A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

Fable Owner/Chef Trevor Bird Set To Open New Eatery At Main & Broadway In 2016

IMG_8871

Chef Trevor Bird, together with Fable partners Ron MacGillivray and Kathy Schleyer, are going to be opening an 86 seat restaurant in Mount Pleasant next Spring. They’ve just completed a deal that’ll see them taking over the old Reno greasy spoon spot at the foot of the iconic, seven-story Lee Building (built in 1912) on the northwest corner of Main & Broadway.

To those who know it well, the Reno is legend. It has eased thousands upon thousands of hangovers over the years with its cheap eats and hot drip coffee, and accrued a dedicated following of regulars as diverse as the city itself. Sure, the air conditioning, toilets, debit machine, and sometimes even the cooking have felt like a consequential lottery of sorts, but it predates much of its surrounds, and has stood for many as a last refuge, a secret kept from the encroaching legions of man buns and caramel macchiatos.

IMG_8875

To others, of course, especially those who are new to the area or just passing through, it probably won’t be mourned at all. The food, though cheap, ample, and almost restorative, is nonetheless wholly dismal, and the service is monosyllabic at its most communicative. Few fucks are given about first few bites, a fact that troubles the delicate. Here’s one particular Yelp review that caught my eye on account of its abrupt histrionics:

This is not your average greasy spoon. It was scary, dark, dirty and gross. I feared for my health and sanity and left hungry after stirring a sticky fork around my plate for a couple of minutes, desperate to wash my hands.

The poor dear. Grief and relief aside, the current owners of Reno will close and vacate the property at some point in November.

Though the new project is yet to be named, it does have a concept that isn’t too far from the one they’re taking over from. The owners tell me that it’s going to be a diner – a greasy spoon minus the greasy.

I spoke to Bird and Ron this afternoon in their Kitsilano restaurant as their lunch rush was winding down. They both waxed on the draw of comfort food, establishing (easily) how there was a place for quality versions of it in the neighbourhood. “I like to eat healthy and I like to eat clean,” Bird explained. His goal, he says, will be to prep as much as he can in house, everything down to the hamburger buns and the condiments. For what it’s worth, I had a Fable burger just the other day and it was freakin’ delicious. These guys know what they’re doing.

It’s early days yet, but given that Fable is all about local suppliers and seasonality (the name being a play on “farm-to-table”), the new eatery can’t be as cheap as Reno, which has tabled an all-day breakfast for $3.99 for as long as I can remember. But I don’t imagine it will be exorbitantly expensive either.I’m looking forward to seeing how they thread the needle.

They hope to start construction in January, with a best case scenario opening date set for May the 4th. Hours of operation – with a full liquor license – will be continuous from 7am to 2am. Here’s hoping they keep the jukebox.

EXPLORE THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD

There are 10 comments

  1. End of Mount Pleasant’s funkiness.
    Where will the real Vancouverites flee to as the Plastic Zombies of Hipsterism invade?

  2. If you had “monosyllabic” service it’s probably because you deserved it. Shirley’s presence at Reno’s has always been cheerful and friendly and I am so bummed to see this place go to yet another overpriced hipster lounge. Mount Pleasant is officially dead.

  3. Oh lord so some hip new a-holes have taken over the beloved Reno my favourite cheeseburger and beer hang out where you can eat in peace and watch people… Now I guess it’ll be filled with a bunch of obnoxious self absorbed people that you want to slap simply for the vacant looks on their faces … Yeah great

  4. Hi looking forward to because my son and I love Fable
    so will not be open until 2017?

  5. wow Morgan
    not nice at all
    but you are entitled to your opinion
    and FYI I am neither obnoxious or self absorbed
    go to McDonalds or Burger King

  6. HEY MORGAN
    GO EAT AT MCDONALDS OR BURGER
    FABLE IS A GREAT RESTAURANT
    AND SO WILL THIS NEW ONE
    AND I AM NOT OBNOXIOUS OR SELF ABSORBED
    I JUST LIKE BETTER FOOD

  7. This is one of the hip a-holes Morgan referred to. We are open! Of course, according to my kids, I am neither hip nor an a-hole. Admittedly they are both unkind and biased at the same time – but they are correct. Come on in. The food is delicious, service friendly.
    Fable guests are quite lovely people. I am sure Fable Diner will have a more diverse cross section of society, and just as lovely people. Have found guests in general act in accordance with how they are treated. In other words, I think the room will be filled with fantastic people. Look forward to having you here.

Field Trip: Tagging Along for a “Glorious” Tomato Appreciation Feast

Inspired by their love of tomatoes and everything that farmer Mark Cormier and his farm crew put into growing them, the team from Say Hey Sandwiches head out to Aldergrove on a mission to cook a feast for the Glorious Organics team...

Reverence, Respect, and Realization: What The Acorn Taught Me

At 21 years old, I'm still just a kid and relatively new to working in restaurants, but I grew up umbilically tied to the hospitality industry. My father was a food writer, and my mother is a photographer. Their careers meant that most of my early years were spent in kitchens and dining rooms instead of on playgrounds and soccer fields; consequently, I learned my table manners before I could count past one hundred.

Amanda MacMullin Talks Seeking New Challenges and Becoming a ‘Grizzled Old Bartender’

Rhys Amber recently sat down with The Diamond bartender to catch up, swap 'war stories' and discuss the minutiae of the crazy, hospitality life.

On Expensive Hobbies, Title-Chasing & Getting ‘Rinsed’ in the Kitchen, with Josh Stel

The veteran Vancouver pan jockey and recently appointed Chef de Cuisine at The Mackenzie Room possesses a slew of attributes harder and harder to come by these days, so Rhys saw it fitting to reach out and see what makes him tick.