Tacoma Urbanist
Nov. 11, 2008 at 12:09am
Tacomans Want Italian Food Via Merende NOW!!!
Week after week. Month after month, those living and working in downtown have watched Merende on the verge of opening.
Although work seems to be occurring everyday, no opening date has been announced.
We wait.
Merende
813 Pacific Ave
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 722-1993
 by Erik on 11/11/2008 @ 12:19am | From the Volcanco:
Merende small news bite Jeff Bishop, the chef behind the original Il Fiasco and Brix 25, will open Il Trattoria di Merende restaurant with his partner, Ian Lombardi, also a former Il Fiasco chef, in six to seven weeks. Merende (meaning “small bitesâ€) will open in late May or June at 813 Pacific Ave. (former Vin Grotto space) — all depending, Bishop says, on the myriad of things that need to get done in order to open a restaurant. weeklyvolcano.typepad.com/spew/2008/04/m... I guess they are trying to get the restaurant in perfect order before opening. |
by Erik on 11/11/2008 @ 12:22am | From the Tribune:
Commercial real estate broker and former restaurateur Mark Wambold was the matchmaker on the deal. He was Bishop’s boss at Il Fiasco and Brix 25. Lombardi cooked at Il Fiasco. Wambold said they’re shooting for a mid-April opening. blogs.thenewstribune.com/tntdiner/2008/0... |
 by Jake on 11/11/2008 @ 12:35am | They were interviewing potential employees yesterday. |
 by scout on 11/11/2008 @ 1:55am | They've been interviewing potential employees for months.
|
 by dawntown on 11/11/2008 @ 9:24am | Bishop says, on the "myriad of things that need to get done in order to open a restaurant"
Wasn't it a "restaurant" to begin with? Just change the damned sign and get to business, guys. I know it isn't that simple, but don't reinvent the wheel. You guys are loosing money, and the anxious public is loosing patience. Right now the restaurant business is moving into it's busy season, and you can say goodbye to that if you sit on another month of no revenue generation. Unless there something going on we the public don't know about...is this a mob related, money laundering front? Inquiring minds must know! |
by Erik on 11/11/2008 @ 11:15am | Unless there something going on we the public don't know about...is this a mob related, money laundering front? Inquiring minds must know!
Yeah. Its just painful. But the place sure looks cool. |
 by NSHDscott on 11/11/2008 @ 11:44am | How is late May or June, or mid-April depending on who you ask, opening in six to seven weeks? |
 by izenmania on 11/11/2008 @ 11:54am | How is late May or June, or mid-April depending on who you ask, opening in six to seven weeks?
Well that article was posted in mid-April. So late May would have been 5-6 weeks, and early June would push it up to 7. |
 by Heather on 11/11/2008 @ 1:06pm | Kind of sounds like the timeline for our kitchen remodel.
We wait. |
by Erik on 12/10/2008 @ 12:13pm | Update :
Merende is opening Thursday 11:00 December 11th:  |
 by Ann on 12/10/2008 @ 12:16pm | Let's all meet for lunch. What's a good time? |
 by morgan on 12/10/2008 @ 12:45pm | Woo-hoo!!!!
My prediction: they are going to get slammed! (in a good way) |
by Erik on 12/10/2008 @ 1:04pm | Woo-hoo!!!!
Yep. The Urbanist scoops! |
 by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 12/10/2008 @ 1:23pm | I'm wishing the ownership well with this venture. Very brave on their part. No question, some Italian food is needed in downtown, not to mention some nice Chinese, though I'd settle for a late night Pho place. |
by morgan on 12/10/2008 @ 2:20pm | I'd settle for a late night Pho place.
YES!!!! |
by Erik on 12/10/2008 @ 4:14pm | No question, some Italian food is needed in downtown...
Yeah, Italian was working downtown even when it was in far worse shape. |
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 12/10/2008 @ 5:02pm | Some where else I was saying I should start up something called Mo Pho in the Hood. Seriously, though, pho would be perfect in downtown. Almost any hole in the wall store front could work, if only the rents were reasonable for such a venture. |
 by marumaruyopparai on 12/10/2008 @ 7:54pm | @Crenshaw
Tacoma could probably use a late night Pho place if for no other reason than to help you get your Pho fix, you've seriously got Pho on the brain today. Your Mo Pho from the Hood idea reminds me of a restaurant up in Bellevue called What the Pho! (Pho rhymes with Huh for those who might not otherwise get the joke). They make a tasty bowel of Pho with tripe. You wouldn't expect the stomach lining of a cow to be such a great thing but it's actually quite good. |
 by Dave_L on 12/10/2008 @ 8:29pm | Interesting. A Pho version of Polish flaki. (Love the typo.)
I'd go to WTP just to say I'm going there. I hope Merende opens tomorrow, because the next Thursday Dec 11th is in 2013. |
by Erik on 12/10/2008 @ 8:48pm | I hope Merende opens tomorrow, because the next Thursday Dec 11th is in 2013. A very impressive mental feat Dave L. Merende opens in 14 hours!! |
by Dave_L on 12/10/2008 @ 9:00pm | Idiot yes, savant not. Just Googled a calendar.
Besides, I read it wrong, it's 2014 (see?) |
by Ann on 12/11/2008 @ 10:29am | Heather here, borrowing Ann's computer. We are on our way to Merende. Hope to see you all there. Well, more than that, I hope they really open today!
Crenshaw -- In Walla Walla there is a great Pho place called "Pho Sho." |
 by intacoma on 12/11/2008 @ 10:33am | There is also a place called "What the Pho"
;) |
by Erik on 12/11/2008 @ 12:09pm | Any field reports yet on Merende? Are they open for business? |
by Crenshaw Sepulveda on 12/11/2008 @ 11:06pm | And, of course, is the famous Pho King. But the less said about it the better. |
by marumaruyopparai on 12/11/2008 @ 11:48pm | . . .the famous Pho King
Brilliant!!! |
| Post Reply: |
About
A ongoing conversation to make Tacoma a better to live and work through better urban design.
See my Downtown and Neighborhood Pictures
-Erik B.
Most Popular Posts:
1. Tacoma Coffee Shop Showdown
2. Traffic Calming Portland Style (by painting intersections)
3. Tacoma's Relevance to Presidential Election 2008
4. Daniel Blue and RR Anderson
5. Tacoma Document Archive - Key City Documents, Court Documents, Links, Books, and Videos.
6. Is your city worth caring about? James Kunstler discusses how to make your community a place worth caring about.
Useful Links
Tacoma Streetcars - Join the citywide effort to restore streetcars to Tacoma's Neighborhoods.
Congress for New Urbanism - the leading organization promoting walkable, neighborhood-based development as an alternative to sprawl.
Planetizen - A one-stop source for urban planning news, commentary and interviews.
New Urban News - Discussing traditional neighborhood development focusing on building mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods instead of conventional suburban subdivisions, shopping centers and office parks.