Dearly departed: The restaurants Seattle lost in 2021

The delicious joy of Seattle’s incredible new restaurants and best bites comes with a side of the bitter taste left by the closing of beloved restaurants.

The last 12 months brought Seattle a record-setting foot of snow in February (which seems almost hard to remember as people hunker down during the December snows), a record-setting heat wave in June, the wettest fall ever in the city, and — of course — this all happened during a pandemic, including the brutal delta and omicron variants.

Plus, all of that made it increasingly difficult for restaurants to find staff, even when they could safely and comfortably open their doors.

Even the best of restaurateurs struggled this year, and with little change on the horizon, many restaurants made the decision to close their doors. Still, others faced additional challenges slamming their doors shut for them – thanks to landlords, smaller catastrophes, or personal situations.

Before moving on to celebrating the newcomers for next year, it seems only right to take a moment to remember the restaurants that left the city this year and the wonderful food and service they provided through the years.

Tacos y Mariscos Tiburón

Business just got too slow for this Mexican spot in White Center, forcing them to close at the end of August, announced via a tongue-in-cheek hand-lettered, “Grand Closing” sign in the restaurant.

Tim's Tavern

After a year-long temporary closure, this dive bar and music venue reopened for just two months over the summer. Too many canceled shows due to COVID exposures coincided with a landlord’s decision to do something else with the building, shuttering the Greenwood spot, but the owners hope to reopen in a new location in the future.

Dragonfish Café

This pan-Asian bar made a good pre-func (and post-func) spot for downtown events and shows, so it seems likely that the lack of events did them in. The owner moved on to open Baguus Little Asia in Mountlake Terrace.

El Sombrero

Columbia City lost this 16-year-old Mexican restaurant for only one of the best reasons: the owners reached retirement age and plan to relax, travel and enjoy time together. In return, the neighborhood recently gained Jackalope, a Tex-Mex restaurant from the owners of Jack’s BBQ.

The Dane

In April, this all-day café and bar in Crown Hill decided to close up its corner spot without giving a solid reason. By winter, the space was taken over by brewery and cidery combo Pour Decisions.

Remo Borracchini’s Bakery

This beloved Rainier Valley shop baked its last cake bake in March, after 100 years of selling Italian-style sweets to Seattleites. It closely followed the closure of fellow Garlic Gulch remnant, the Oberto Factory.

Pho Hai Yen

The big, bright sign on Rainier near Dearborn dimmed this year when the owner and friendly face serving Vietnamese soups, Judy Nguyen passed away. After doing their best to keep the restaurant open without her for a few months, her children decided to move on and close the doors.

Red Mill Totem House

Ten years after one local chain took over this unique historic spot by the Ballard Locks, the burger shop let the lease run out on the 1939 building, and Pagliacci Pizza picked it up. Pagliacci is working on an extensive remodel, including taking down the main totem pole and is working with MOHAI to relocate it, though preserving some of the smaller carvings in situ.

Pasta Freska

Few restaurants left people as polarized as this quirky South Lake Union spot — everyone either loved or hated chef Mike Horri’s unique menuless format and the personality that drove it. Putting out the affordable, multi-course personalized tasting menus got to be too much and Horri retired in August to travel, spend time with family and teach the occasional cooking class on Zoom. MotherIndia Cuisine took over the space.

Himalayan Sherpa House

Tangletown lost this Nepalese restaurant over the summer to pandemic-related struggles and slowdowns. The space quickly got snapped up by Restaurant Christine and its seasonal Northwest comfort food. However, fans of momo and thukpa take heart: the owners hope to reopen when the outlook improves.

Beth's Cafe

The pandemic took Seattle’s iconic all-night diner on a ride as it opened and closed, but like every ride, it had to end: in September, the current location closed down after more than 65 years. While they still hope to reopen at some point in a new location, nearby bar The Angry Beaver snapped up the remaining Beth’s kitchen staff left in the lurch by the closure.

Sub Shop #9

After nearly 40 years, more than half under the current owners, this little West Seattle sandwich shop strained under the rising costs of the pandemic and decreasing business. Compounded by the fading condition of the building and a landlord that not only refused to make improvements, but also refused to let the shop make improvements, the owners decided to shut down in the fall.

By Tae

In February, chef Sun Hong served his last lunch at the tiny Chophouse Row counter that earned him kudos for the informal, affordable, incredible sushi meals from local and national magazines. Hong left with loose plans to reopen, but no announcements have been made yet.

Vif

After eight years, this much-loved café featuring fantastic snacks and natural wine announced it is closing this week as the Fremont property is slated for redevelopment. The owners will continue on with the shop’s sibling, Petite Soif, in Beacon Hill.

Tup Tim Thai

Nearly every neighborhood in Seattle has that classic Thai restaurant, serving excellent Thai food with little ceremony for decades on end. For Uptown, that spot was Tup Tim Thai, which has spent 33 years in a building on Mercer Street slated to get torn down in January. The owner told the SeattlePI that he hopes to reopen in a new location.

The Lava Lounge (and Mr. Darcy’s and Rabbit Hole)

It’s been twenty years of “facing closure” for this 26-year-old Belltown bar, but until this year the tiki-ish dive bar managed to hold out. New Year’s Eve will be the last stand for the Seattle stalwart, before the contentious building finally gets torn down. Sibling bars suffering the same fate, Mr. Darcy’s and Rabbit Hole already said their goodbyes in November and earlier this month.

Nijo Sushi & Grill

Squirreled away in an alley, on the ground floor of an office building, Nijo was just the type of sweet, quiet place that you could always count on for a good lunch or an open stool at the bar for happy hour. After 17 years in business, it announced in September that it was permanently closed.

Taradise Cafe

This six-year-old White Center spot closed permanently when the family decided not to reopen the restaurant after the death of the owner in July. A new “Latino fusion” restaurant called Que Chevere will open shortly in the space.

Goofy’s Sports Bar

This 48-year-old Crown Hill dive bar shut its doors in November, as the location is slated to become a seven-story apartment building. Recently, it was also home to Tres’ House of Cheesesteaks, which thankfully found new life nearby at Goofy’s sibling bar, the Lamplighter.

Opus Co.

For four years, this Phinney Ridge spot served impressive tasting menus out of a tiny kitchen, but with the lease ending, it was just time to call it quits. One of the chefs quickly snapped up the space for the Filipino flavors of the Chicken Supply Co., which makes a great fit for the small space and the pandemic constraints. 

Little Neon Taco

After a year of pandemic, Monica Dimas’s three-year-old First Hill taco shop just never found its footing in the new reality. However, an October post on Instagram looking for chefs hints at some good news for fans of the spot — an upcoming location in West Seattle.

The Shambles

Maple Leaf’s meaty up of a bar, restaurant and butcher shop announced that without some serious help quickly, they’d be closing up after Christmas this year. Everything announced since then indicated that did not happen and that this would be their final month — until the website announced, somewhat confusingly, that they “hope to reopen on Jan. 5th.”

Luisa's Mexican Grill

This Greenwood favorite, known for its warm tortillas made fresh in the entryway and classic Mexican-American foods shut its doors in October after nearly 30 years due to financial and staffing difficulties caused by the pandemic. A month later, new management (the owner of nearby Patty’s Eggnest) reopened the restaurant with much of the same menu and the addition of barbecue and steak — and a tweaked name: Luisa’s Mexican Steakhouse.

R Place

Capitol Hill’s quintessential gay club lost its home in February. After shuttering for much of the pandemic, the owners announced it would not be reopening in the same location it had been for the last 25 years — or even, it turned out, the same neighborhood it spent 37 years in. R Place’s owner settled on Sodo, where the club will be reincarnated as The Comeback, with a grand opening coming on Feb. 11.