The Seattle location of Sushi by Scratch, a high-end omakase chain, opened in 2023 to numerous hype. The lighting on the Belltown restaurant was moody; the menu included swanky, shocking components like bone marrow; the Infatuation known as consuming there a “carnival trip of enjoyable fish, enjoyable dialog, and enjoyable environment.”
However there was one thing apparently lacking from Sushi by Scratch: a allow from the well being division that will permit it to serve sushi. By means of an odd set of circumstances nobody observed it — not the diners, not co-owner Phillip Frankland Lee, and particularly not the King County Well being Division — that’s, till January. After a standoff with the Well being Division that lasted two months, Sushi by Scratch is now quickly closed whereas it offers with what Lee calls a “paperwork” problem.
Lee says that Sushi by Scratch got here to occupy the house on Sixth Avenue after an entrepreneur named Jeff Park reached out to him on Instagram and stated he had “a restaurant house in Seattle, WA that was constructed out to be a omakase fashion sushi bar” and hoped Lee can be concerned with increasing to the Seattle market, in response to screenshots reviewed by Eater Seattle. Lee was , and the 2 events started speaking. “A part of the consideration for this deal is that he had all relevant permits, etcetera, for an working restaurant,” Lee says. “So we do a deal, we come out, we open a restaurant.“
As Lee and his workforce subleased the house, they assumed that Park had a allow from the Well being Division. Park appears to have assumed he had a allow as effectively. When the Well being Division approached the restaurant in January after a member of the general public complained it didn’t have a allow and requested for proof it had permission to function, Lee’s workforce requested Park for the allow, in emails reviewed by Eater. Park emailed a PDF of what he stated was the allow. However in reality, Lee says, the doc was simply an approval to get a allow — Park had apparently not taken the ultimate steps crucial to amass one.
Park didn’t reply to questions despatched by Eater Seattle. Lee says that he doesn’t assume Park was appearing in unhealthy religion. “I can’t say whether or not he had unwell intentions or not,” Lee stated in a textual content. “Can’t think about why he would.. He received a liquor license which is WAY more durable and costlier than well being.”
A King County Well being Division spokesperson confirmed this account of occasions, and stated that the allow Park had been searching for wasn’t even for a sushi restaurant within the first place. “Whereas a meals service allow software had been filed with us for a boba tea café at this handle, the allow software was deserted by the applicant previous to completion,” the division rep stated in an e-mail.
The Well being Division knowledgeable Sushi by Scratch in late January that it could must resubmit paperwork with a view to be accepted for a allow, a course of that might take a month or extra. Shedding that a lot income would have been a disaster, Lee says. “We will’t shut for 2 months,” he says. “We’ll simply exit of enterprise.”
So Lee requested the Well being Division officers, what would occur if he stayed open and not using a allow? They stated he couldn’t try this. Based on Lee, the results the restaurant would face can be a $250 a day wonderful. “We made the exhausting resolution to pay 250 bucks a day and keep open,” he says.
That is the place Lee’s account and the Well being Division’s account diverge. Lee says officers had been conscious that he was planning on remaining open and paying the wonderful, whereas the Well being Division spokesperson stated that “we knowledgeable him that this was unlawful and never allowed.”
“There isn’t any ‘choice’ for restaurant homeowners to pay this price so as [to] proceed to function exterior of the legislation,” the spokesperson added. “The price is meant as a deterrent to working illegally. Permitting a meals facility to function unpermitted whereas paying a every day price doesn’t handle the intense meals security threat to the general public.”
Based on the spokesperson, the division didn’t even understand Sushi by Scratch was nonetheless open till Wednesday, February 19. Officers visited the restaurant a number of instances and issued public closure notices on Wednesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 12, writing that not solely did the restaurant lack a allow, it had a “kitchen unsuitable for [the] menu” and an “extreme variety of crucial violations.” Lee describes the repeat visits as “intimidation” and says that he determined to shut with a view to keep away from additional battle with the Well being Division.
Within the e-mail despatched to Eater Seattle, the Well being Division stated that the issue wasn’t merely a case of mishandled paperwork: Sushi by Scratch must set up further sinks with a view to be compliant with rules. The spokesperson added that “the inspector noticed uncooked protein on counters (with out refrigerated counters beneath, which is usually used at sushi eating places) at room temperature. This indicated inadequate refrigeration storage.”
Lee says he had seven fridges, two freezers, and a number of sinks. “I’ve received 12 different eating places in 11 cities,” he says. “We’re working the identical as we do all over the place else.”
Lee maintains that the closure had nothing to do with the protection of his meals. “We’ve by no means gotten anybody sick in three years,” he says. However he’s additionally not in search of a battle with public well being officers. He’ll be assembly with the Well being Division this week and hopes to resolve the state of affairs quickly. “We’ll do no matter they need.”
