So I read a post recently about us that speculated about our name and a connection to the Twilight series books and movies. I figure it’s about time to formalize a response to this question.

No, we didn’t name the restaurant after the Twilight book and movie series (although we’d happily host a party for the cast here). In fact, at the time of our naming, we didn’t even know the books existed. Nevertheless, we are indelibly connected to them now due to an odd serendipity of the release of the books and movies and our opening.

The real reason we named the restaurant Twilight is not nearly as compelling. We were trying to come up with a name for the restaurant, and our first few name picks were Flying Pig Pizzeria (I have a thing for flying pigs, as you can see in spots in the restaurant) and BrewHaHa (because we wanted to craft our own beer and have live comedy). We decided Flying Pig was too close in name to Flying Pie in Portland, and we decided BrewHaHa was something we weren’t really prepared to take on quite yet–we figured being new restaurateurs, it was better to concentrate our efforts on the food and managing the business, as we knew we’d have our hands full with just those things.

So we had no name. Nada. Nothing. We decided to do a little brainstorming session to help our creativity and focus in on what we wanted our name to reflect. We envisioned a warm and inviting atmosphere where people felt comfortable. We envisioned a space reflective of that time of day between day and night, when the sun begins to set and sends that warm glow over everything its rays touch. That’s what we wanted to make people feel. Thus, Twilight. No vampires. No werewolves. Just a warm ambiance where you can enjoy good beer and pizza.

We do, however, have a ghost. Henry, as we’ve monikered him, seems to think he’s our caretaker. He makes lights burn out over problem areas/equipment, and he occasionally makes his presence known by sending wine glasses across the server alley in a projectile of quickly broken glass (usually if something else is amiss, and it’s our job to figure out what that is). Henry is very, very protective of us. And we like that, so we welcome his presence. Yeah, right, you may be saying, as most of our new employees do, until Henry introduces himself, sometimes in a not-so-subtle manner. You don’t have to believe it. It’s okay. But it makes him none less real.

I hope this lessens the mysticism and answers everyone’s questions regarding the birth of our name. Henry seems to like it, and that’s okay with me. Cheers, buddy. (And please stop breaking my wine glasses.)