If there's one thing you can be certain of in the Vancouver restaurant scene, it's change, and that's exactly what is afoot at 1079 Mainland St.
The Yaletown address is currently under renovation thanks to an enterprising crew of restaurant industry vets who are launching their first solo venture, an "elevated California-inspired West Coast" concept called Dovetail.
Dovetail is sliding in to replace Nightshade, the Michelin Guide-recognized plant-based restaurant that revealed in September it was closing up and heading out in search of a new space.
The news came with some brief uncertainty about what the new owners might be doing with the space; one misconception is that Dovetail would, like its predecessor, be a veg-forward concept.
Dovetail's menu will have veg options but it's not a plant-based restaurant
Dovetail's Director of Marketing, Jenn Hang, says while the new restaurant will have plenty of vegetarian and vegan options for guests, they "will have a robust selection of dairy and meat products" on the menu. "We won't leave anyone out!"
The Dovetail menu will offer a range of dishes, ideal for sharing, envisioned to reflect a California-style dining experience through its use of fresh, local, seasonal produce and intent to be enjoyed in a relaxed but elegant setting.
Dovetail doesn't want to be "pigeonholed" into defining its food as being Italian or American, for example, but instead will showcase a variety of flavour profiles, including a rotation of seasonally-driven premium proteins and some staple dishes, like a radiatore carbonara (radiatore is the pasta shape that is thought to resemble a radiator).
Behind the menu is Ejner Christiansen, who most recently was the Executive Chef for The Parlour's Yaletown and Toronto restaurants. Before joining The Parlour, Christianses spent about a decade moving through the culinary ranks with Cactus Club. Christiansen met his Dovetail business partner, Colin Denton, when they were teens growing up together on the North Shore, and the two also worked together at Cactus Club. Denton is also a partner in another popular Vancouver restaurant operation, Kokomo.
"It's a bit of a dream come true," says Hang of the team being able to work together on their own venture under the Dovetail banner, which is expected to ultimately grow to include more restaurants in the future.
Dining space will have a 'modern Boho' design
As work continues to renovate 1079 Mainland, Hang shares that the team must have looked at somewhere between 20 and 30 properties before inking a deal for the former Nightshade. "The bones of the building are so great, and the restaurant is in such good condition," remarks Hang, pointing out that those attributes are allowing the team to focus fewer funds on the physical build-out than had they opted to choose a different address.
The Mainland space has had a series of high-profile tenants over the past several years. Ahead of Nightshade, the space was the home of WildTale restaurant for about five years. However, many know the building as being the original home of Glowbal, which launched as Glowbal Grill in 2002, not only marking the start of a long and ongoing legacy for its namesake restaurant group but also blazing the trail for making Yaletown a trendy dining out hub in Vancouver.
For their part, the Dovetail team is creating a dining space with "modern Boho" design elements and a "comfortable, relaxed" atmosphere, and brought on Megan Kirkpatrick of Jute Design & Management to execute their vision.
Hang says she and the Dovetail team spend a lot of time travelling up and down the West Coast and are drawn to dining experiences that reflect casual sophistication and a leisurely pace. "We're focusing in on our love of the California weather, the colours of coastline, and what we eat when we are there," she elaborates.
While there is much talk about travel and California, the Dovetail team is particularly excited to be bringing their vision to Vancouver's restaurant landscape, and in particular their block of Yaletown, where they find themselves among some popular veteran peers. "The community here is really excited about their dining experience," notes Hang.
Lunch, dinner, and late-night vibes for Dovetail
To that end, Hang says the Dovetail crew has put a lot of effort into zeroing in on what it is they bring to the table that makes them stand out.
She points to Dovetail's aim to achieve a high standard of customer service as well as create a space that shifts slightly to serve what Hang sees as an unmet need in the neighbourhood, which is an elevated spot to go a little later at night that finds itself on the spectrum between bar and nightclub. Hang describes Dovetail's late-night service to address the question "Where can we go afterwards?" that won't be unwelcome to diners who are simply having a later dinner.
"It won't turn into a supper club," she says, "but the lights will dim a bit and there will be a 'late night' vibe."
To start, Dovetail will be open for lunch, dinner, and those late-night vibes; brunch will debut a little down the line, perhaps in the spring.
"We've been conceptualizing this for over a year," attests Hang. "It feels like a dream until you get the keys to the space."
Dovetail is on track with its renovation process, and the plan is to be open later this fall, but ahead of the holiday season.
Follow @dovetailvancouver on Instagram for updates.
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