(Image: CHS)

That didn’t take long. Tuesday night, as CHS broke the news that Capitol Hill’s Kingfish Cafe was abruptly closing this month after 18 years at 19th and Mercer, we told you the Coaston sisters had an idea for something new but weren’t quite ready to reveal their plans. Wednesday night, Laurie and Leslie Coaston told KING TV that they plan to open up a small chain of takeout joints in neighborhoods across Seattle:

“We’re going to be opening small to-go places,” said Laurie. “We hope to open about five or so in the city.” A series of Kingfish Cafe’s are planned for neighborhoods around Seattle, though no formal plans were discussed. By opening several smaller establishments, the owners said a variety of costs will go down. Meanwhile, the food will stay the same.

As we reported, the sisters say the planned January 25th closure of the original Kingfish is a happy occasion for them and not a matter of a financial issue forcing them out of business. But the Coastons did tell KING the decision to change formats came because of the rising cost of rent and doing business at 19th and Mercer.

In the meantime, we’re told the building’s owner is seeking a new tenant for the space.

UPDATE: Kingfish has announced an update for its hours of business on its final weekend at 19th and Mercer:

Please note the hours for our last days of operation;
Thurs January 22, dinner 5 pm until 9 30 pm
Fri January 23, dinner (only) 5 pm until 10 30 pm
Sat January 24th brunch 10 am until 2 pm
Sat January 24th dinner 5 pm until 10 30pm
Sun January 25 dinner (only) 4 pm until 9 30 pm
No reservatios and expect longer than usual waits.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you.

You can watch the KING report, below.