Bar manager Randy Fitch pours a drink at Bar Rio in downtown Bend. 

Steven and Amy Draheim watched as vendors squeezed pomegranates the size of their heads at Israel’s Carmel Market in 2017. On another trip, at Saint Joseph’s Market in Barcelona, the Draheims watched as women filleted fish with machete knives and Michelin star chefs served grab-and-go food that could be eaten in nearby stalls. On yet another journey, they came across a popsicle shop on the beach of La Paz, Mexico, with what seemed like a hundred different flavors lined up in a colorful row.

If there was time and space, Steven said, he would love to do a similar concept.

That time is now.

On Friday, the couple revealed the latest iteration of their restaurant business — Bar Rio.

Bar Rio and Bodega

Barrio, the former Latin fusion restaurant on Wall Street in downtown Bend, is in the process of becoming two distinct concepts. The former restaurant space is now home to Bar Rio, a bar with cocktails and tapas. It will also house Bodega, a grab-and-go market with freshly prepared foods, high-end olives oils and local produce.

Both businesses are inspired by the Draheim’s travels to the vibrant markets of Barcelona, Israel and Mexico.

“I call them indelible experiences that we’ve had that just stick with us,” Amy Draheim said. “So that’s how they sort of come out on the plate and in the drinks.”

Distinct cocktails and tapas

The new menu, which is enclosed in a sleek, rectangular blue book, has seven pages focused on drinks and one page on tapas. Featured drinks are heavy on the cocktails and sorted by the alcohol base with a section for the “sober curious.” Each cocktail is accompanied by a black-and-white outline of the drink, which the team added so customers would know exactly what they were ordering. Bar manager Randy Fitch, who has been with the company for around five years, said it allows the customer to really look forward to the drink they’ve ordered.

“It builds that excitement,” Fitch said.

The menu features many of the former restaurant’s beloved dishes in tapas form.

Reappearing on the menu are patatas bravas ($10 small, $18 large), jibaritos ($13), grilled green beans ($10) and paella.

The paella with saffron rice, sofrito, chorizo, peas and lemon may be ordered with grilled chicken ($17), sauteed shrimp ($19) or both chicken and shrimp ($21) and is the closest item to an entree on the tapas menu.

Jibaritos and ceviche

The jibaritos were even better than I remembered them. The pork carnitas were sandwiched between crispy fried plantains, resting on top of a light, tart guacamole sauce. A vegetarian option with grilled yam is also available.

The glass of shrimp and mango ceviche ($15) had Tajín around the rim with a dried slice of lime, pickled red onions and a paper bag of the restaurant’s signature corn tortilla chips. The chips are sprinkled with a large flaky salt and it was difficult to refrain from enjoying them on their own. The flavor of the ceviche errs toward sweet with juicy chunks of mango and shrimp marinated in lime and pico de gallo.

Bar Rio’s tapas are best enjoyed by ordering several dishes to share. And despite the small portions, it’s easy to fill up.

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A hangout for locals

The shotgun space has been redecorated by Trisha Plass of LRS Architects, blending Mediterranean blues and rich Alhambra-inspired tiles to reflect the restaurant’s metamorphosis. But what hasn’t changed, is that it’s a space designed with locals in mind.

“Barrio means neighborhood and we always wanted it to be a neighborhood place,” Draheim said.

The menu incorporates local ingredients and distillers and is meant to serve as a local hangout. Most dishes on the tapas menu hover around $10-$15, making the price point affordable.

Bar Rio doesn’t intend to stray far from its humble beginnings of operating a food cart outside of The Blacksmith Restaurant.

“Bend has its own culture,” Draheim said. “I think we do pay homage to the local culture as well on the menu.”

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Bodega is meant to fill a gap in downtown Bend. Employees will be able to purchase beverages, ready-made items and convenience store items, similar to the former Bond Street Market convenience store, fondly known for organic grocery items and hand selected beer and wine. Bodega is expected to open at the end of the summer.

The Draheims’ Latin and Mediterranean food may also be found at Shimshon Israeli Street Food inside The Grove in Northwest Crossing, the Shimshon and Barrio food trucks at Midtown Yacht Club and it’s pop up at The Commons Cafe and Taproom.