Longtime Kitsilano breakfast and brunch spot Sunshine Diner now has an evening sibling.
Inevitable Fondue and Piano Lounge opened up in April, using the same space as the decades old diner. Run by Jessica Pantsios and her husband (who's owned Sunshine for more than 30 years) Inevitable is a new concept for the retro dining space.
"We turned the restaurant into a completely different platform," she tells V.I.A. "It's a night time vibe; it's a completely different concept."
The concept is right in the name; each night Inevitable is open, there's a live performances on piano and the menu flips to small eats and fondue (both cheese and chocolate).
While they've tried opening Sunshine in the evenings, Pantsios says it's never been successful for dinner service, or later.
Having enjoyed fondue and in other places, like Whistler, and seeing a lack of the warm, gooey Swiss dish in the city, the decision was made the pursue that. At the same time, there's a lack of live music in Kitsilano, Pantsios says.
Given that both fondue and live music are something they enjoy, and they saw an opening for something in Kitsilano, they decided to create Inevitable as an evening counterpart to Sunshine.
"It's this personal but unique and amazing experience we created together," she says.
The name is personal, too. It comes from a comment Pantsios made to her now-husband decades ago while they were going out.
"I told him it would be inevitable we would end up together," she says, adding that they're married with two children.
They've partnered with local pianist Peter Tam on the music program; sometimes he performs, other times he organizes others performers.
Pantsios says so far they've been surprisingly busy, though uneven.
"We just want to make people happy and want them to come out," she says.
Inevitable is open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. each Thursday to Saturday at 2649 West Broadway.
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