by Andrew Morrison | I poked my head into The Tuck Shoppe at the start of the weekend and they looked to have all their ducks in a row for opening this week. The official opening is likely to be Wednesday, but there’s a chance they might open for dry-runs before then. Here’s what I wrote about the tiny spot at 237 Union Street (formerly Big Trouble, The Parker) back in November:

Even though the 25 seater in Strathcona/Chinatown doesn’t have a hood vent or a ton of storage, it’s in a solid location right on the bike route, and there are great neighbours on the block that should help build a foundational customer base (eg. Charlie & Lee, Harvest, Noize To Go Records, The Union Bar, etc.) […] The 587 sqft space has just been picked up by first time restaurateurs Adam Merpaw and Zach Buckman. The pair of FOH veterans met working at Tap & Barrel in Olympic Village, which is also where they found their chef, Martin Keyer. Together they plan to spend the next month or so retooling the interior to create a gourmet sandwich and craft beer hangout called The Tuck Shoppe. The name is a campy nod to Merpaw’s halcyon memories of Ontario cottage country. It’ll be hard to achieve a rustic Canadiana feel in the very modern space (it’s all concrete and glass), so I’m curious to see in what direction they’ll go. I spied a Hudson’s Bay striped pillow on my walk-through the other day, so maybe it’s that-away, with plenty of sunshine smoothing all the flat surfaces and hard edges (this address gets a LOT of sunlight).

I think they did a fantastic job given budgetary/space constraints. The big red canoe hanging from the ceiling is the bright, woody room’s anchoring motif. The order-numbered wooden spoons are a nice touch (it’s counter-service), as are the British Columbian town pennants (sourced from Step Back), the central shelf dedicated to candy, and the four panel piece by local artist Gabriel Dubois. But the thing that grabbed me most of all was the short menu of sandwiches, all of which sound absolutely delicious and hover in the $10 range. That pork belly cubano has my number, for sure! (I can’t stop salivating at the thought of it paired with a glass of Sunday apple cider.) Opening day is set for Wednesday, from 11:30am to 11pm (7 days a week). Check it out…

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