When the most recent owners of Medici's Gelataria & Coffee House announced in October that that they were retiring and forever closing their popular Oliver restaurant, its Facebook page was flooded with emotional commentary.
And that was to be expected. Founded in 2010, Medici's was casual and fun and famed not only for its homemade gelato but its live music nights too. At 522 Fairview Road, just a block from the busiest intersection in town, it had, in fact, become a kind of social hub for the immediate area.
That it was uniquely and spaciously housed in a former church built just 13 years after Oliver was officially established way back in 1921 only added to its allure.
But this is one tradition that's not going to quietly ride off into the sunset. Though the Medici's name and ownership are gone, the concept of an eatery in the old church at 522 Fairview will live on.
Indeed, that concept has already come to fruition. It began on New Year's Eve, when restaurateur and Vancouver transplant Steeve Raye threw open the rather weighty front doors on "Popolo."
"I moved here for this," laughed Raye Saturday during a quick break from an initial weekend he said was "busier than I'd expected."
"I first came to see the place just after Thanksgiving. I was here for just two days. I thought it was great, so I signed the lease, moved to Oliver a month ago, set it up and opened it."
Raye, who's pretty well know in the Vancouver restaurant scene and most recently ran Orto Artisan Pasta in North Vancouver, says he didn't spend a lot of time making sophisticated financial estimates.
"It's just getting too crazy there," he said of the lower mainland. "I've thought about getting out for a long time.
"And I love it here. The region, the winery, the producers, the farms. The small town life appealed to me.
"I know Oliver is quite small, but between Penticton and Osoyoos, it's a lot of people. The highway is busy, and in summertime it gets much busier. I took a bit of a risk, but I think it's a calculated risk."
The transformation from Medici's to Popolo didn't involve a ton of hardcore renovations. Apart from new signage, the exterior has hardly changed at all. Inside, the place looks brighter, modernized and less quirky than in its Medici's days.
"It's the original hardwood floor," said Raye proudly as he took us on a tour.
"We painted the place and did some mostly cosmetic stuff. I wanted something cozy and welcoming and light."
We asked Raye to summarize the menu. He thought for a moment and said, "Local fair with Italian influence. For example, we have beautiful tomatoes in the Okanagan, so I'm going to make a nice spaghetti pomodoro -- fresh tomatoes crushed with garlic, salt, pepper, chili, basil. Just a nice homemade spaghetti."
His favourite item is currently the porchetta sandwich, featuring roasted porchetta (boneless pork roast), parsley, fennel, lemon zest, oranges, white wine, chili, salt and pepper.
"But I'm French," he added, "so I use butter too. I guess you could say we're European food, pasta-oriented."
Wherever possible, said Raye, Popolo will source local ingredients, though he admits sometime he'll have to cast a wider net. "But in the summer, all local vegetables and fruit. And we'll try to work with local chicken, egg and pork farmers as much as we can."
We watched the midday staff serve up Popolo's "Breakfast Sandwich" to several customers. It consists of a brioche bun filled with organic scrambled eggs, cheddar, caramelized red onion and chives, and it'll be a daily staple, along with other breakfast-y goodies like soft-boiled egg plates and multigrain porridge.
We asked customer Tammy Anderson, a long-time Oliver resident, what she thought of the new digs.
"I came here a lot when it was Medici's," she said. "but I do like that there's more to eat here now other than just sweets.
"We're a bit short on really good restaurants. Ones that have a nice atmosphere like this, with really good and consistent food.
"This is my first time here. I want to try it out for dinner too."
We're not sure if Anderson is a gelato fan, but we can say that Raye intends to continue serving the frozen dessert that helped popularize Medici's. In fact, original Medici's co-owner Sylvia Budavari is currently the gelato chef until Raye has time to properly train an employee.
Fully licensed, Popolo is open now, from 8 am to 3 pm, seven days a week. By March, once he's had time to "build some systems and train my team," Raye wants to open for dinner too and extend the hours to 9 or perhaps 10 pm.
This spring, he'll debut his 25-seat outdoor patio, and once the pandemic has run its course, bump up his indoor seating from the current 40 to 70. One day Popolo will host live music shows as well, but the timing is governed by the pandemic.
You can reach out to Popolo at its website, its Facebook page, or via Instagram.
