One of the challenges to opening a new restaurant is figuring out what people want to eat. Azizi Tookas and Chris Sunde seem to have that issue tackled well before their opening.
In mid-July Tookas and Sunde plan on opening Brandywine Kitchen at 1317 Commercial St., in the former Tivoli space. While the restaurant is new, most of the food on the menu is already familiar to many Whatcom County residents. For the past four years they've been serving food and testing out menu ideas at the Bellingham Farmers Market; two years before that they sold heirloom tomatoes at the market as Brandywine Gardens. The company also operates a catering business, and both Tookas and Sunde have experience working for other local restaurants.
Tookas and Sunde always had the goal of opening a restaurant, but it turned out the market was a crucial step in the process.
"We would not be where we are without the farmers' market," said Tookas. "Meeting people, saving money and making connections with local farmers was what we had to do before starting a restaurant. We learned how to make local food affordable and can now take that to the restaurant."
The Brandywine Kitchen will have a different feel than the previous tenant, Tivoli, which was a high-end sit-down dinner establishment. Brandywine will be a place where customers order at the counter, then sit down in a more casual area. Being at the farmers' market also taught Tookas and Sunde how to serve quality food quickly, and they want to keep that up at the restaurant. They want it to be a place where customers can quickly get lunch and dinner if they are short on time, but also be a place to hang out.
The menu will have many of the sandwiches seen at the market, but also will offer five other entrees. The focus will be to use locally grown food, with prices in the $8 to $12 range.
Once open, hours will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. during the week, 4 to 11 p.m. on weekends. This schedule will have two advantages: It will be open into the evening to serve the arts district crowd as well as provide activity on a normally quiet street with its neighbor, Uisce Irish Pub. Opening later on the weekends will allow them to continue having a booth at the Saturday market.
For details about the restaurant, visit brandywinekitchen.com, its Facebook page or call 360-734-1071. The restaurant also is selling pre-opening discounted gift certificates on its website.
NEW OWNER TO CELEBRATE ONE-YEAR MARK
Karen Bellingar didn't want to see a business she felt was important to the community close, so she bought Sunset Beauty Supply in 2010. One year later, she's celebrating the fact the store has grown and added employees.
When Bellingar bought the business, it offered a variety of beauty and hair products and accessories, particularly wigs, which has a strong customer base of people going through chemotherapy. In the past 12 months the store brought in other products, including hats, purses and jewelry. The store also has added two part-time employees.
Sunset Beauty Supply originally opened in 1985 as part of the Brown Beauty Supply company and continues to serve both professional and retail markets.
To celebrate the one-year mark, Sunset Beauty Supply will have a celebration July 7-10, which coincides with the 2011 Relay for Life cancer walk in Bellingham. Along with sales, the event will have prize giveaways.
For details about the company, visit sunsetbeautysupply.com or call 360-738-0359.
OTHER TIDBITS
• The Bistro on Magnolia Street (near the Railroad Avenue intersection) had its last day of business Sunday, June 26, and will remain closed, according to an announcement on its Facebook page. Kyle Lynch and Alexander Moore opened the restaurant on Oct. 10, starting with a breakfast and lunch menu before adding a dinner menu.
• Jamie and Ian Kaplan have opened a new bar in Ferndale. It is called Outlaws Saloon and is on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Main Street. Beer, wine and mixed drinks will be poured; menu items include burgers, sandwiches and perogies. It opened Friday, July 1.
• Last month The Panini Grill and The Bookworm Burrow closed; both were at the Bellingham Public Market on Cornwall Avenue.
• Danielle Starr, owner of 4 Starrs Boutique in Fairhaven, is finding success with "upcycling" designer jeans. She'll buy back high-end jeans from customers for a $50 credit on a new pair, then sell the jeans at the store.
"Often the jeans are in prime condition," said Starr in a press release. "People take care of these expensive purchases and then are stuck with them if they change size." Since starting the program in mid-May, the store brought in more than 100 pairs of jeans. The five-year-old boutique also sells tops, accessories, makeup and jewelry. Details about the store can be found at fourstarrsboutique.com.
