barVino (2021)
"Deep cleaning day! We’re getting ready and can’t wait to open again," the caption with this photo reads on the restaurant's Facebook page.
BarVino in North Creek is reopening for take-out orders today, under new ownership. The owner-investors are moving away from the bar-and-lounge feel that the establishment had taken on and back to a sit-down dining experience, said Olivia Svrchek, an owner and director of business operations for the investors, who are all people in the area. She said the owners are waiting to receive their liquor license before opening the dining room.
“We’re really not wanting to change much,” Svrchek said of the ownership team. “We’re continuing the legacy.”
(In newspaper food reviews of the past, the writers tell readers that barVino is as much of a destination in North Creek as Gore Mountain or the white-water rafting companies. Find the restaurant's Facebook page, here.)
Switching back to a dining room instead of lounge means people under 21 can come to eat, though Svrchek said head chef Shaun Hazlitt has no plans for a children’s menu.
“The menu is different, but it’s still a small-plates, tapas feel,” she said.
The menu will include meat, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian items. Many dishes will be locally sourced. She said they will also focus on trends in the restaurant industry, looking to larger cities such as New York and San Francisco for inspiration.
Svrchek, a nurse with a Masters in Healthcare Delivery and Leadership—she wrote in an email that the degree is akin to an MBA—has always wanted to try her hand running a business.
“The timing kind of just aligned with my ambitions,” she said. “Being in that role of [director] has always been my dream.”
She said she found kindred spirits in the team of investors that she helped bring together. They are all locals who have loved the establishment over the years: her sister Martina Svrchek, Natasha West, The Crossroads, LLC, Travis McKee and Althea Smith.
“I grew up here in Johnsburg,” Svrchek said. A high school athlete, she said she held leadership roles on the teams and also had many mentors and people supporting her.
Now she wants to help and coach the “team” at barVino, looking to offer support as well to the community. She is looking for opportunities to bring high schoolers in to learn the restaurant business or to help the wait staff with their own dreams and ambitions.
“We’re big dreamers...on the investor team,” she said.