Once upon a time, the Canterbury Ale House was famed far and wide — at least on Capitol Hill — for being a dive, a sprawling bar haunted by literal ghosts as well as plenty of living regulars. Soundgarden played there in 1987, long before anyone cared who Soundgarden were. It changed owners in 2014, and they revamped it into a brighter, more family-friendly space that actually served good food, which some regarded as a sign of the Hill’s gentrification. Then it changed owners again, then closed, then in 2023 the space was turned into a stylish, but short-lived restaurant called Meliora, which closed last year.
Now the Canterbury is fading further into the mists of time, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports, as the owners of the mixed-use building the bar used to occupy are splitting the 5,000-square-foot space in twain. That’s a huge footprint by restaurant standards, and landlord Meriwether Partners hopes that the two smaller spaces will be more attractive to commercial tenants. There’s no sense yet of whether one or both of those tenants would be bars or restaurants, but Meriwether is open to the idea.
There’s one leftover bit of Canterbury legacy that might sweeten the deal for prospective tenants, CHS reports: There’s still a single suit of armor kicking around.
Bumbershoot reveals food lineup
Seattle’s most famous musical festival has in recent years leaned into the food, and this year is no exception. New additions to the culinary slate in 2025 include Homer, Mexican Seoul, and Lenox, while returning vendors include Local Tide and Chicken Supply. Basically, if a restaurant has recently been on the Eater 38, there’s a good chance it’ll be at Bumbershoot on Labor Day weekend. For a full rundown of all the musical acts, food, and artists that will be at Bumbershoot, and to buy tickets, go here.
Fair Isle is hosting a fortnight of pop-ups
Ballard’s Fair Isle Brewing has long been one of the city’s premiere pop-up incubators, and the brewery is leaning into that this September, launching a 14-night dinner series called the Chef Sessions. It’ll run from September 15 to September 28 and feature some of the best pop-ups around, from the Cavatelli Project to Seila. (Current kitchen resident La Marea is taking a break during this time.) These dinners will be walk-in only; note that Fair Isle is a 21-plus space. For the full lineup, go here.
The ‘Seattle Times’ names the sandwich of the summer
Finally, the Seattle Times had a fun rundown on the trendy dish du jour, the mortadella sandwich. For the uninitiated, mortadella is bologna’s fancier cousin, and area restaurants have been pairing it with cheese, hot honey, pistachios, and other accoutrements; it’s often served on focaccia, a bread that is a kind of local trend all of its own. Our top pick for a ‘della sandwich, and also one of the Times’ top picks, can be found at Tivoli in Fremont.
