Steps Wine Bar and Cafe is moving from Friday Harbor Center to 123 West St., the new commercial-residential buildings built by Misty Todd on Front Street.
Steps serves its last meal at Friday Harbor Center on Saturday and reopens at its new location May 13.
Chef Madden Surbaugh said interior design at the new site will be done by Geoffrey Prentiss, an award-winning architect who hails from the island. The new site will be one level, will have a water view, and will have an elevator lift.
The water view represents a change to real from virtual; currently, Steps projects images of the harbor from a live-feed camera outside.
“It’s highly visible,” Surbaugh said of his new location. “The square footage will be similar, but being one level we have more flexibility in seating. There will be a chef’s table in the kitchen so we can do wine dinners. We’ll offer lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. We’ll still continue to focus on local foods, but lunch will be more mainstream, with dishes like Cuban pork sandwiches and linguine with clam sauce.”
The new Steps will also have a full bar and a bar menu. Surbaugh said he plans to add staff.
Rachael dishes on the San Juans
Food Network’s “Rachael’s Vacation in the San Juan Islands” airs Feb. 20.
Friday evening, the Food Network will air the San Juan Islands episode of “Rachael’s Vacation” in which Rachael Ray and her husband, John Cusimano, visited Orcas Island and San Juan Island last summer.
Local air times may vary according to service provider, but the following times are scheduled for the following networks.
— DISH Network: 8:30 p.m. Pacific on Channel 110; 10:30 p.m. Central; 11:30 p.m. Pacific and East.
— Direct TV: 8:30 p.m. Pacific on Channel 231; 10:30 p.m. Central; 11:30 p.m. Pacific and East.
— Cable: Check local listings.
The program also airs Saturday at 2:30 a.m. Pacific).
Orcas Island locations filmed in preparation for the San Juan Islands show included the Inn at Ship Bay and the Farmer’s Market on the Green. San Juan Island locations included the Backdoor Kitchen, Duck Soup Inn, Krystal Acres Alpacas, Pelindaba Lavender Farm (also featured in the magazine “Everyday with Rachael Ray”), Roche Harbor and Steps Wine Bar & Café.
For more information, visit www.foodnetwork.com/rachaels-vacation.
Sweet Spot now located in San Juan Florist
San Juan Florist’s purchase of the Sweet Spot brings the latter business back into the Fitzgerald/Brown family.
Stacey Brown, owner of The Hungry Clam, founded the Sweet Spot — next to the ferry landing — after the May 9, 2002 fire at First and Spring streets. He sold it Chris Hallock, who later sold to Marilee Weber, aka the Popcorn Lady.
Weber, who moved to Port Townsend, sold the Sweet Spot to San Juan Florist, which is owned by Brown’s sister-in-law, Julie Shelton.
The Sweet Spot is now located inside the florist, at 160 N. First St., in Friday Harbor Center.
The purchase enabled San Juan Florist to expand its product line to include hand-dipped chocolates, saltwater taffy, candy-themed games, and nostalgia like Look candy bars, 5th Avenue candy bars, and Jujubees. The shop also serves Lopez Island Creamery ice cream, Italian sodas, espressos and lattes. Fresh-squeezed lemonade is available spring and summer.
San Juan Florist and the Sweet Spot are open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours in spring.
