Saturday will be the last night foodies can enjoy the Opus Hotel’s Elixir Bistro.
The eatery across the street from the Yaletown Canada Line station will close for five days and reopen August 27 as a more casual burger joint.
“We’re going to become a bit more casual dining and be more appealing to the neighbourhood,” said Peter Girges, who recently bought a stake in the bistro from Opus Hotel owner John Evans.
Girges also bought a stake in the Opus Hotel’s catering business and the other two eateries in the Opus Hotel: the Opus Bar and Café O.
He told Business in Vancouver that he and Evans formed a joint venture that owns all those businesses.
That joint venture will hire Girges’ RocksGlass Concepts Ltd. to manage all the food and beverage operations at the Opus Hotel.
The Elixir will reopen as 100 Days, which will be a diner that Girges described as having a “graffiti and pink lipstick” theme.
Girges, 31, earned his stripes in the Vancouver dining scene when he teamed up with uncle Emad Yacoub to launch the Glowbal Group.
Girges and Yacoub opened the original Coast Restaurant in Yaletown (it has since moved to Alberni Street), Italian Kitchen, Sanafir, Trattoria, Glowbal and Afterglow. Combined they generate more than $30 million annually.
Girges sold his shares in Glowbal to Yacoub in 2008, just before Coast moved to Alberni Street.
For millions of dollars?
“No,” Girges said with a laugh when asked about it by BIV. “Restaurants don’t bring you that much.”
Regardless, not all of Girges’ ventures will be with Evans.
Separately, he plans to open a Chinese restaurant named Chinois next to the Keg in Yaletown this fall. He will open a champagne bar named Pierre’s in the same building.
Evans told Business in Vancouver earlier this month that business at his Opus Hotel is way up over last year and that the hotel’s proximity to the Canada Line is attracting both business travellers and those who want to reduce their carbon footprints. (See “Hotels target eco-friendly niche” – issue 1085; August 10-16, 2010).