In a former life, three new eateries in the Bay Area were a German deli, a French restaurant complete with white-shirted waiters and a European-style cafe.

Their new counterparts are as different as they can be.

Porta, which took over the old German deli site, is an upscale Italian restaurant. Ciccarelli’s is now in the old Cafe 2000 building a few doors down from Little Theatre on the Bay. And Buffalo Bill’s Steak House is in the old Euro’s location between Benetti’s and Sumin’s along restaurant row in downtown Coos Bay.

Porta

Chef Alex Bourgidu, 31, was coaxed into opening his own restaurant in North Bend by his wife, Kaisa, who grew up and attended high school here.

“It took a couple years,” he said. “There was a little resistance. I grew up in the city.”

Bourgidu, who was born in Athens, Greece, has recently plied his trade in Seattle (The Asteroid Cafe). His latest stop was as the executive chef at Portland’s high-profile Italian restaurant Genoa.

He now brings his culinary creativity to North Bend.

This past weekend marked the one-month anniversary of Porta’s doors opening after seven months of converting the old deli building into his dream.

“We always talked about coming here,” the chef said. “Things just didn’t work out.”

A trip to the Bay Area around this time last year set the plan in motion.

“I liked working at Genoa, but the (Portland) market was so saturated,” Bourgidu said. “If you’re going to open a restaurant and make some impact, Portland already has a lot of restaurants.

“We wanted to give the food and the experience to some place that didn’t have something like it.”

Bourgidu follows a “slow food” philosophy, a movement which began in 1986, with the idea of combating fast food by connecting the community to its food; thus, using local and regional products as much as possible so people know where their food is coming from.

“You buy things from your community,” he said. “It’s getting away from mass producers and genetically modified foods.”

Bourgidu makes everything in the restaurant from scratch. He makes his own pasta, creates his own sauces and makes his own desserts.

And he goes out of his way to bring in quality ingredients.

“I don’t make the olive oil,” he said. “But I do buy the best stuff I can get my hands on.”

He gets his handcrafted cured meats for his Salumi Plate from Armandino Batali, the father of famed Iron Chef Mario Batali.

“People work hard,” Bourgidu said. “You want them to walk away feeling great.”

He said he was glad that Porta opened after the tourist season.

“The locals don’t have to fight the tourists to get in,” he said. “This is their restaurant.”

Even local chefs are noticing.

“We probably go there once a week,” one chef said. “People might not realize he’s going to a lot of trouble to bring in superior products.”

Another prominent chef said, “It’s probably the best meal — along with Bandon Dunes — that you’ll get between Portland and San Francisco.”

The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday between 5 and 10 p.m.

“It’s been fun to bring some of these dishes I’ve had on my mind for a while,” Bourgidu said. “It’s nice seeing people’s reactions. Everyone here has been very supportive. That’s been wonderful.”

Ciccarelli’s

At 25, Ian Ciccarelli is one of the area’s youngest restaurateurs. After working for three years for Chef Christophe Baudry at Cafe 2000, Ciccarelli bought the restaurant.

Ciccarelli has begun a slow transformation of the restaurant he took over in June.

“I’ve always wanted a restaurant,” Ciccarelli said. “I’d always talked about a pizza place or a steak house.”

The Myrtle Point High School graduate went on to earn a marketing degree at Concordia University in Portland before returning to the Bay Area.

“I married my high school sweetheart from Myrtle Point,” Ciccarelli said. “And she wanted to come back.”

While owning his own restaurant was a goal, Ciccarelli didn’t know the opportunity would present itself so fast.

“I worked here when it was Cafe 2000 for three years,” he said. “I got back in the kitchen as much as possible. He taught me everything I needed to know. ... He knew I had the drive and passion. I wanted to learn from him as much as possible.”

Then his opportunity came.

“It was a mix of building a relationship with Christophe and luck,” Ciccarelli said. “He asked one day, ‘Are you ready for a restaurant?’ It knocked me on my butt.”

But, he jumped at the chance.

The formal white-shirted waiters are a thing of the past, though. He’s also added to the menu, going from all French, to what he’s calling northwest cuisine with an international flair.

The changes have been slow, on purpose.

“I didn’t want to shock the loyal clientele,” Ciccarelli said. “I kept a lot of stuff very similar. Now, I’m changing some stuff.”

Among the changes, according to the chef, are lower prices and larger portions along with a less formal atmosphere. He’s blended the best of the former menu along with new dishes like Scampi Provencal and a Southwest Surf and Turf.

“That’s what people are looking for,” he said. “That and keep with Christophe’s high quality. I cut my own steaks. All the desserts are made here and I make and bake my own bread.”

So far, so good.

“People come in and leave happy,” he said. “My first year goal was to maintain clientele. As I got going, I want more. That’s why I’m making the changes. I want to be busier, that’s why I keep pushing.”

Buffalo Bill’s

If you’re going to Buffalo Bill’s for a late lunch or dinner, don’t forget your appetite. You’re going to need it.

Damon Fischbach owns the eatery, which opened in late August on restaurant row in downtown Coos Bay. After opening as a partnership, he is now the sole proprietor.

Imagine, if you owned a restaurant called Buffalo Bill’s, what the interior might look like. You’re probably pretty close.

There’s rough-sawn wood and a hide on the wall, along with several antique shotguns and hurricane lanterns and well as many other antiques.

The atmosphere continues when you sit down. Water and drinks like ice tea are served in Ball jars.

There’s a glass-sided fire pit just inside the front door to take the chill off a cool autumn night. They also have a full bar and sports playing on the TV overhead.

The menu offers choices of steaks and chicken either a la carte or in its “chuck wagon meal,” which includes soup and salad and choice of potato and vegetables.

I’m no small eater, but an appetizer of zucchini sticks and the 16-ounce top sirloin chuck wagon meal was way more than a match for me. I opted for the to-go box for the rest of my steak.

The fillet mignon comes in a 12-ounce meal, the rest of the steaks come in a plate-filling 16-ounce variety.

The burgers are just as enormous — 3/4-pound, with all the fixings. They even come in buffalo (my wife’s choice) and elk. Half of my wife’s burger went home with us as well.

For a unique experience and portions that are out of this world, this is the place.