The acclaimed Sea Creatures restaurant group is navigating some uneven waters. On Thursday, June 5, the group, co-owned by famed chef Renee Erickson, introduced in a press launch that beginning June 19, will probably be briefly shuttering the linked eating places Boat Bar and Bateau as “the corporate begins a deliberate reimagining of each eating places.” The Capitol Hill location of its doughnut store chain Normal Porpoise — which shares the house with these two eating places — will shut completely, as will the Laurelhurst Normal Porpoise.
The closure of Bateau and Boat Bar is predicted to final three to 6 months, Sea Creatures mentioned.
“We’re extremely pleased with what Bateau and Boat Bar have delivered to Seattle’s eating scene,” Erickson mentioned within the press launch. “This closure will permit us the time and house to refresh and retool these eating places after a protracted 10 years, to allow them to evolve and proceed to encourage.”
Erickson is extra related to seafood than steak — her Walrus and the Carpenter is one among Seattle’s most well-known oyster bars — however Bateau has been a crucial darling, attracting a variety of consideration (and even a New York Instances profile) for its use of surprising cuts of meat. In 2017, Eater nationwide critic Invoice Addison named it one of many 38 finest eating places in America. Even a short lived closure is a shock.
Based on the Seattle Instances, one drawback is that “working prices have outpaced gross sales for among the model’s eateries,” and Bateau could also be too costly for Capitol Hill presently.
Co-owner Jeremy Worth mentioned in an e mail that a part of the explanation for the closure was that chef de delicacies Taylor Thornhill and common supervisor Jamie Irene occurred to present discover at across the similar time. “After a decade of working collectively and turning into associates, we’re pleased for these people, want them the perfect of luck of their new roles, and may’t wait to go to them of their new restaurant houses,” Worth mentioned. The discharge added that their departure created a “pure transition level” for some “long-considered adjustments.”
These adjustments will embrace the closure of the Capitol Hill Normal Porpoise, which was the corporate’s first doughnut store and which the Instances experiences will probably be transformed into a personal eating room. “We’ll do our greatest to search out positions to displaced Normal Porpoise Capitol Hill employees at our remaining cafés within the Amazon Spheres and Pioneer Sq.,” the press launch mentioned. The Laurelhurst cafe, close to College Village, is being changed by one other tenant, and Sea Creatures mentioned that each one employees members there have positions on the different Normal Porpoises.
