Staff: Beth's Cafe owner tells employees the decades-old diner will close next week

Beth’s Cafe, a decades-old Seattle icon, is going to close again until further notice.

Owner Hazel Dalton said she hopes the decision will help the restaurant stay open in the long term.

“I’m trying to get the cafe to a place where it’s successful,” she said in an interview on Friday. “I’m trying to make the best financial decisions possible so we can carry on for another 50 or 60 years.”

The cafe temporarily closed in October when occupancy limits on restaurants were in place to combat the spread of COVID-19. At the time, the cafe said in a Facebook post that it wasn’t “economically feasible working at 50% occupancy” and would reopen when it was able to operate at 100% capacity. The cafe reopened in July with new hours — pre-pandemic, it had been open 24-hours a day.

Dalton said she decided to close the business a second time because the cafe wasn’t making enough to offset food, labor and expensive reopening costs. In a Facebook post on Friday, the cafe said it hopes to reopen sometime in the next six months, or whenever COVID is “under control.” The cafe’s last day, for now, is Monday.

Dalton will still be making utility and mortgage payments during the closure, and hopes to keep medical insurance coverage for five of her 15 employees for the next two months. She also said she plans to meet with outside consultants for help with financial decisions while the restaurant is closed.

“Even though we’re closing, it’s not like I’ve stopped thinking about finding ways for us to be successful,” she said.

There was confusion Friday morning after a Reddit post appeared online Thursday night saying the restaurant was closing for good.    

“Our new owner has decided to shut us down with just 4 days’ notice,” a user wrote. “If you want to get a last Beth's meal in, please come in this extended weekend and say goodbye to a Seattle institution. We will miss all of you dearly.”

General Manager Janelle Norviel confirmed that the post was made by an employee and said that Dalton told staff Thursday that the cafe was closing permanently. 

Jamie Svenson — the owner of Buzz Online Media who does public relations work for Beth’s Cafe — said the confusion was the result of a miscommunication between Dalton and staff.

Located along Aurora Avenue just north of Green Lake, the cafe first opened in 1954 as nickel slots gambling parlor. It evolved into a now-iconic diner that serves “greasy spoon cuisine” and is famous for its 12-egg omelet, which "Man v. Food" host Adam Richman failed to finish in a 2009 episode of the Travel Channel show.

Dalton and her husband, Chris, acquired the cafe in 2002. They ran it together until Chris passed away in April 2020 after a battle with cancer. Dalton said honoring her late husband is what’s driving her to fight to keep the restaurant open.

“I am not the restaurateur, that was my husband,” she said. “But I’m not going to let Beth’s die on my watch. Not while I’m in control.”