Fort Langley restaurant caters in comfort food
The ultimate comfort food has come to Fort Langley with the opening of Say Cheese, a take-out restaurant offering a selection of grilled cheese sandwiches.
“We wanted to have a completely different concept than anything that was already existing here and that is walkabout take-out food,” explained Americo Punzalan, who owns Say Cheese along with Dave Collier.
Collier is also the proprietor of another nearby Fort Langley business, the Eighteen 27 Piano and Martini Bistro.
The friends have been pitching ideas back and forth for the past five years and wanted to provide an option for a quick takeout meal in Fort Langley.
They floated around a couple of ideas — hot dogs was one they considered — before settling on the grilled cheese sandwich.
“When the space came up, which was perfectly located in Fort Langley, we decided to get into it,” Punzalan said.
“We wanted to provide food that would make people remember their childhood,” Punzalan said. “Something that is comfortable, something that is familiar: grilled cheese.
“But we wanted to do something just beyond the basis grilled cheese sandwich.”
They began with a list of 40 sandwiches, and after doing some taste-testing and research, whittled the list down to seven.
“We had to pare it down because we wanted a really simple concept,” he said.
The menu includes: the old school classic (Kraft slices), sweet chili hula (just thing Hawaiian pizza), butter chicken, sundried tomato pesto chicken, the gobble gobble (turkey, cranberry jalapeño jelly, brie and mozza), mom’s meatloaf (marinara sauce and deli-made meatloaf), and the caprese.
The caprese and the old school classic are the vegetarian options.
Punzalan also said plans are in the works where they will have a new sandwich featured on the menu each month.
Each sandwich is served with potato chips and a pickle.
The ingredients are from neighbouring or local businesses.
“That was one of the things we always wanted to maintain: if we could promote neighbouring businesses, or at least local businesses, that was definitely what we were going to do,” Punzalan said.
They opened their doors in late December, and business has been going well, especially during the lunch break for the nearby high school, Langley Fine Arts.
An official grand opening is planned for some time in February.
The restaurant, which features a staff of six, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays and is located at 9199 Glover Road.
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