Hyde Restaurant invites its patrons to arrive Jekyll and leave Hyde — and its co-owner might be the perfect example of two dynamic lives co-existing in one busy body.
In one life, Crystal Lowe is one half of the married duo behind the Tim Burton-inspired resto-lounge at 2960 Main Street.
In her other life, she's an in-demand actor, most recently battling displaced dinosaurs and generating reams of code as tech whiz Toby Nance on Primeval: New World, the Canadian spin-off of the groundbreaking British series that concluded its 13-episode run in February.
The non-stop juggling act is second nature for Lowe, 32. "My mom went back to school in her thirties with two small children, was a single mother, got her PhD and is now a professor of 18th century English literature," said Lowe during a recent interview at Hyde. "[Watching] her, I was like, 'Oh, I can do anything,' and that's what's been instilled in me since I was little. I don't have a lot of fear."
Lowe was only 15 when she booked her first acting gig (a guest appearance on Stargate SG-1), and since then she's appeared in an array of roles on screens big (Snakes on a Plane, Insomnia) and small (Smallville, Supernatural) while also strutting her stuff as a model. Along the way, Lowe has helmed a number of profitable businesses, including a promotional modeling company, a burlesque troupe, and an event-planning firm.
But Lowe has found something enduring in Hyde, which opened its doors shortly before she won the role of Toby in the Vancouver-shot sci-fi series.
Hyde specializes in scratch-made, organic spins on comfort food such as poutine, burgers, and pizza. The drink menu was designed by Jackson Berlin (formerly of West). Lowes favourite beverage? The Gin Gin Mule, a refreshing concoction of gin, mint, lime, and ginger beer. Her love of Lewis Carroll can be seen in the menu headings: Eat Me; Share Me; Drink Me.
She's also made fun a priority. Hyde's weekly calendar includes live music and burlesque-flavoured This Aint Yo Mommas Bingo nights; the venue has hosted live art shows, wrap parties, and indie film shoots. "I wanted to have a little house where people could come and be artists. Sit around, have a couple shots of Jack, and sing Johnny Cash with the band. It's a blast."
Hyde occupies the space that once housed Zigz Urban Bistro, until Zigz's owners put the business on the market and Lowe and her husband, Miko Tomasevich, snapped it up. "We actually had people come up to us and say, 'You're just Kitsilano people coming in here, taking over our place, how dare you,'" said Lowe. "We really had to convince people that we weren't here to take over and change [the neighbourhood]. The support now that they've gotten to know us is totally different. Regulars who used to come here [when it was Zigz] have now become our regulars, which is nice."
Somewhere between owning a busy restaurant and acting, Lowe is finding time to wade — or dive headfirst — into producing. Currently, Lowe and fellow Vancouver actor Sandy Sidhu are co-producing the directorial debut of a third Vancouver actor, Agam Darshi. "It felt very natural to be behind the camera, which was weird," says Lowe. "I usually like to be in front of the camera."
Now in post-production, the short film (about the tormented psyche of an aging starlet) will eventually premiere on Bravo.
Many people might shy away from a workload as jam-packed as Lowe's, but she wouldn't have it any other way. "[Will Smith] said that if he were on a treadmill with another guy, he would die rather than be the first to get off of that treadmill," said Lowe. "That's how I live, too."
