The owners of Grocery Cocktail and Social, a new cocktail bar/restaurant located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, expect to open their business to the public next week.
“At this point, we are in the final stages of finishes,” said Chris Reed, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Cindy. “My contractor has the team on last-minute trim work and closing up loose ends – things like speaker wire and drywall touch-up.”
Situated on the corner of 7th and Washington streets in the former Chicago Sub Shop Deli and Bakery space, Grocery will serve locally-inspired fare while specializing in beer, wine and spirits made in Washington state.
“When we first started putting our business plan together almost two years ago, I really just wanted to have something for the downtown core of Vancouver to have a hometown pride about,” said Reed, a former general manager at Portland’s Screen Door restaurant. “I started doing a lot of research about the history of downtown Vancouver… Once I got further along in the process of trying to have that local feel, I realized that it’s not just about the food. There are a lot of industries within the food service industry that are local. That’s when I started really focusing on beer, wine and spirits.”
A downtown draw
Having lived in Vancouver’s Hough Neighborhood for some time, Reed said he has witnessed downtown Vancouver’s revitalization over the years, and believes the area is ripe with potential.
“It’s got a lot of really great life, a lot of great history,” he said. “Luckily, a lot of these buildings haven’t been demolished and they’ve kept their history.”
With that history, however, came a bit of a challenge for Reed.
“There are so many difficulties with these older buildings and there are a lot of issues with permitting for older construction,” he said. “We felt like guinea pigs in that regard, but we did hear that [the city of Vancouver] is going to try to implement a different program for people that want to revitalize old, empty spaces that haven’t been used for a long time. So the frustration will end up being worth it for us because we would love to be a part of some change for future business owners that want to be in historic buildings.”
Reed hopes his new eatery will be a draw for local business professionals who are looking for a place to head after work. The restaurant will feature a happy hour and will be open for the majority of the day.
“We plan to be open from noon to 2 a.m., so I think that we will probably get a lot of business professionals in for lunch and then hopefully after work as well.”
He also thinks Grocery can be a draw for folks in Oregon.
“I not only want something for the locals to be proud of, but I also want to become somewhat of a destination,” Reed said. “If there are certain Washington spirits that cannot be allocated to Oregon, that would give Portlanders an opportunity to come try something that they can’t get in Oregon.”
Grocery Cocktail and Social is located at 115 W 7th St.
