Written By Jill Van Gyn First Look / Places / Victoria Dec 10, 2015 Wheelies and Victory Barbers Team Up to Create Saint Franks SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter PinterestBefore the opening of Saint Franks, social media let out a collective groan when the new bar was rumoured to be a gourmet hot dog/bourbon joint where you can play vintage pinball machines while you wait for a straight razor shave or a haircut. “The description reads like an Onion article or a parody of hipster urbanism,” wrote one commenter on Vibrant Victoria. Well, if you think the meta hipster insanity of the place was lost on Victory Barber and Brand’s Matty Conrad and Wheelies Motorcycles’ Jay Pincombe, you would be very wrong. These days anything that is “interesting, cool or socially misunderstood” is going to fall into the ‘hipster’ category. It was always intended to be over the top, catering to the crowds of people who come in to Victory for a fashionably relevant hair cut or a trim on their chest length beard or who frequent Wheelies for a sandwich and a tune up on their vintage 1968 Triumph Bonneville T120R.Conrad and Pincombe are a couple of Victoria old boys who stomped these grounds and paid their dues to the city. After over a decade of friendship and immense success with their individual enterprises they knew it was time for a joint venture. “We wanted to build a Victory Barber and Wheelies baby and this is exactly what it is”, says Pincombe. Growing up in Victoria but afforded the opportunity to travel all over North America, the boys wanted to bring their experiences home, creating a space that could be found in the Lower East Side in Manhattan but nestled into one of the many derelict and forgotten areas of downtown Victoria. The hot dogs and down and dirty sides such as Frito pie, franks and beans, and crackling, are inspired by travels that span from the American deep south to Brooklyn NY. Vintage pinball machines? Well, what 80’s kid doesn’t want to take a crack at one of these? As for the haircuts – all of you sceptics and insta-haters can relax. It is well sequestered in a windowed backroom away from food and drinks. Plus, if you’ve ever had to sit and flip through magazines from 2005 as you wait for your hair appointment you will be thankful for a chance to pass the time trying to get your name on the pinball Leader Board while sipping an Old Fashioned.The space is itself is the real draw. Walls featuring subway tiles, exposed brick and vintage tattoo prints compliment impossibly high ceiling giving it the feel of a dive bar without the grime and dinge. Pincombe and Conrad did most of the work with many of the features, including the bar, designed and installed through hours of YouTube videos and good old fashioned DIY, as our generation is wont to do. The visuals, acoustics, the lighting and the menu draw us into an appreciation for a return to blue collar aesthetic. And its not curated or done with ironic intent. When you boil it down this is a barber and a motorcycle mechanic who wanted to create a cool spot to play arcade games, sip bourbon, eat some dirty old comfort food and hey, you gotta get a hair cut at some point.Saint Franks1320 Broad St., Victoria, BC778-265-6013 SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Written By: Jill Van Gyn ... Read More You may also like City Eats / First Look / Food Events / Food News / Food Shops February 28, 2022 City Eats March|April 2022 More vegan options are coming to our fair city! Frickin Delights Donuts is a vegan donut shop opening at 632 Yates St in March. They will ... Read More City Eats / First Look / Food Events / Food News / Food Shops January 3, 2022 City Eats Jan|Feb 2022 Superflux Cabana has opened upstairs at 804 Broughton St (the former location of The Livet). Featuring lots of Superflux beer and a menu that ... Read More First Look / Food News / Places / Restaurants November 30, 2020 Café Jumbo – First Look It’s a cold and rainy evening in early November. Covid cases are on the rise everywhere, and the world is anxiously awaiting the final US election ... Read More First Look / Restaurants / Victoria July 31, 2020 The Palms Launching a restaurant in the middle of a pandemic may seem counterintuitive, but don’t tell that to Rob Ekstrom and Darren Cole – the two ... Read More Beer / Beer & Cider / Drink / First Look / Places / Press Release / Wineries & Breweries July 25, 2019 There’s a New Buoy in Town Whistle Buoy Brewing Company, a locally owned craft brewery and taproom, is now open in Historic Market Square, Victoria. Whistle Buoy Brewing ... Read More First Look / Regions / Restaurants March 1, 2019 The Buzz, Cowichan and Up-Island Eating together and enjoying the good life with good people is the epitome of ‘Hygge’, the Danish word pronounced ‘Huega’. ... Read More Comments are closed.
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