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Capitol Hill’s World of Beers now chain-free 500 East

The signs are coming down at World of Beers. But the exit of the national beer chain won’t mean the end of the party for the E Pine venue with 50 rotating drafts, 8 display coolers for more than 500 bottles, “tavern fare,” and a “full spirits program created by Outback Steakhouse spawn.

Employees at the location tell CHS the World of Beer Capitol Hill general manager Jamie Goldstein has been working on a plan to take the 2,600 square-foot beer bar legit and shuffle off its chain coil that tied the business to the 45-location, 14-state company. The new venture will be locally owned and will reportedly have no connection to World of Beer which continues to operate its Renton location. One employee reached by phone Friday said to expect an improved focus on local beers, a new food menu, and a new name.

Welcome, 500 East.

World of Beers opened on Capitol Hill just a little more than year ago in E Pine’s Terravita building, the long-delayed Murray Franklyn development that replaced a now legendary strip of old Pike/Pine nightlife, funk and culture. It joins a long, proud roster of national and global chains that have made abrupt exits after trying to make a go of it on Capitol Hill.

You can learn more at 500eastsocialhouse.com.

Meanwhile, another chain shuffle is going on up on Broadway where Capitol Hill’s Yogurtland has served up its last sticky sweet soft-serve after opening in spring 2011. Like the World of Beers situation, the business is transitioning to a local owner, CHS is told by the building’s landlord. But in the froyo case, the owner will be working with a Texas-based franchise to transition Broadway’s Yogurtland into Spoon It! Froyo & More. The new business will switch up the offerings and add items like bubble tea. As for froyo downtime, you shouldn’t suffer much. The transition will be “seamless,” CHS is told.

This entry was posted in Food & Drink, News, etc. by Sumedha Majumdar. Bookmark the permalink.

About Sumedha Majumdar

I am an aspiring journalist. I am currently a Journalism major attending school in Seattle University. I am graduating in the Spring. Writing and photography is a hobby and I want to turn them into a lifestyle. I am originally from India and I moved to Seattle back in 2004. My full-time job is in Safeway and I have been there for over ten years. I have always wanted to go into Journalism and have worked in a couple of school newspapers in the past. I have always wanted to cover serious issues and arts and entertainment. I am so looking forward to my internship in CHS and I know that I will be able to learn a lot.
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Ryan on Summit
Ryan on Summit
9 years ago

Creative name. I’m sure that was a long meeting.

dc
dc
9 years ago

Interesting. I wonder if it’s truly independent, or sort of a crypto-WoB the way Roy St Coffee + Tea is a crypto-Starbucks?

Either way, it’s good to see World of Beers go.

SS
SS
9 years ago

With a number of offerings that high it might have been more fun to call it “Take One Down”.

Mark
Mark
9 years ago

I’m glad it’s becoming local. With so many local options, I avoided going there since it opened. On top of this, I saw a sign for Stout in the new Sunset Electric building. Since the sign said “Stout Pubs,” I assumed it was also a chain, but was happy to find that it too will be local. Added to Hopvine, Stumbling Monk, Chuck’s CD, and Pine Box, there may soon be as much beer on Capitol Hill as coffee. I hope smaller pubs (particularly Hopvine and Stumbling Monk) due to the large beer bars opening up.

matt
matt
9 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Local always tastes better. At least for beer. Kale… not so much.

Adam
Adam
9 years ago

Yogurtland closing? that totally sucks. It’s far and away the best of the froyo chains. Sad day. :(

Tobin
Tobin
9 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Definitely. My girlfriend and I actually went down there last night around 10:00pm to get some. Very disappointed to see it closed. Hopefully the new place will be a decent replacement.

george
george
9 years ago

great news. that place bummed me out just looking inside of it…

RealityBites
RealityBites
9 years ago

I predicted no one here would patronizw WOB enough for it to stay in business. Thank you Capitol Hill for proving this right. Maybe it will scare other crappy ass chain places from moving in. We can only hope.

Haj
Haj
9 years ago

Fascinating. No matter what it becomes, the long and short is that Captiol Hill, and Seattle in general, does not explore and support its own, local business environs.

Matt
Matt
9 years ago

Hey, I’m one of the owners of 500EAST, these comments are interesting. FYI, we’re not some big corporation, just a couple guys w families, jobs and mortgages, who love having fun and decided to make a go at it professionally. We’re incredibly thankful to have been able to retain the great staff, especially the leadership team Jamie & Zach, and the chefs Jay & Dave. We’re cooking from scratch, sourcing as much as we can locally and really looking forward to making this place into what Cap Hill deserves. So come over, check us out and tell us what you think. Reference this post in Jan and I’ll set you up with a beverage for a penny (liquor law says I can’t give it away) as a way of saying hello and thanks!

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[…] of Beers is no longer part of a chain and is now called 500 […]

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[…] kind to concepts or chains — large and small — involving multiple locations. The recent reboot of World of Beers is one example. The implosion of Varro on 12th Ave represents maybe the most […]

Mykal
Mykal
9 years ago

Spoon It! Froyo & More – Seamless transition. It’s empty and now homeless people are living in the doorway.

Mykal
Mykal
9 years ago
Reply to  Mykal

But then again, maybe they are first in line.

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