Sink or Swim co-owners Andrew Felix and Bryan McCarrick. Sink or Swim BY MER NORWOOD T he mantra “sink or swim” is the perfect way to describe Andrew Felix and Bryan McCarrick’s journey from bartenders to Cubano slingers. The co-founders of pop-up restaurant Sink or Swim met in the food and beverage industry, first at the Four Seasons Resort. They related over working-class back- grounds and opposite but balancing personalities. Next, they both moved to Century Grand, an award-winning cocktail bar on Indian School Road. “Andrew decided to pitch Jason Asher, owner of Century Grand, on a food cart idea we had been working on,” McCarrick says. “They handed us the green light and we took over the Century Grand parking lot.” The duo started serving food from a tent on Fridays and Saturdays. Starting their new business was a stressful and delicate balance as they were both still bartending. Eventually, all food plans were discon- tinued due to the pandemic, and the two had to regroup. After getting a taste of entrepreneur- ship, they wanted more so Felix and McCarrick forged ahead and partnered with the owners of The Wandering Tortoise, a beer bar nearby. They set up shop in yet another parking lot, and the pace started to pick up quickly. Sink or Swim became not only the name for the concept, but a mantra for the business. “Andrew sold his truck used for land- scaping during COVID,” McCarrick says, “And then I cashed out my 401K. It’s just evolved into something that we didn’t expect. We’ve always wanted to do cool stuff, but the service community has really embraced us. Sink or Swim is here to be a part of it. 32 Serving late-night eats, Sink or Swim’s core demographic is bar food for those in the service industry, and anyone who wants a Mer Norwood How two friends turned a pandemic pop-up into a shipping container restaurant. midnight snack on weekends. “After COVID, everyone that had passion stayed [in the industry] and everyone that treated it like a job, left. It cleared the house. The community is growing so much and it just keeps getting bigger and closer,” Felix says. The menu for Sink or Swim draws inspiration from the duo’s dining experi- ences, whether that be bartending, working with quality ingredients at fine dining restaurants, or cooking and eating at family gatherings. The Phoenix Cubano sources local ingredients, with Swiss and ham from Schreiner’s, pretzel buns from Nice Buns Bakery, and pickles from Infamous Pickles. With pork marinated with herbs for seven hours and topped with Japanese mayo, the sandwich is equal parts carbs and meaty juiciness. The Adobo Chicken Rice Bowl is a Filipino-inspired rice dish, and Felix describes it jovially, “as if adobo and teri- yaki had a baby.” The heat comes from Calabrian chile, a chile from Southern Italy, which has a tangy, spicy flavor. “We’re kind of all over all the place, but it’s also allowed us to be whatever we want. If you’re a taco truck, that’s all you can do,” McCarrick says. “We do rice bowls, we do Cuban sandwiches. When you look at it through the lens of what people want to eat in the service industry, I think this is our M.O.” Another aspect that differentiates Sink or Swim from its taco-selling counter- parts is the lack of a truck. What started out as a part-time gig at the Wandering Tortoise turned into a full-time opportu- nity and the duo needed a permanent solution. “We didn’t need the truck part of [a food truck]. We didn’t need to take it anywhere. And so Andrew said, ‘Why don’t we do a shipping container?’” McCarrick says. If you see a shipping container with a shark on it wafting delicious food >> p 34 JUNE 23RD– JUNE 29TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
