Food nuggets: Bao Boss fire, Creamery Co. plans, Bhu-Ping closes

EVERETT — Welcome to the third edition of Nuggets, where we talk about local news tidbits, fun local facts and reader tips.

It’s been a minute (or nearly two months) since we’ve posted this column, so we have plenty of new food-and-drink-related developments to share.

The Creamery Co. to open Lake Stevens location

Marysville’s The Creamery Co. is building a second location in downtown Lake Stevens.

The newly constructed building will reflect Lake Stevens, with a lodge-like atmosphere and plans to offer delivery directly to the lake. On top of its current offerings, which include scratch-made pastries, frozen yogurt, gelato, gifts and Whidbey Coffee, the new location will also have salads, charcuterie to-go and other picnic/boat-friendly food items. The location will also feature a large fireplace for people to gather around.

Founder Rickelle Pegrum is hopeful her new location will open sometime next year. In the meantime, stop by The Creamery Co. at 1206 State Ave. in Marysville for seasonal pastries (they are selling a ton of strawberry rhubarb danishes) and something called yogalato, a cross between yogurt and gelato. If you ever wanted to have cherry pie or brownies in frozen yogurt or gelato form, The Creamery Co. is your place. The Marysville shop uses local fruits and veggies in their pastries as often as they can.

Pegrum’s business recently won the “Pandemic Thriver” award at the Marysville Business Summit. Her business pivoted constantly during COVID-19, including when she turned what would have been a banquet/party room into a gift shop that is now a permanent installation at The Creamery Co.

“We’ve continued to persevere,” Pegrum said. “We’ve always wanted to offer something that Marysville didn’t have and to elevate what the people of Marysville already have.”

She plans to do the same in Lake Stevens.

Bhu-Ping closes permanently

The owners of Bhu-Ping Thai Cuisine permanently closed their Everett restaurant at 6600 Evergreen Way, according to a Facebook post. The owners announced their retirement on May 28.

“We would like to say thank you to all our customers for your love and support all these years,” the Facebook post read. “It was truly a great pleasure serving you all. We wish you all the best!”

Named after a winter palace in North Thailand, Bhu-Ping opened in 2014. Owner Choosak “Noi” Chuenchowwai took over the space, previously known as Taste of Thai, after buying a house in Everett with his wife Hua and closing their Capitol Hill restaurant. They hadn’t planned to open another restaurant until the Taste of Thai site came on the market.

“The place found me,” Choosak told the Herald in 2014. “We hadn’t been looking. My wife likes to cook.”

Aside from their excellent Thai food, including pad see ew, Bangkok fried chicken and panang curry, Chuenchowwai was known for pairing Thai dishes with domestic and international wines from his impressive collection.

Book and coffee shop opens in downtown Everett

Doesn’t a place with yummy grilled sandwiches, freshly brewed local coffee, a gorgeous piano, comfy seating and a wide selection of books to cozy up with sound like a dream?

Then open your eyes and head to downtown Everett, where Artisans PNW and Artisans Books & Coffee recently opened their magical yet Very Real shop at 1800 Hewitt Ave. Their grand opening was Thursday.

Folks who frequented Artisans Mercantile in Snohomish will be pleased to know the shop has reopened in Everett under the same ownership of mother-daughter team Judi and Emma Kate Ramsey, with many of the same vendors and food offerings, as well as a steadfast dedication to championing small businesses.

“We are here to support local artisans,” said Emma Kay, who runs the Artisans PNW side of the shop. Walk through the back and circle around to the cafe — Artisans Books & Coffee — where you can order a chai latte, purchase books from a wide range of authors (local ones, too) and curl up in a comfy windowside chair. Judi said she wants Artisans to be an inclusive gathering space for the community.

Artisans is your one-stop shop for great coffee drinks, a quick breakfast or lunch, an afternoon read, gift giving and home decorating. Some of my favorite finds included handmade pottery with gorgeous botanical impressions (they are also microwave and oven safe), an apron with “butter” printed all over in a whimsical and colorful font, a notebook with dancing skeletons, an anti-microbial hemp long washcloth (great for reaching your back), a stunning oil painting by artist Julie Roehling called “Cape Abwa Sunset”… I could go on. Artisans PNW showcases many local talents.

Artisans will have a daily selection of rotating sandwiches. Recent specials included grilled Havarti with bacon plum jam on Texas toast and a Swiss cheese sandwich with pickled mustard seed and peppered orange pear jam. The shop also sells artisanal food products (such as 11 Olives olive oil and Bellingham’s Flying Bird Botanicals teas), apparel, jewelry, cards, home goods and more.

We first heard about Artisans PNW and Artisans Books & Coffee from a Live in Everett story that featured the beautiful, airy shop. Thank you to our friends at Live in Everett!

Fire shuts down Bao Boss

Bao Boss has closed after a fire damaged parts of the Everett sandwich shop on May 14. A spokesperson for Everett Fire Department confirmed the fire.

Owner Dan Deconinck said Bao Boss will be closed for at least three to four months, as he addresses the challenges ahead. He is waiting on insurance before he begins rebuilding his shop at 2814 Hewitt Ave.

“Please forgive me while we are shut down to plan for hopefully the future of bao boss,” he wrote on Facebook.

Those unfamiliar with Bao Boss may remember Noodle Nation, Deconinck’s former concept at the same location on Hewitt Avenue. He switched up carbs earlier this year to focus on inventive sandwiches, including a deep fried Monte Cristo sandwich with pineapple chutney and sweet ham, togarashi-seasoned country fried steak, stacked burgers, lox on a steamed everything bun (bao) and more fusion sandwiches.

Fans called Bao Boss “innovative and wildly creative” on top of delicious, with many eager to support the sandwich shop when it returns.

Food Truck Fridays returns to Port of Everett

Food Truck Fridays returned for its fifth year at Port of Everett on May 27. The weekly event “will feature a rotating variety of locally owned and permitted mobile restaurants to enjoy at the popular Everett Waterfront Place,” per a Washington Food Truck Association press release. “Bring your camp chair or picnic blanket and enjoy eating outside again.”

The Port of Everett partnered with the Washington State Food Truck Association to bring Food Truck Fridays to the waterfront.

Check out the rotating schedule of food trucks on 10th Street at Waterfront Place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Friday through August.

This Friday, try out Big Red Truck, which sells American, Italian and Cuban sandwiches as well as tacos and loaded mac and cheese, and Tabassum, which brings authentic Central Asian Uzbek dishes to the Pacific Northwest. Popular dishes include samsa, a stuffed puff pastry handpie with fillings like chicken curry, beef, butternut squash and veggies. A vegan option is also available.

Find the schedule, menus and to order online, go to streetfoodfinder.com/portofeverett.

BBQ truck donates to Uvalde funeral fund

Local food truck C. Davis Texas BBQ committed to donating its proceeds this past Saturday and Monday to help fund the funerals for the 19 children murdered in a Texas elementary school shooting on May 24.

“I’m beyond tired but because of you we raised thousands of dollars today to help the families that lost loved ones in texas! The lines were cray,” C. Davis wrote Saturday on his business’s Facebook page, noting that he sold out. “I’m truly grateful for each and everyone of you!!!!”

In Uvalde, two local funeral homes — Rushing-Estes-Knowles Mortuary Uvalde and Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home — also recently offered free funeral services for the families of the shooting victims. 

Basil switches ownership

Basil Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine, 909 SE Everett Mall Way, Everett, has switched ownership after a four-year run.

Former owner and founder Andrew Pham told customers that Basil “will continue business as usual” with the same menu.

Pham, a second-generation Vietnamese-American, opened Basil in 2018. The restaurant serves 18 types of pho (such as tripe, rare eye round steak, well done brisket and Vietnamese beef balls), as well as banh mi, vermicelli noodles and appetizers.

Per a Daily Herald story on the restaurant’s opening, Pham’s parents “left Vietnam to escape communism in the mid-1980s, immigrated to Washington” and opened their own restaurant, the Seattle Deli, which served up Vietnamese cuisine.

In a goodbye message on Facebook, Pham wrote he is leaving Basil to spend more time with his wife and children.

“Growing up in a restaurant family, Mom and Dad were never home. I am so grateful to my parents for all of the sacrifices they made as refugees in a new country, in order to create a life and provide for us. One of those sacrifices was time spent with family,” Pham wrote on Facebook. “Fast forward 30 years later, I have found myself doing the exact same thing.”

He continued, “I am blessed enough to have the option to choose differently, which is why it’s time for me to say goodbye to Basil.”

He thanked his friends, customers and team at Basil for all their support and hard work, from their grand opening to navigating the pandemic.