Although Seattle has emerged from pandemic lockdowns, the restaurant trade stays on unsure floor. Even at the most effective of instances, working a restaurant is a anxious, low-margin proposition, and today the margins are tighter than ever. Rising meals and labor prices have led to decreased hours at many eating places and bars, and in some instances companies have been compelled to shut due to these challenges. In different instances, restaurant operators could determine that the rewards aren’t definitely worth the effort that they put in and select to maneuver on to different alternatives.
Right here, we monitor and memorialize notable eating places and bars town loses every month, even whereas thrilling new companies seem. New restaurant names will seem as we verify closures. If you already know of a restaurant that has closed, please ship us a tip by emailing seattle@eater.com.
This record goes again so far as December 2023; for older closures, see this publish.
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Could
GREEN LAKE — Chef David Nichols introduced on Could 13 that his James Beard Award-winning farm-to-table restaurant, Eight Row, could be closing at the least quickly whereas he and its employees regroup to discover a new location. The final day of service within the Inexperienced Lake house can be June 30. He and his brother, director of operations Ian Nichols, opened Eight Row in 2019 as “a love letter to the folks and the flavors of the orchard,” and a nod to their upbringing within the lush agricultural lands of Japanese Washington. Together with David’s spouse, Kate, the Nicholses are at the moment within the midst of opening a restaurant in an previous hearth station in Wenatchee, however he solemnly swears that Eight Row will finally sprout anew in one other house. Hey, only a little bit of crop rotation. It’s good for the vegetation.
WEST SEATTLE — Butcher and sandwich store The Swinery closed on the finish of March, after fifteen years in West Seattle’s Admiral Junction. “The economic system has made it unimaginable for us to proceed,” house owners Kim Anne Leveille and Danny Rogers defined to the West Seattle Weblog. The beloved butcher store had its trials and tribulations throughout its a few years and many alternative house owners, together with the dying of co-owner Joey Brewer in 2011. Leveille and Rogers have been former staff who purchased the enterprise in 2018, they usually’re constructing an e-mail record to inform of us about potential future popups — and perhaps even a relocation of The Swinery sometime. Should you’re , write to kimanneleveille@gmail.com.
WHITE CENTER — Full Tilt Ice Cream closed its White Heart store and ceased all ice cream manufacturing on Could 26, following the dying of co-owner/co-founder Justin Cline, 49, again in March. Cline, a charismatic group advocate and a robust voice in help of Black Lives Matter, Palestine, and reproductive rights, handed away following a coronary heart assault. With flavors like ube, Sub Pop (that’s chocolate, espresso, and caramel), and Thai iced tea, Full Tilt was an innovator on the Seattle ice cream map since its debut in 2008, and its punky retailers are identified for being half pinball arcade and half native artwork gallery. Cline’s spouse and co-owner/co-founder, Ann Magyar, says their legacy will stay on on the Columbia Metropolis Full Tilt location, which is owned by buddies Lenore Sharp and Ken Anderson — though ice cream there can be equipped by Snoqualmie Ice Cream going ahead. With its Ballard, Capitol Hill, and College District areas all closed as nicely, Full Tilt is all the way down to only one outpost — allow us to defend and nurture it.
FREMONT — After a staggering 19 years in enterprise, Fremont’s Brouwer’s Cafe introduced its imminent closure on Could 24. Bizarre beer lovers have till June 29 to stomach up. Craft beer was nonetheless discovering its footing in Seattle when Brouwer’s opened in 2005, and the cavernous two-story beer corridor rapidly established itself as a serious participant, due to its legendary beer choice. Finally depend, it boasted 64 faucets and over 400 bottles, from the U.S. and (particularly) overseas, and it had a really huge scotch assortment too. Common supervisor Nat Pellman ascribed the explanations behind the closure to “the rising value of beer, meals, and labor, together with shortages of servers and foot site visitors,” in an announcement to the Seattle Occasions.
PORTAGE BAY — On the south finish of the College Bridge, the neighborhoody Little Market posted an indication on its door final week, saying its remaining day could be Could 26. The idea bodega/deli was initially a part of Cafe Lago, referred to as Little Lago when it opened in 2016, and was later offered and rechristened in 2022. On his bagel weblog, It’s a Shanda, Sean Keeley laments the unhappy information, writing: “Whereas the main target seemed to be on their wood-fired pizzas, breads, and truffles, Little Market rapidly garnered a status for having a number of the finest bagels in Seattle … they obtained excessive reward in Seattle Met, Eater Seattle, and The Infatuation, amongst others.”
April
DOWNTOWN — Puget Sound Enterprise Journal stories that the Second Avenue location of Victor Tavern is now closed, presumably quickly. Ethan Stowell Eating places (ESR), the group that owns Victor Tavern, informed the Enterprise Journal that the gastropub closed on account of “present challenges of working within the downtown core.” The South Lake Union and Edmonds location of Victor Tavern stay open, and the mini-chain plans to open an Eastlake outpost quickly.
LICTON SPRINGS — Mandarin Gate, a divey Chinese language restaurant and karaoke hub, is closing on the finish of April, stories Vanishing Seattle. The beloved North Seattle spot had been open for the reason that ‘80s and at one level did karaoke seven nights every week, in accordance with Vanishing Seattle’s publish, however had ceased karaoke because the pandemic hit, and by no means introduced it again.
BELLTOWN — Seattle Social Cafe and Bar, which changed the longstanding restaurant CJ’s on First Avenue and Cedar Road final yr, has already closed. A tipster informed Eater Seattle that indicators on the property indicated the restaurant had been evicted, and Seattle Social’s web site and social media accounts seem to have been deleted.
INTERBAY — Champagne Diner, a tucked-away gem owned by Bryn Lumsden of Rattling the Climate, is closing on April 7, Lumsden introduced on Instagram. “Thanks for taking an opportunity on our dreamy little diner tucked behind an orthodontist’s workplace someplace between Ballard and Belltown!” the publish learn. The restaurant received excessive reward from the Seattle Occasions in 2019 for its creative, high-quality variations of Americana classics.
March
BALLARD — The Ballard Avenue location of multi-state chain Paxti’s Pizza has closed, stories My Ballard. The pizzeria’s proprietor wished to shut in 2022, in accordance with supervisor Tice Azure, however as a substitute let Azure take over the lease till it expired this yr. Azure says he now needs to open up his personal Chicago-style pizzeria that may serve deep dish and tavern-style pizza alongside beef sandwiches.
FREMONT — Acclaimed seafood restaurant Manolin closed in March, 9 years after making Bon Appetit’s record of finest new eating places. “Closing Manolin will enable our companies to remain sturdy going ahead,” the house owners mentioned in an Instagram publish — additionally they personal Rupee Bar and Outdated Salt bagels, a pandemic spin-off that may proceed to function within the Manolin house in addition to a lately opened Ballard location. Chef Liz Kenyon, a two-time James Beard award semifinalist for her work at Rupee, has left the corporate.
PIONEER SQUARE — The flagship location of Bellevue-based chain MOD Pizza closed this month, stories Puget Sound Enterprise Journal. In keeping with that paper, this location was “bigger than a typical MOD Pizza retailer, giving the Bellevue-based firm a culinary lab for concepts and gear that finally might be launched at different areas.” MOD didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark; we’ll replace this publish if the chain will get again to us.
BALLARD — Lengthy-running Irish bar and music venue Conor Byrne Pub will shut its doorways after March 31, co-owner Diarmuid Cullen mentioned on Instagram. “This trade is altering. Habits are altering. One appears much less inclined to go to an previous dusty pub anymore,” he wrote. Possibly most well-known because the place the place the Head and the Coronary heart fashioned, the bar was one in all a number of well-known music venues on Ballard Avenue. It’s additionally one of many oldest repeatedly operated bars in Seattle — it opened because the Owl Saloon within the early 1900s and altered its identify within the Nineties. UPDATE: It is perhaps coming again as a co-op.
MADISON VALLEY — The Madison location of vegan Thai restaurant Araya’s Place is closing on March 29, the house owners introduced on Instagram. The chainlet nonetheless has areas within the College District, Bellevue, and Los Angeles.
COLUMBIA CITY — The Hummingbird Saloon, a dive-y spot that served Cornish pasties together with pints, closed on March 25 after 11 years. “Like many eating places, we have been considerably impacted by covid, and subsequent costs will increase on, nicely every part,” the proprietor wrote on Instagram. “The quantities coming in haven’t met the quantities going out; so it’s time to name it a day.”
GREENWOOD — After 37 years, Manna Smoked BBQ, a strip-mall barbecue joint positioned the place Holman Highway meets Greenwood Avenue, closed on March 23. In keeping with Vanishing Seattle the unique house owners are retiring, although their son hopes to re-open.
BALLARD — The Ballard location of Cupcake Royale closed for good on March 17, in accordance with an e-mail from the shop. The opposite 4 areas of the ice cream and cupcake chainlet are nonetheless up and working.
CAPITOL HILL — On March 17, Coping Cookies closed completely. The cookie store had its roots in 2020, within the depths of the pandemic lockdown period, when life companions Sam Padilla and Ashley Hernandez baked cookies as a fundraiser for Hernandez’s coworkers at Seattle Youngsters’s Hospital. The duo went on to host pop-ups and opened a brick-and-mortar final yr, however in an Instagram publish saying the closure, they mentioned {that a} mixture of things, together with a delayed opening and costly gear repairs, contributed to their choice to shut.
GEORGETOWN — Lengthy-running pizza joint Flying Squirrel Pizza ceased operations on March 1 and closed its remaining location. The house owners mentioned on Instagram that they “merely haven’t been in a position to make it work financially and have exhausted our sources.” The New York–fashion pizzeria was based in Seward Park and expanded to Maple Leaf and Georgetown; its unique location closed in 2020.
February
MAGNOLIA — Katina’s Kitchen, a traditional Greek diner that had been serving Magnolia for the reason that early ‘70s, has closed. In keeping with Vanishing Seattle, rising hire and the house owners’ want to retire performed a job within the decison
NORTHGATE — The final remaining Seattle location of Patty’s Eggnest, a breakfast mini-chain, closed on February 25. The constructing that this Eggnest occupied was slated for demolition and a mixed-used improvement will take its place, stories King 5. There are nonetheless 5 Eggnests within the larger Seattle space.
BELLEVUE — Blazing Bowl, a restaurant serving scorching pot and Laotian meals out of the Crossroads mall, closed completely on February 25. However all is just not misplaced for Blazing Bowl’s followers — in a follow-up Instagram publish, the restaurant mentioned its chef could be cooking its Lao dishes at Renton’s Taste Lao Bowl.
CAPITOL HILL — Coastal Kitchen started its life as a seafood-focused neighborhood restaurant within the ‘90s and regularly acquired a extra upscale id. It added an oyster bar in 2012, and dropped a lot of the diner-y components of its menu following a 2022 transform. These adjustments have been inadequate to maintain Coastal Kitchen alive, nevertheless, and house owners Dan and Jonathan Tweten, who run Sound Restaurant Household, closed it on the finish of February. The Tweten brothers plan to deal with their different eating places.
CAPITOL HILL — In one other blow to Capitol Hill, Ristorante Machiavelli closed on February 15. The restaurant had a formidable 36-year run, however proprietor Suzette Jarding (who labored at Machiavelli earlier than shopping for it) informed Capitol Hill Seattle Weblog that it needed to shut due partly to staffing shortages and “a really tough negotiation course of” together with her landlords.
SOUTH LAKE UNION — Japanese restaurant Teinei introduced its closure on February 24 in a brief Instagram publish that was gentle on particulars. It referred to “sudden circumstances” that necessitated its closure, and promised to return. Eater Seattle reached out to the proprietor on Instagram and can replace this publish if we hear again.
PIONEER SQUARE — Three months after submitting for chapter, smashburger chainlet Burbs Burgers closed all 5 of its areas in late February. Opened in Pioneer Sq. by longtime restaurateur Josh Henderson throughout the pandemic lockdown period, Burbs expanded rapidly — partly, Henderson informed Eater Seattle, as a result of he was making an attempt to develop capability to be able to repay debt incurred throughout lockdown. That gambit didn’t work and now Henderson, most well-known for founding Skillet, is quickly with none eating places.
January
BALLARD and WEST SEATTLE — The well-known gluten-free bakery Wildflower has closed completely. The house owners closed each of its Seattle areas — in West Seattle and Ballard — in mid-January, and shortly afterward closed the Bellevue location as nicely. Guests to the Wildflower web site at the moment are directed to go to the employee-owned NW Gluten-Free Baking Co., which tells Eater Seattle that it “options all WIldflour merchandise with no plans tomodify the recipes.”
CAPITOL HILL — Beloved Greek restaurant Omega Ouzeri has closed, proprietor Tomas Soukakos introduced on his web site, as a result of he’s “hanging up my apron and transferring to Greece!” Soukakos has been working Greek eating places on the Hill since 1994, when he opened El Greco; that was adopted by Vio’s Cafe in 2004 (each locations have since closed). The final day of service at Omega Ouzeri, which opened in 2015, was January 31.
CROWN HILL — The Holman Highway location of Patty’s Eggnest has closed, stories Vanishing Seattle, after the diner misplaced its lease. Patty’s Eggnest was based by Patty Papadopoulos in Greenwood in 1989 and expanded to areas throughout the Seattle metro space earlier than Papadopoulos offered most of them to the Chin household in 1999. (The unique location was offered to Pete and Voula Sideris, and is now referred to as Pete’s Eggnest.) The Wallingford Patty’s has additionally lately closed and the one in Northgate is slated to shut as nicely, which is the final one inside Seattle metropolis limits. (There are 5 areas exterior Seattle.)
LAURELHURST — The Laurelhurst location of Jak’s Grill closed on January 7, the house owners introduced on Fb, after a 20-year run. The Issaquah and West Seattle areas “aren’t going anyplace,” the house owners added.
December
BALLARD — Mexican restaurant Raiz has quietly closed down someday in December for unknown causes. Eater Seattle reached out to the house owners through their web site to ask what occurred however hasn’t heard again. A brand new restaurant referred to as Ginger and Scallion (from the house owners of close by Secret Congee) has opened as a substitute.
WALLINGFORD — Neighborhood establishment Julia’s closed on December 31 after an obvious battle over the hire with its landlord — unique namesake proprietor Julia Miller. The brunch spot was opened in 1981 by Miller and purchased by Karsten Betd, who labored his manner up from busboy on the restaurant, in 1993. Karsten’s daughter Lauren now owns the restaurant and in accordance with Vanishing Seattle had been making an attempt to purchase the property from Miller for 15 years. “However Miller refused to promote, determined she wished a unique tenant and raised the hire — which compelled Julia’s to shut completely,” the native weblog wrote. Eater Seattle reached out to Julia’s for extra data and can replace this merchandise if we hear again.
RAINIER VALLEY – On December 31, halal pan-Asian restaurant Olympic Specific closed after greater than 35 years, stories Vanishing Seattle. Began in 1987 by Abdulnaser Abdulmalik and Rohimah Ton (and now owned by Al and Suaidy Les), Olympic Specific was a longtime gathering house for Seattle’s Muslim group and members of the Cham ethnic group. In keeping with Vanishing Seattle, the Les household plans to reopen a brand new restaurant within the house.
RAVENNA — JuneBaby, one in all Seattle’s most acclaimed and controversial eating places, closed on December 31. The soul meals restaurant opened in 2017 to rave critiques, however in 2021 the Seattle Occasions ran an investigative story during which 15 ladies accused proprietor Eduardo Jordan of sexual misconduct together with undesirable touching, accusations that the chef largely denied. JuneBaby closed briefly following that story, however returned in 2022. Jordan informed Eater Seattle that the closure was partly on account of labor and meals value difficulties, and partially as a result of he was feeling creatively blocked.
BALLARD — Properly-regarded restaurant WeRo has shut its doorways as of December 30. Proprietor Wes Yoo transformed the restaurant, previously a gastropub referred to as the Gerald, right into a Korean restaurant in 2022 and attracted good critiques. He additionally opened a lunch bowl spot referred to as Bapshim within the house in 2023, incomes an Eater Award, however the restaurant struggled financially and was compelled to shut.
CAPITOL HILL — Blotto, one of the crucial celebrated pizzerias in latest Seattle historical past, closed on December 30. As Eater Seattle reported, the owner was promoting the constructing however the house owners additionally wished to maneuver onto new ventures. “We’ve at all times identified there could be a call level of some type,” mentioned Cal Hoffmann. “Once we came upon the constructing was being offered… it simply made sense that this may be the time that we finish the mission.”
WEDGWOOD — Thirty years after opening, the Wedgwood Ale Home and Cafe has closed, proprietor Kip Caputo mentioned on Fb. Opened in 1992 by Rob Paulson, the neighborhood bar and restaurant was struggling financially when it was offered to Caputo, a longtime worker, in 2021. Caputo wrote that he was “hoping for an eleventh hour hail Mary change of state of affairs, however I need to come to the belief that the Alehouse goes to have to shut on the finish of the month, in all probability the twenty ninth to be actual.” He’s accepting donations for a severance fund for his staff, whom he describes as “household.”
CAPITOL HILL — The Capitol Hill location of wholesome bowl joint Bounty Kitchen closed on December 23. In keeping with Capitol Hill Seattle Weblog, “Bounty Kitchen by no means actually took off on Capitol Hill,” although the unique Queen Anne location is constant operations.
DOWNTOWN — December 23 was the final day of service at Brendan McGill’s Bar Solea. McGill mentioned in a press launch that he hopes that this can be a brief closure and implied the explanation was that downtown foot site visitors and workplace occupancy charges have been too low to help the pizzeria and bar. “We sit up for popping out of hibernation as soon as of us determine to return to the workplace in our a part of downtown Seattle,” he mentioned.
CAPITOL HILL — On December 4, the house owners of pop-up hub Rose Temple Bar posted on Instagram that they’d determined to promote in February to their buddies, who can be renaming it Wash Bar. “If you hear about bars, closing, you at all times consider a relationship that was damaged or one thing that failed,” house owners Ben Smith and Austin Polley wrote. “However we’re actually lucky that we’ve had a lot group help and that we obtained to assist our buddies stay out their dream.” The pair nonetheless owns Donna’s, which opened earlier this yr.
PIKE PLACE — In 2022, Hamid Majdi, a Moroccan immigrant who labored as wine director for Il Bistro, opened a fine-dining restaurant referred to as Shama in Pike Place Market that was an ode to the meals of his homeland. However lower than two years after opening, Shama has closed, Hamid introduced on Fb on December 4. As a substitute is a brand new Portuguese-influenced cocktail bar and restaurant referred to as the Lonely Siren.
CAPITOL HILL — Rancho Bravo, a taco joint throughout the road from Cal Anderson Park that occupied a former KFC, has closed, in accordance with Capitol Hill Seattle Weblog. CHS stories that proprietor Freddy Rivas “had confronted challenges after practically 15 years of enterprise on E Pine and was in a month to month lease lately that was now not penciling out with a menu of $5 tacos on the degree of high quality he wished to take care of.” A brand new proprietor has turned the restaurant right into a Mexican restaurant referred to as Teto’s Cantina. The Rancho Bravo in Wallingford remains to be open.
PIONEER SQUARE — Pioneer Sq. D&E (quick for “drink and eats”), which was identified for having a number of the finest fried rooster on the town, closed on December 2 after 5 years in enterprise. Within the Fb announcement of the closure, proprietor Jonathan Fleming wrote, “In one other 5 years, I ponder what we’ll be saying concerning the pandemic, the staffing challenges, inflation, and all the opposite development alternatives we’ve confronted since opening.”
