Two Langley women who met while working in the local Fort Langley restaurant industry are releasing a web series called Bistro Eighty-Six, which premieres on YouTube on Monday, April 8.
The series was created by Alyssa Tavares and Stephanie Ross who co-created a production company in 2018 called Leftover Productions.
“I was just finishing up my waitressing career. We both kind of were wanting to do something in the industry but it’s very difficult to get cast roles that you want, so we decided to sit down and create something,” explained Ross.
Bistro Eighty-Six is a mockumentary-style comedy series that follows the story of an unskilled and politically incorrect manager named Angie – who is played by Ross – and her staff. The series takes place in a bistro and the manager must adjust to a position she isn’t ready for, while being threatened by a new restaurant that’s going in next door.
Tavares also takes a role on screen, playing the character of Morgan, one of the bistro’s staff.
The creative duo don’t have an extensive history of creating web series, as this is their first one, although Ross has a theatre diploma, and Tavares is a professional dancer.
“It was a lot more work than we anticipated, but we ended up doing it all ourselves. We enjoyed the acting, and writing. It was mostly the editing that took a long time,” added Tavares.
Altogether, the project took one year and two months, and was funded by Tavares and Ross who purchased their own gear, and fundraised to cover some costs.
“We had a really fun experience,” said Ross, adding they will most likely do a second season.
“We really learned all the skills we needed to learn, and fine tuned the things we wanted to change.”
Tavares calls the partnership a “dynamic duo,” as they each bring different skills to the table.
The series is also filmed locally in Langley, and received it’s name from a restaurant-industry term.
“86 in the restaurant industry means that you’re out of something. So when you’re out of soup or something, you say ’86 soup.’ [For the series] we thought ‘man, they’re out of everything. They’re out of common sense, they’re out of common courtesies,” explained Ross.
In total, the series features 22 roles, and a production crew of eight people.
Episodes are set to come out once a week on Mondays at 6 p.m., beginning on April 8.
