Zylberschtein’s to open kosher sister spot in Seattle’s Seward Park

When Chuck’s Hop Shop announced its third location would open inside the Seward Park location of Third Place Books, the neighborhood’s beer lovers got excited – but the much-loved hop shop also hinted at more to come, saying there would be a “TBD restaurant concept,” too.

Last week, they announced that concept: Muri’s All Day Eats, from Josh Grunig of Zylberschtein’s.

But for some of Seward Park’s longtime residents, the excitement of Grunig bringing his beloved Jewish deli eats from Pinehurst to the south end wasn’t just about bagels closer to home. “Muri’s Seattle will open as a kosher dairy restaurant and parve bakery,” the announcement said.

Seattle has very few certified kosher restaurants, as The Cholent — Seattle’s only Jewish newsletter — covered. “The kosher-keeping community is small, the requirements from the Vaad HaRabbanim of Greater Seattle are strict, and the price of kosher meat would put a pastrami sandwich well into the double-digit price point.”

Muri’s, named after Grunig’s grandmother, plans to avoid the meat issue by offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, with a menu based on the classic New York kosher dairy deli: bagels, challah, bialys, all baked in-house fresh daily, along with tuna melts, lox, whitefish salad, and soup. The evening menu takes some liberty with the concept, adding dishes like carrot fritters with dukkah dipping sauce and Israeli couscous arancini with Aleppo kewpie dip.

“We want to dig deep in the kosher recipes from both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions,” Grunig wrote in his Indiegogo fundraiser for the restaurant, which has already raised almost $18,000 of its $50,000 goal — a good sign for the restaurant making its target opening date of January 2022.