Picture the perfect local hangout and
you have the Art House Café, which opened in Tacoma’s historic Stadium District in the spring of 2013. Start with morning coffee and pastry. Then enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner, a full bar, signature pizza, and a take-out bakery, as well as live music on weekends—all in a colorful décor inspired by a peacock’s tail. The atmosphere suits everything from your first cup of java to a romantic date. Handmade tiles decorate the bar. Smoked hickory floors add warmth.
Two of the three co-owners, John and Luci Armstrong, conceived of the café as a companion business to their Open Arts Studio. In the same building, the studio offers classes in visual arts and music. Now the Armstrongs also offer cooking and mixology classes in the café. The two spaces connect indoors.
“John and I started the concept because we wanted to do ‘wine and painting’ classes,” Luci Armstrong said. “We’ve always wanted to do culinary arts and also etiquette classes through the studio, so we decided the restaurant would be a great avenue.”
Many people know the third owner, Chef Dustin Joseph, from his days as executive chef at the Chambers Bay Grill. In addition to actually cooking, he teaches cooking. Most of all, Joseph wants guests to experience a new relationship with high-quality food and great service. “I really want to make the plates and the dishes very special,” he said. “I want to hit the emotional balance with food, not to have people just eat for nourishment, but for the enjoyment.”
John Armstrong is an art teacher, actor and opera singer, and Luci studied accounting. But this began as her vision. She hopes Art House Café will become a community arts hub. “This is what you get when an accountant marries an artist,” she joked.
CANDACE BROWN
For more information:
arthousecafe.com
111 N Tacoma Ave, Tacoma
253.212.2011