Apparently, it's not in Shannon Bosa-Yacoub and Emad Yacoub's DNA to enjoy a simple life.
When the owners of Glowbal Group realized that Granville Street was morphing into a place where people like to gather with friends in a casual setting, they had the option of simply closing Sanafir, their Silk Route-inspired restaurant in the heart of Vancouver's entertainment district. With its exotic decor and atmosphere, Sanafir had started life as a place for special celebrations and girls' nights out but the tide on the street was moving crowds in a different location.
"We believe in the street and that we can make something work better," says Bosa-Yacoub in an interview with WE Vancouver. "The thought of closing and leaving the street was never on the table. There was never a walk-away option. It was, 'what will be better?""
And so, in early September, they packed up the Sanafir's lovely interior accents and put them in storage. "There will be a day when there's a right location and time for Sanafir," she says.
Now the space is undergoing a $450,000 transformation into The Fish Shack, which will be opening this fall.
"People love seafood but they don't always want to get dressed up for dinner at Coast," the Glowbal Group's seafood restaurant on Alberni, Bosa-Yacoub says. "The Fish Shack will be really laid back and comfortable but still fun with the Glowbal Group energy and level of service.
On the menu will be fish and chips, baskets of fried prawns, po'boys sandwiches but also fresh oysters and crab dishes.
Upstairs will be a beer room, Glowbal Group's first real foray into the craft beer world.
"We've never had a location where it's a real match and where we can really explore local beer markets," she says. Beer will be a strong feature on the menu.
Meanwhile, when WE Vancouver talked to the Yacoubs in late spring, they thought they were going to keep their new location on Hornby simple, too. The space was primarily needed as a commissary kitchen for the Italian Kitchen on Alberni, where chefs didn't have enough room to handle the volume of preparation needed to keep the crowds well fed. The Hornby location also includes their offices and was only supposed to have a small take-out counter.
Now IK2Go has 40 seats where you can enjoy a charcuterie plate and glass of wine for lunch or drop by and pick up a filet of salmon, or roast chicken or skewered prawns for dinner on your way home from work. The entrées and meal-sized salads are priced in the $12 range. It's open Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm and Saturdasy from 8am to 5pm. The restaurant is closed on Sunday.
"Life isn't getting simpler," Bosa-Yacoub laughs, adding that Emad just got back from Toronto full of dreams about making another foray into that city, which is where he and his wife got their start in the culinary world.
