We came across a great restaurant this morning in the Fishers Landing area of Vancouver.  It's called Artino's Bakery & Cafe and is conveniently located near the intersection of SE 192nd Ave & SE 34th St.  They have a great selection of breads, pastries, soups, salads and sandwiches to eat in their restaurant.  They have a very nice catering menu that includes box lunches, gourmet meals for buiness functions / special events, as well as after hours in-house catering options.  They even make wedding cakes!

We tried their mocha and cinnamon scone and enjoyed both of them very much.  The things that struck us about Artino's were the variety of foods made fresh in their restaurant, the quality of the products, and the friendly, personalized service.

The History of Artino's

In 1952, Helen (Artino) Splaver followed her dream to open an Italian bakery in Tucson, Arizona. It was one of only two Italian bakeries in the city at that time and was an immediate success. Helen's sister Rosina, and her father Anthony Artino helped her start the bakery and they produced authentic Italian bread, cookies, pastries and cakes. She called the new business "Artino's Italian Bakery", which was based on her maiden name.

After just a few years, Helen had to close Artino's due to health problems. But Helen was not one to quit and after her recovery, she continued to bake bread, cookies, pastries and cakes for family and friends. In 1960, she opened a small restaurant, "Helen's Luncheonette", and served Italian food, homemade pies, cookies, pastries and cakes.

For the next 30 years, Helen continued to make cakes and pastries for weddings, showers, birthdays and special occasions. At the age of 82 she was still baking Italian cookies for resale in one of the local Italian deli's in Tucson.

55 years after the first Artino's opened, Helen's grandson Tony Splaver, continued the tradition of fine baked goods and food by opening "Artino's Bakery & Café" in Vancouver, Washington. The new Artino's is the result of Tony and his wife Michelle's dream to open a bakery and café using Helen's recipes. They also offer lunch and imported Italian espresso coffee drinks by illy. Tony loves to bake and has added some of his own recipes to build a menu of bakery and lunch items that are uniquely delicious.

Check them out! 

Artino's is located at 19005 SE 34th St, Ste 106, in Vancouver.  Their phone number is (360) 213-1010.  You can also visit them online at http://www.artinosbakery.com/.  They are open 7 days a week: Mon-Fri, 5:30a-6:00p; Sat, 7:30a-5:00p; and Sun, 8:30a-4:00p.

Patty & Scott Carroll - RE/MAX Equity Group, Vancouver WA