Amaro Bistro celebrated its grand opening on Jan. 7 with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Greater Bothell Chamber of Commerce at their new location along Northeast Bothell Way.

The restaurant is the first to open as part of the 10-year-in-the-making revitalization project in downtown Bothell.

Nick Wiltz is not only the owner of both IL Bistro, in Seattle, and Amaro Bistro, but also a Bothell resident. When he heard about the chance to open up a restaurant within his home town, he knew he couldn’t pass it up.

“I’m a resident of Bothell, and I’ve lived here now for 16 years, raised my kids here and really love the community,” Wiltz said. “When I saw that Bothell was starting a revitalization of the downtown I was really interested and got involved in some of the early planning. When I heard that the 6 Oaks…would have retail space, I contacted the developer to see if they were interested in having a restaurant.”

The community has helped him find a path to Bothell’s revitalization, too. although for Wiltz the clincher was McMenamin’s coming to the old Anderson School building. He knew of McMenamin’s from his days living in Portland and is looking forward to having such a destination experience bring people to the city and to his resturant.

The opening of Amaro Bistro is one of the first steps in this long revitalization project, though, and the first restaurant to open since the process began.

“This revitalization plan started at least 12 years ago with…people question[ing] whether or not it could come to fruition,” said Bothell Mayor Joshua Freed. “I think standing in this very restaurant is a great example of what we wanted to see – creating a place where citizens could gather and enjoy coming together, enjoying food and community.”

Bothell isn’t just about revitalization, though; it’s about the families of Bothell finding a new place to eat, play and enjoy life with those they love.

“We have noticed a lot of kids and that’s great,” said Chad Pagnac, general manager of Amaro Bistro. “We love to be able to take care of the families in Bothell.”

Being in Bothell, Amaro Bistro has a different vibe from its “big brother” Seattle location, but the menu has IL Bistro written all over it. Many of the dishes are the same favorites fans have come to expect.

Not only did the hard launch of Amaro Bistro happen this month, but IL Bistro’s 40th anniversary from Jan. 27-29. To celebrate the occasion, IL Bistro in Seattle will be offering Lasagne and Cioppino at 1975 prices, $9 and $13 respectively, and may have a surprise guest bartender.