While it may seem an odd pairing that the owner of a successful tattoo shop decides to take the plunge and open a restaurant that serves roasted cauliflower, Vancouver’s Lady Bond sees it as a return to her roots.
That doesn’t mean that Bond, owner of Lady Bond’s Temple of Tattoo in Vancouver, doesn’t still laugh a little about this peculiar combination.
“I’m having a lot of fun with it,” Bond said recently.
So how exactly did Bond, who has been in the tattoo business for a decade, come to the decision to open a restaurant – and why in Woodland?
“The first part of my working career, I spent 15, 16 years in food industry,” Bond said. “Then I made the transition to tattoos.”
A conversation with Bond’s mother-in-law, Michann Bond, who lives on the Lewis River near Woodland, essentially got the ball rolling. Lady Bond decided to open a tattoo shop in Woodland – The Bond Tattoo Society, opening soon – but decided a restaurant was a good fit as well.
“I looked at the area, the demographics, who was already living in Woodland … and who was moving to Woodland,” Bond said. “When I’m building the tattoo shop, I would see people walking with their kids, with strollers. I just had a feeling they need that place.
“I started thinking, ‘if I lived here, where would I go?’ So we decided to build something that will pull people into the area.”
Sproos doesn’t have a deep fryer or even a formal kitchen. They don’t do burgers and pizza, but offer more of a tapas-style menu. They also change the menu every eight weeks.
“Just to keep it fresh and funky, just like the beers,” Bond said with a laugh.
And about that name – Sproos?
“It (Woodland) was a logging town,” explained Bond. “There’s still a lot of that culture here. I started looking at the trees, lakes and wanted a name to tie it to the community. I like things that mean multiple things, and she (Michann Bond) loves trees, especially spruce trees.
“I looked up the definition and it also means to tidy up a room and look nice.”
The space itself is as unique as the menu. The bar has been constructed with wood re-purposed from a local barn. The organic feel of the wood is balanced by the heavy and fluid feel of iron. Bond said that the space was once a saw shop, 25-30 years ago.
“We’re so different from what’s in the area,” Bond said of Sproos. “We’ve been very well-received. I’m very thankful.”
Sproos is located at 236 Davidson Ave., Suite B, in Woodland.
Sproos
236 Davidson Ave. #B Woodland Established 2016 www.sprooswoodland.com