West Seattle restaurants: Q&A with Avalon’s proprietor

When we first reported a week and a half ago that the former Café Revo in the Luna Park business district is being turned into a new restaurant called Avalon, we promised to pursue more information. And here it is; proprietor Deborah Breuler agreed to answer a few questions via e-mail:

BACKGROUND? “I was managing partner/Executive chef at Maggiano’s in Bellevue. I worked for them for ten years both here and L.A. Thomas and I both come from restaurant backgrounds. We met in Chicago while we were both working for Rick Bayless and Susan Goss in their American Regional Restaurant Zinfandel. I have opened 6 restaurants for other people; this will be my first as an owner.”

AVALON’S FOOD: “We will be focused on Pacific Northwest products with influences from the Mediterranean. I particularly love the foods of Morocco, Spain, France, and Italy. Some examples of that would be a Serrano ham, grilled pear with hazelnut mascarpone bruschetta, or lamb shank with prunes and almonds over blue bird grains emmer farro. Semolina lemon tart with whipped cream fraiche.”

WHICH MEALS? “Dinner for now and brunch on Saturday and Sunday.”

LOCALLY SOURCED? “We will use local when possible, Sheppard’s grain wheat is one example of a product I love to cook with. All our vendors we have chosen so far have been small, locally owned businesses. …I will make all our desserts in house. I’m a fan of Husky Deli ice cream. I also love Full Tilt.”

BEVERAGES? “Full bar, fun cocktails and specialty drinks, Washington wines, three local beers on tap.”

CHANGING THE DECOR? “We will paint and warm the room up with new curtains, new art. We won’t touch the beautiful reclaimed wood bar.”

LOCAL TIES: “I grew up here in West Seattle as a child, moved to the suburbs, Auburn/Kent area. I left to go to culinary school in San Francisco and moved back to West Seattle 5 years ago to raise my kids and be near my family. My sister has been at Northwest Art and Frame for 12 years. My Mom lives at High Point.”

BUYING REVO AFTER IT CLOSED: “We were working with a broker (I only wanted to open a restaurant in West Seattle) and had looked at a couple of places. We had looked at Revo once a couple of months back.”

OPTIMISM ABOUT OPENING A RESTAURANT IN A CHALLENGING ECONOMIC CLIMATE? “My philosophy is simple, but not easy. Provide great food, great service and try not to be everything to everybody. Our intent is to be inviting and relevant to the West Seattle community.”

HIRING? “We will always be looking for good people.”

Avalon is on Facebook at facebook.com/avalonws; on Twitter at @avalonws; and the website is a work in progress at avalonws.com.

21 Replies to "West Seattle restaurants: Q&A with Avalon's proprietor"

  • alkinet November 17, 2010 (3:21 pm)

    Uh, YUM!

  • deb November 17, 2010 (3:26 pm)

    I just wish the parking was better for that location…the menu sounds interesting though…

  • spicyfunk November 17, 2010 (3:41 pm)

    Sounds good. Will look forward to trying.

  • lg November 17, 2010 (3:58 pm)

    Oooh, Rick Bayless!

  • onceachef November 17, 2010 (4:57 pm)

    Good luck…your examples sound good.

  • ArborHeightsMom November 17, 2010 (5:19 pm)

    Bayless is serious props. I fear that location is somewhat doomed with parking issues though, so maybe get a valet? Or something?

  • Meghan November 17, 2010 (5:22 pm)

    Wow, sounds great! And the parking situation down there isn’t all that bad. Walk a few blocks! You can eat more! :-)

  • Gil Chesterton November 17, 2010 (5:52 pm)

    I don’t buy the idea that the parking situation makes that location a loser. La Rustica on Beach Drive has NO parking lot, and they pack them in every night. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a ‘doomed’ location. Ovio Bistro did fine in it’s location between Admiral & Alaska Junctions, but no one else has made that spot work (so far; Blackboard Bistro could change that).

    Restauranting is simply a dicey business.

  • Baba November 17, 2010 (6:29 pm)

    It all depends on how much do you buy the previous business for :-)

  • Can\'t wait to Eat November 17, 2010 (7:05 pm)

    I don’t mind not parking close, we always enjoy a little walk after eating. When we go to the Junction for dinner we alway walk the area afterwards before getting back in our car to go home. Good luck to you can’t wait to try Avalone.

  • Diane November 17, 2010 (8:54 pm)

    I went to their facebook page; got this:
    The page you requested was not found..

  • Agen Schmitz November 17, 2010 (10:08 pm)

    frankly, parking at the Junction can be a more complicated proposition than this neighborhood. it’s really not that bad.

    I’m also hoping that vegetarians/pescatarians get some interesting menu choices (thinking of others in my household… the lamb sounds good to me).

  • Owlish November 17, 2010 (10:28 pm)

    SO tired of the meat-centric restaurants. Pass.

  • Justin November 17, 2010 (10:57 pm)

    Most of the food mentioned here was grain based. SO tired of these passive aggressive comments by poster that don’t want to be bothered to read the entire piece. Pass

  • alki_2008 November 17, 2010 (11:14 pm)

    The hyperlink for the Facebook page as a period between “avalon” and “ws”…that’s why it doesn’t work when clicking on the link. Either type it into your browser window, or try this link: http://www.facebook.com/avalonws

    • WSB November 17, 2010 (11:31 pm)

      Sorry, I thought I fixed the whole thing earlier, but I see I only fixed the displaying URL, not the code, will be correct in a sec – TR

  • Vegetarian November 18, 2010 (6:26 am)

    Owlish – did you look at the menu? Its, like, half non-dead-animal dishes.

  • Tony S November 18, 2010 (7:55 am)

    I love meat. Can’t wait.

  • Kayleigh November 18, 2010 (8:55 am)

    They had me at grilled pear.

  • WS res November 18, 2010 (9:31 am)

    Good to hear someone is moving back in. I recommend that they figure out how to let people know they exist. After Revo closed so many said we didn’t even know there was restaurant there. The name was as funky as products sold by Murphy’s, the previous occupants. Avalon needs to distinguish itself from street and market itself as “Northwest with Mediterranean influence” restaurant with appropriate signage. Everyone know where Luna Park is, help them find you!

  • Jennie November 18, 2010 (12:11 pm)

    Please keep the gorgeous mural of the lady on the Vespa – it’s so fun to look at as we all drive down Avalon!

Sorry, comment time is over.