BEATNIKS BISTRO

Last spring, we held giveaway contests to support our food and beverage partners and we asked you to vote on which location you wanted to support during the difficult season of navigating operations during a pandemic. One of the establishments you picked was Beatniks Bistro, located in Fort Langley on Glover Road. Here’s some of what we already knew about this amazing bistro; they’re all about creating a sense of community while providing an incredible dining experience with exceptional service. Their prize included a marketing package which allows us to highlight some of their story, as shared with us by Angela, the restaurant manager. We hope you enjoy!

Tourism Langley: Can you tell us a bit about how Beatniks started, and when it opened?
Beatniks Bistro: Beatniks started as a vision, heaven-sent to my dad Matt in church one Sunday morning. He saw it as if looking down on it from above. It was bustling and like an oasis with a big patio and a house and trees and plants and people. In his vision, he knew it was called Beatniks. He didn’t think much of it after that until an opportunity to purchase a property in Fort Langley with a boarded-up little house on it presented itself. Everything fell into place after that. We opened Beatniks on the May Day long weekend, 2008. That first summer that we opened we were only open for dinner service. Eventually, we added a lunch service and then brunch and then live music. Currently, we’re working on adding an outdoor bar to the patio.

TL: What kind of dining experience do you offer?
Beatniks: I think our customers would tell you that we offer a relaxing dining experience for any mood that you’re in. If you want to celebrate, we can accommodate that! If you’re fresh off the Fort-to-Fort trail in your workout clothes and want a salad with dressing on the side we’re here for you. We seem to attract a lot of first dates, and date nights between long-time lovers – we’ve even had a few engagements go down at Beatniks.

TL: What is your greatest success as a restaurant?
Beatniks: I feel like we’ve enjoyed a lot of successes. Still being part of the Fort Langley community after all these years feels like a success. We’ve been able to make impactful donations to some wonderful charities over the years. We’ve had two staff members who met at Beatniks start a family together and even had some incredible employees put themselves through law school and medical school working at Beatniks. The list goes on and on.

TL: Can you tell us about what is most important to your company?
Beatniks: Our company values many things, however, something that is really important to us is the value we place on the camaraderie within our team.

TL: Is there another restaurant in the Township of Langley that inspires you?
Beatniks: The Township is full of great restaurants! Wendels has done an amazing job staying consistent over the years, they always offer seasonal, fresh menu items but stay true to a core menu of favourites that you can count on. What they’ve been able to do with their True Foods brand is truly inspiring. I remember when I saw their products on BC Ferries, I was so proud to see something that started in Fort Langley being showcased to such a large audience.

 

TL: What is your favourite thing about owning a restaurant in Langley?
Beatniks: Having a restaurant in Langley lets us connect with so many great products that are essentially right in our backyard. Langley and the Fraser Valley have so much to offer as far as opportunities to cross-promote and having great local products to feature.

TL: Is there a “must try” item(s) on the menu?
Beatniks: It depends on who you ask! There are a few favourites like our artisan salad, beef dip and gnocchi. If you asked me, I would tell you that our cocktail list is worth a trip in, especially the Low Rider!

TL: Do you source any local ingredients? If so, where are they from?
Beatniks: We use a lot of local products in our bar. Roots and Wings Distillery makes a dynamite dill pickle vodka that we use in our Pickle Caesar and Krause Berry Farms makes great fruit wine that we turn into our Purple Haze sangria. We also love the microgreens that we get from True Grit Farms. They garnish so many of our dishes and are so fresh and colourful. They even hand-deliver them to us!

TL: What would you recommend to a diner if they were looking for sources of entertainment in the Township?
Beatniks: I would have to say live music every Thursday night at Beatniks, featuring Johnny Bootleg! Beyond that, our friends at Five Roads Brewing host a great Trivia night every other Wednesday.

Thanks again to all those who participated in our giveaway contests and for continuing to show our local food & beverage establishments lots of love! If you are looking for inspiration on where to find your next dining experience, please visit us at Tourism Langley.