"Simple elegance, deliciously common ingredients." That's how Peter Gallin, executive chef and owner of Applewood Restaurant and Bar describes what you'll find inside his establishment, which is just days from opening its new location on the corner of 192nd Avenue and 20th Street in Southeast Vancouver.
The restaurant business hasn't always been easy for Gallin, especially in a down economy. The move to 192nd comes after several years of operation in Cascade Park, at a location the French-trained chef described as a "pretty tough spot."
"There were a variety of things we had to do to survive. We asked our employees to take on more responsibilities and we focused on keeping our inventory lean," said Gallin, who started Applewood 20 years ago in Hood River. "Even the little things helped, like ordering one can of kidney beans instead of an entire case. We just had to make sure that money wasn't sitting on the shelf."
In addition to cutting back, Gallin said Applewood leaned on the strength of its catering business to make it through the past couple of years.
Looking forward, Gallin said he hopes this new location puts the restaurant in a prime position for growth.
"With all the development going on and the improvements in this area, I think what we have is a premiere spot," said Gallin. "It's going to be incredible here and we're getting in on the ground floor."
Gallin said increased traffic from the new Costco Wholesale, expanding suburbs near the restaurant and an economy on the mend should fuel Applewood for several years to come.
"I think the economy is ready to turn around," said Gallin. "People are finally starting to feel like there might be some light at the end of the tunnel so I think the timing right now with what we're doing is perfect."
Despite the new building and location, Gallin said things at Applewood aren't going to change that much.
"I increased the variety of things on our menu by about 20 percent, but for the most part we didn't make any changes," he said. "These days, restaurants seem to put so much effort into coming up with new ingredients and new combinations of food. What we do is very straight forward and simple and I think our customers appreciate that."
In addition to serving great food, Gallin said people can expect to be treated like family when they come to Applewood.
"The family atmosphere is just part of what we do," Gallin explained. "It starts with my staff, where the average tenure is about seven years. We're a growing company that has found roots in Vancouver and we're here to stay."
