Kiara and Kayan Hamadeh have spent much of their lives working in the restaurant industry, so it makes sense they're looking to open their own place.
Their mother has run and owned several restaurants in the area over the decades, and the sisters started working in the kitchen at a young age, starting with dishwashing and taking on more responsibility as they got older.
"We grew up there," says Kiara. "I was in the dishpit doing dishes, peeling potatoes, chopping onions and Kayan was cooking."
"There was definitely a love of food and hospitality that was nurtured very young," she adds.
Now they're taking the reins of a new space on Commercial Drive; Gauche, which they call a cafe and apéro (a French term for pre-dinner drinks and snacks), will open this winter.
While it's a four-person partnership, including their mom, the sisters are the force behind the new business.
"We really wanted to open a place in Vancouver that we wanted to go to," says Kiara.
What will Gauche be?
The new space will play two roles; during the day it'll be a cafe with coffee, light lunch options, and baked goods. In the evening it will flip to a wine bar with lighter snacks, mezze dishes, dinners, and cocktails.
"Our menu is locally and seasonally driven, so it will be rotating depending on what seasonal ingredients are available," says Kayan. "It's inspired by the Mediterranean and our travels, combining our favourite things about what we've found in the food scenes as we've travelled."
Gauche will play off the family's Lebanese heritage and the flavours of the countries around the Mediterranean including France and Italy; the sisters are first-generation Canadians and have spent plenty of time visiting family and exploring the Mediterranean.
"We're trying to make it flexible, chill but also elevated," describes Kayan of the café/wine bar.
The sisters expect Gauche to open Dec. 1. It is located in a new building at 938 Commercial Dr.
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