and website in the coming months.
A Space Built for High-Volume Dining
The 1557 Sherman Ave address isn't new to hosting big, busy restaurants. Commercial real estate marketing materials published by LoopNet from SVN Chicago Commercial describe a 7,500-square-foot footprint with seating for roughly 250 guests, a horseshoe-shaped bar, black-iron exhaust hood systems, walk-in coolers, and access to an adjacent valet parking lot.
Before Reza's arrived in 2020, the space spent 25 years as Pete Miller's Steak and Seafood, an Evanston institution known for nightly live jazz that closed in August 2019, according to Patch. Reza's itself shut down its flagship Andersonville location in Chicago in August 2023 after 40 years in business, following tax compliance enforcement by state authorities and building code citations, as reported by CBS Chicago. The Evanston location had sat closed for more than a year before Arechiga's plans emerged, per WhatNow.
A Family Business With Rapid Regional Growth
The Arechiga family's path to downtown Evanston traces back to Guadalajara, Mexico. The family emigrated to the U.S. in 2003, according to Shaw Local. Paul Arechiga's first restaurant was Verde Flavors of Mexico, which opened in Fishers in 2009. That group, the Fishers, Indiana-headquartered Arechiga Restaurant Group, now operates 14 restaurants in Indiana and suburban Chicago, the Indianapolis Business Journal reports.
Carlos Arechiga's upscale Hacienda Real brand has continued its suburban expansion, including a location in Bolingbrook. Arechiga is known for weaving unannounced surprise performances — live DJs, fire performers and folkloric dancers — into his Hacienda Real venues, a profile from Northwest Quarterly found, part of a broader emphasis on custom architecture, imported decor and sensory atmosphere alongside the food itself. It remains to be seen whether Boca Brava, billed as his first restaurant under that name, will carry over that same nightlife-driven flair to Evanston's downtown dining scene.
A Changing Block Near Northwestern
Boca Brava won't be the only new name filling out the 1557 Sherman Ave property. Chicago-style deep-dish operator Giordano's Pizza is slated to open a separate location within the same building in 2026, according to LoopNet's disclosures. Smaller multi-use commercial and office suites elsewhere in the complex lease for between $428 and $850 per month, per listings from Wesley Realty Group.
Boca Brava is expected to open late this year or early next.
