New Things at Bandidas

This is Jackie, and oddly my first post.

So what new things you ask?

1. Well, five of us painted the restaurant in the middle of the night. Midnight until 8am! Let me tell you that despite being so productive, I still felt like a dirtbag when the birds start singing at dawn. I did learn that a lot people jog at 6am in my neighbourhood. I also learned that I am old, and it takes me a long time to recover from an all-nighter. Thank you Penny, Kevin, Evan & Aiyana for being so tough and efficient.

The colours we choose with help from our colour-consultant-tattooing-neighbour, Jessica Pare (jessicaparetattoos.com) at Eastside Tattoos Parlour, are turquoise, brown & cream with black trim. We were trying to make the restaurant look more cosy. Please do not look too closely as we were tired, and on a time constraint. In fact, we had minimal lighting to see our mistakes. Which brings us to the second change at Bandidas.

2. The light fixtures. Another lesson I learned from this fateful night was that you should not paint and change the light fixtures at the same time. And, that when changing the light fixtures in the middle of the night, you should bring a headlamp and be prepared with alternative lighting. Luckily we had bike lights to see the wiring. The lights are up and look beautiful. They are old antique, diamond-shaped beauties. Pictures will follow. Thank you to Mark Ogilive for the late night electrical assistance. Mark came to install the lights after a play and was dressed in stunning attire while the rest of us were in sweat pants.

3. New hours. You can now enjoy these cosy renovations for longer periods of time. We are open until:

• 1am on Friday and Saturday
• Midnight - Sunday to Thursday
• Opening at 9am everyday

4. A few new drinks will be available starting soon, including a ginger margarita, and a dark & stormy. I know...dangerous and delicious with the new hours.

Pictures to Follow.

Thanks for reading,

Jackie

Co-owner of Bandidas

The Intriguing Tale of Our Fabulous Bar

Once upon a time (I believe it was 1999), there was a man named Tim. Tim was perusing a lumber yard.

He came across the precise piece of wood that he needed for the project he was working on. It happened to be sitting on top of an enormous piece of Douglas Fir. Tim expressed interest in it, and the Lumber Man related a sad tale in which a restaurant had ordered the piece for their bar, but had decided against it. There were too many knots in the wood, the Restaurant Owner had said. The incredible piece of wood had been abandoned and left for scrap.

The Lumber Man saw the gleam in Tim's eye and offered him the piece of wood for a ridiculously low price. Tim sighed and turned the offer down, as he had no real need for a 13 foot slab of Douglas Fir, beautiful though it was.

Alas, our story does not end here.

Driving home, Tim could not stop thinking about it. He did not need the wood now, he told himself, but surely someday a use would present itself? Before he could make it home, he turned around and went back to the Lumber Man to buy a beautiful piece of wood that he knew he didn't need.

Tim stored the thing-of-beauty in his friend's barn for 8 whole years until he heard that his beloved daughter, Aiyana, was planning to open a restaurant.

"Why, I've got the perfect thing for you," he said.

Tim Hicks personally delivered the wood, having sanded it by hand for hours until the wood shone. Upon delivery, he stayed to build the bar himself. In fact, he stayed on to contribute weeks of help throughout the whole building process of Bandidas.

And the gorgeous piece of wood, finally coming to rest amongst people who adored it, existed happily ever after.

The End.