Owning a restaurant in today’s climate with high food prices is a challenging endeavour.
That’s why it’s always exciting to hear about a new restaurant opening up or an existing restaurant changing hands.
Restaurants make neighbourhoods more lively and bring people out into the streets.
In some cases, in the Tri-Cities, new restaurants encourage people to discover new flavours or newcomers to experience nostalgia with tastes from home.
In recent weeks there have been at least three restaurants that have sold to new owners, according to commercial sales information on Zealty.ca. Meanwhile, the Tri-City News has been keeping track of other restaurant openings in older establishments to round out the list.
Here’s what’s happening in the Tri-Cities food scene this summer (if we've missed any, please email details to [email protected]):
Coquitlam
• Naan Club, 102-100 Schoolhouse St. (formerly Nubo Grill and Tapas): Open now for delivery, Naan Club offers a number of classic Indian dishes, including vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetizers, main courses, shareables and starters. The dining room will soon be open, visit the website for updates.
• JFY Restaurant, 1147 Austin Ave. (formerly Vayat Restaurant, Balkan food): This new Chinese food restaurant is still under construction and will open in a couple of weeks, said a worker on site. This place is licensed for a maximum of 80 customers and even has a small stage and dance area.
Port Coquitlam
• Pizza 123, 102-337 Coast Meridian Rd. A well-known business that has operated in the area for 25 years, it sold in May. The new owners will take over in the coming weeks as the existing owner Saeid Sayyadi has opened up Sahar Bakery in Port Coquitlam with his wife, Maryam Fathi. Sahar Bakery offers a wide selection of flat breads, crackers and pastries for people who love Persian food.
Port Moody
• Rib & Chicken, 2517 St. Johns St. (formerly Charlie's Mexican Restaurant). This 34-seat restaurant in a high-traffic area of Port Moody sold to new owners in early May. Rib & Chicken serves Korean fair since its first establishment in Langley in 2017. It currently has four locations; the Port Moody location will be its fifth. The menu includes barbecue, fried chicken, rice bowls and hot pot.
• Wings Port Moody, 2414 St. Johns St., (formerly Burrard Public House), opened June 1 in the former roadhouse known as the Burrard Hotel. Offering a variety of wings from sweet to spicy, as well as rice bowls, pasta, perogies and desert, the new Wings Restaurant in Port Moody is a family-owned business.
