Bruno Amicci, the owner and proprietor of downtown Vancouver’s popular Low Bar, isn’t consumed with whether there’s a line of patrons waiting to get into his restaurant each afternoon. Instead, Amicci would much rather have a line going out the door.
Low Bar, which opened in 2012, has undergone a facelift of sorts, at least in terms of its menu, as on June 13, Amicci’s place – he calls it an “American classic diner … with an organic twist” – debuted a new lunch menu.
Low Bar (809 Washington St.) has implemented a boxed-lunch menu to offer the ever-growing number of workers downtown, a menu that includes salads or six sandwiches – three hot, three cold, with vegan and vegetarian options.
“We’re catering to office workers who need a quick lunch,” said Michelle Berge, manager of Low Bar. “It’s really hard to find a quality food around here that you can take to go.”
A boxed salad goes for $8 while a soup or salad and sandwich and chips will run you $10. There’s a Cuban, Tre Fromage, Bhan mi and grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, among other options.
Don’t worry, Amicci said, you can still get Low Bar’s popular fried chicken, the meatloaf or their stuffed jalapenos, too.
“We don’t want to mess with success, we want to augment it,” Amicci said.
Amicci, who bought out his two partners in April, said the menu was designed for the downtown employees who work within the boundary of the Vancouver City Center district, a number that has grown to 15,000, according to the city.
Amicci said 8,000 of those employees work within a mile of Low Bar, which is why he decided to add to the lunch menu, with a to-go twist.
“We want to capture the lunch market,” he said. “We have got some really good places around here. But there was a need for a high-end, high-quality, gourmet sandwich place.”
Berge said everything Low Bar offers is made in-house and is organic and locally sourced. It’s not all that uncommon to see her on a Saturday at the downtown farmer’s market across the street, on the hunt for fresh ingredients.
To be sure, these are heady times for Low Bar, which is going through a rebranding of sorts, with a new logo and apparel in development. Amicci said that in the next six-to-12 months he’ll be looking at a second location, possibly in Felida or Camas. And there is an upcoming collaboration with nearby Loowit Brewing Company on a “Low Bar Lager.”
For now, though, Amicci’s focus is on the lunch crowd.
“Success is a series of small steps,” said Amicci, who also owns Luepke Florist and is active in the revitalization of downtown. “But I’m very excited.”
