Because of COVID-19 and the new state restrictions on businesses, many places in town are shutting their doors. However, despite circumstances, a new restaurant has emerged downtown, opening less than a month ago.
Paris Restaurant is located in downtown Anacortes at 414 Commercial Ave between The Brown Lantern and Frida’s Mexican Restaurant. I spoke with the co-owner of Paris Restaurant, Austin Lash, to find out more about their place.
“My partner Vincent Granville was my customer at our family’s authentic Lebanese Restaurant called Tanoor in Sammamish, WA.” Lash said, explaining how they started. “One conversation led to the next, and the idea to start a juice bar in Bellevue, WA eventually evolved into our beautiful Paris Restaurant in Anacortes; a farm-to-table European-Mediterranean upscale restaurant that sources all ingredients locally and cooks with the seasons, our chefs Jason Custer and Daniel Quan do a fantastic job.”
Paris Restaurant is a scratch kitchen where they make everything in-house. “Our dishes are influences from all over Europe and the Mediterranean,” Lash told me. “We make French Chateaubriand, Maltese Rabbit, Moroccan Kabobs, French Beignets, Austrian Schnitzel, Charcuterie boards, and also some local dishes.” They even made and sold their own pies from scratch for Thanksgiving, and I highly recommend getting a pumpkin pie the next time they are making them.
Following the pandemic guidelines, they are constructing outdoor seating in front of the restaurant that is projected to be completed mid-December. In a normal world, their business plan at 100% consists of heated outdoor patio seating in the front and back of the building, 40 seats downstairs, 40 seats in the upstairs mezzanine, live music, private events, and catering.
Be sure to think of our small local businesses this holiday season, they need your support. “We know that it isn’t going to be like this forever, but we hope things will get better very soon,” Lash said. I encourage everyone to give them a try; they are currently doing take-out, delivery, and curbside pick up.
Check them out and learn more at www.parisrestaurantandbar.com