This is a curated list of Seattle’s most notable and permanent restaurant and bar closures. See a closing we missed? Then drop us a line.
CAPITOL HILL — Acclaimed Vietnamese-influenced restaurant Stateside and its sibling bar Foreign National both abruptly closed at the beginning of the month, after a decade in business. Owner Eric Johnson was fairly tight-lipped about what happened, giving no reasons in extremely short Instagram posts, but told Eater Seattle that the end of Stateside’s lease was what prompted the closure.
CAPITOL HILL — Another particularly notable closure announcement came from Mamnoon, the flatbread-centric Middle Eastern restaurant that has become a cornerstone of the dining scene. It will close on September 14; co-owner Wassef Haroun told Eater Seattle broader economic factors (like Seattle’s recent slow growth) made the restaurant unsustainable. Haroun’s restaurant group, Mama, still operates Mbar and Mamnoon Street and it is making selling prepared foods in grocery stores a larger part of its business.
ROOSEVELT — “Geeky third place” Distant Worlds Coffeehouse, which appealed to the overlapping sci-fi/fantasy/board game community, is closing at the end of the month. In a goodbye message, owner Rebecca SerVoss wrote, “You have sent us love and let us be part of your joys. We have been co-conspirators and celebrants and friends. But the sad reality is that we’ve been unable to negotiate a sustainable lease with the landlord. We tried.”
BALLARD — Sad news from Bickerson’s Brewhouse, courtesy of MyBallard: The brewery is closing its Ballard location on August 29 because co-owner Shaunn Siekawitch has been diagnosed with “advanced-stage cancer. ”We cannot continue to run two locations and make sure Shaunn has the attention to care she needs,” the owners wrote in an announcement. Bickerson’s Renton location will remain open.
BELLEVUE — Just months after opening, SuperKim Khao Man Gai has shut down its restaurant in the Bellevue Towers development, reports Puget Sound Business Journal. This was originally the second location of SuperKim Crab House, but in May it became a chicken and rice–focused concept. “The company cited issues around the property’s infrastructure, particularly its all-electric kitchen configuration, as a reason for both closures,” the Journal writes. Electric kitchens produce lower carbon emissions that gas ones, but, as the Journal notes, restaurants believe electric stoves are slower and harder to use. The Pioneer Square SuperKim space will now incorporate the Bellevue concept, now called SuperKim Chicken House.
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — Acclaimed seafood restaurant Seabird is closing on September 28. Though it only opened in 2022, it made a big splash, netting a number of awards and accolades from local and national media for its inventive dishes and creative use of seaweed. Owner Brendan McGill — who operates several area restaurants under the Hitchcock Restaurant Group umbrella — told the Seattle Times that the restaurant was no longer viable during the slow, rainy winter months, when Bainbridge gets fewer visitors. He plans to open another restaurant in the space at some point.
