10 | COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
NOvEmBER 2019 | 11
BUSINESS FEATURE
At left: myCovio’s Chef
Paul Klitsie prepares the
soup of the day with the
help of Adam Gould on
Wednesday Nov. 6.
Elevating Pacific
Northwest cuisine
myCovio’s chocolate
lava cake served with a
blueberry compote and
whipped cream. The
dessert costs $7.
WITH ITALIAN INSPIRATION
A dish of pork loin sous
vide served with sweet
and sour red onion,
Brussels sprouts and
mascarpone. The pork is
cooked in water at 144
degrees for 56 minutes.
It costs $22.
By ASHLEY NERBOVIG
Coast River Business Journal
OCEAN PARK — The refrain of cus-
tomers leaving MyCovio’s Wednesday
night made it clear how they felt about
the place:
“We’ll be back.”
Some passersby might mistake the
upscale restaurant for a beach bunga-
low. Small and off the main Ocean Park
throughway, the restaurant can seat 15,
maybe 18 people at a push. The nautical
knickknacks fit with the restaurant being
just steps from the seaside.
And the simplicity of the delicious
food makes for a nice contrast to the
kitschy atmosphere.
Past and the future
Before opening MyCozio’s in Febru-
ary, Paul Klitsie, 55, owned restaurants
in Vancouver, Washington and Portland,
Oregon. Before that he worked in restau-
rants in Italy, the Netherlands and Swit-
zerland. As Klitsie chopped squash for
the soup of the day on Wednesday, Nov.
6, he credited his wife, Kathy Janke, with
finding the building on Bay Avenue. She
prefers the atmosphere of a small town
and fell in love with Ocean Park when the
ASHLEY NERBOvIG
myCovio’s chef and owner Paul Klitsie exits his restaurant on Wednesday Nov. 6. Klitsie opened the upscale eatery in February to the joy of many
Ocean Park residents.
couple bought a house here in 2014.
Klitsie and Janke kept an eye on the
building after she saw it was for sale. The
two would pass it often when they came
to the beach to walk their dogs. One day
the for sale sign was down and Klitsie
said he was disappointed. Until Janke told
him she’d liquidated some assets and pur-
chased the property as a surprise.
Janke isn’t spending as much time
down at the restaurant as the pair hoped.
She is working in Longview as a dental
hygienist to help with the costs of open-
ing the business.
“In essence we do the same thing —
I make the mouth dirty, she cleans it,”
Klitsie said.
Eventually, Janke will join him and
spend more time at the restaurant. Even
though she isn’t as visible, she is essen-
tial to the business, Klitsie said. She
decorated everything and she is the one
with the brain for business. He cooks
good food, Klitsie said. But she makes
the restaurant work. They hope to run it
together until they retire.
Order up
Before the restaurant opened at 4:30,
server Matthew Sites commented the
night would start slow because of how
sunny the evening was. But minutes
before half past, a couple was already
waiting outside for a table.
The menu is Italian inspired, Klitsie
said. He tries to use fresh fish, not frozen,
if he can get it. And entrees run between
$22 to $26. But the portions are large for
fine dining and will make people feel as
good as it tastes.
“You can buy a lot of food for less, but
then it goes straight through your colon,”
Klitsie said.
The texture of the pork loin sous vide
was heavenly. And the colorful mixed
greens and Dungeness crab meat was
sweet and salty, giving much needed life
to the final bites of the salad that always
seem anticlimactic after the toppings are
gone.
And while Klitsie’s inventive recipes
are a breath of fresh air, his light and sim-
ple tiramisu shows he is a master at his
work.
The people
Cooking and serving good food is
what Klitsie loves to do, it is as simple as
that, he said.
As people finish their meals, Klitsie
walks out from behind the bar that sepa-
MyCovio’s
1311 Bay Avenue in Ocean Park, Wash-
ington
myCovio’s is open Wednesday through
Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., except
on Fridays and Saturdays when it is
open until 9 p.m.
On Saturdays and Sundays the restau-
rant also does brunch from 10 a.m. to
1 p.m.
Staff can be reached at 360-642-3475
rates the kitchen from the dining area and
introduces himself. Some already know
him and ask about Janke. All night the
phone rings with people asking if there
is an open table. And the real gem of the
evening came when a customer asked if
WE DIDN’T JUST BUY
A LOAN—WE CREATED
GETHER.
A VISION TOGETHER.
Who knew a brewhouse and a bank had so much in common?
John Bryant | Owner | No-Li Brewhouse
Member FDIC
the restaurant would be open Christmas
Day. Klitsie told Sites he wasn’t sure.
“Christmas Day,” Klitsie said, qui-
etly to himself. Almost instantly, Adam
Gould, who was working in the kitchen
with Klitsie said he’d work the holiday if
he was needed.
It is clear customers aren’t the only
ones enjoying Klitsie’s gentle giant vibes.
His staff want to help make his restaurant
a success. And Klitsie wants to give them
credit.
“You can mention my name a thou-
sand times, but it isn’t just me,” Klitsie
said. “We’re a team.”
In addition to Sites and Gould, Brandy
Meisner also works at MyCovio’s as a
server.
The future
The restaurant’s name is a combina-
When No-Li looked for a bank, they found something more. A true partner. Columbia Bank shared their
vision for the brewery and their commitment to community. From helping them create jobs, to giving back,
Cindy and John Bryant tapped into what makes us different. See how good your relationship with a bank
can be. Visit WhereRelationshipsRule.com.
Equal Housing Lender
tion of his grandchildren’ names and it is
clear it is a labor of love for Klitsie and
Janke.
MyCovio’s doesn’t take reservations.
But if people are worried about getting a
table, call ahead and staff will hold a spot
for up to 15 minutes. And on Thursday,
Nov. 7, there were still some spots open
for the restaurant’s Thanksgiving dinner.
While the summer kept Klitsie busy,
he admitted he was nervous for the start
of the slower season. But he is hopeful his
regulars will keep the place in business.
The support of the community meant
everything to Klitsie.
“From the beginning, we had eight
or nine cars parked outside 15 minutes
before we opened up,” Klitsie said. “We
were hoping to slowly build up, but we
just had to hit the ground running. Which
was great.”