GRASS SKIRT
THE
Many of the city’s most unique restaurants are thanks, in part, to Archambault and his business partner Kevin Ollila’s general contracting company. Their team is responsible for photographable faves such as Wolfie’s Carousel Bar, The Grass Skirt, Waverly, The Holding Company, Better Buzz (various locations), S3 Coffee Bar, and Donut Bar, to name a few. So it’s surprising that EB is rarely written about or mentioned in articles calling out the builders and designers on these projects. If you ask Archambault, however, this is exactly how he likes it—or has, until now. “Being a small company, we always were just particular about our projects. We deliberately set ourselves up so that you couldn’t really find us on social media,” shares Archambault. “Knowing that we were mostly word-of-mouth, we kept it that way so we could continue to work with clients we knew.” Now he’s ready to let you in on his secret. Back in 2002, Archambault began working in San Diego’s bar industry and formed friendships that afforded EB some of its first contracting gigs (and continues to do so today). “I started working for people I used to bartend with,” he laughs. “They had started owning these places, and we’d start building it for them.” His first restaurant was Raglan in Ocean Beach. “Oh, that's gonna be a fun one to disclose,” he says, adding that the restaurant group has no idea. The firm also went on to build Queenstown Public House in Little Italy, and Dunedin in North Park.
WAVERLY
72 FEBRUARY 2023
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