Hardy in 2012 (Image: CHS)
The Capitol Hill food and drink economy remains hot — here’s a look at more than 20 new joints planning to open in 2016 — but it was a more unique opportunity that brought a local group of savvy restaurant investors to 15th Ave E to add a longtime part of the neighborhood to their portfolio.
Coastal Kitchen is now part of the South Sound Restaurant Group, a family-run company that holds a small set of neighborhood-focused restaurants with one key unique attribute: they also own the building.
“They’re all kind of icons, kind of neighborhood joints,” Jonathan Tweten tells CHS of the group of restaurants the Coastal Kitchen will now be part of.
Tweten tells CHS his family’s company acquired the 1924-built building the restaurant has called home for more than 20 years and the “line for brunch”-powered Coastal Kitchen from owners Jeremy Hardy and Tia Holt Hardy last month for an undisclosed amount.
Via email, Jeremy Hardy explained his decision to sell after a quarter century on 15th Ave E :
It was a very difficult decision after 24 years…I will miss my friends (employees and customers) dearly some of whom I’ve known for well over 20 years. Coastal Kitchen has been my home and muse for quite a while but it is time to try something a bit different. I will always love Coastal Kitchen and its people and wish them well as they move towards their centennial menu this spring. I cannot be more appreciative of the community on 15th Ave E and beyond for the love and support over the decades.
General manager Stephanie Anderson and chef Gabriel Horst remain to captain the ship and keep Coastal doing its thing, Hardy said. The sale allows the Hardys to move forward with an expansion of Mt. Baker’s Mioposto. “We are planning on opening a new Mio this fall and to continue from there…this way we can focus on that project and do it well,” Hardy writes.
Coastal was born in the early ’90s as part of a partnership that eventually broke up in the late 2000s. In 2012, CHS wrote on Hardy’s overhaul of the Coastal Kitchen with a new shell bar and a more open kitchen to keep up with changes on 15th Ave E. “Part of the Coastal experience is hanging out with friends while you wait,” Hardy said.
For Tweten and the South Sound Restaurant Group, the hope is to keep Coastal exactly what it is and aren’t looking to bring changes and “efficiencies” across their restaurants from Tacoma to Seattle. “You can only do that so much before it feels like a corporation,” Tweten said. The area resident says he’s happy to be part of a great restaurant near his home neighborhood — he said he’s also a frequent CHS reader so can’t be that bad, no?
Capitol Hill food+drink notes
- 20+ Capitol Hill bars and restaurants to look forward to in 2016
- CHS Year in Review 2015 | Capitol Hill’s food and drink booms again
- Another takeover on the Hill hasn’t gone as smoothly. Bleu Bistro Grotto on E Olive Way has been closed for weeks with a note in the window about a family emergency. In the meantime, a new project lined up for the darkened Bleu has pulled out of the plan and the space remains quiet, for now.
- Another E Olive Way space just downhill also remains quiet after Zhu Dang’s 2015 exit.
- When we posted our goodbye to the lovely upstairs at E Pike’s Caffe Vita, we turned up some interesting insights on the coffee company’s growth. From hospitality consultant Scott Carsberg who is now working with Vita:
I am part of the Caffe Vita family, the amount of energy, passion and vision that Mike & Liz McConnell have contributed to the Capitol Hill neighborhood is beyond reproach. Caffe Vita has set a standard of community service with countless contributions to “local” charitable organizations, farm-direct relationships across the planet, as well as employing hundreds of people should be respected and acknowledged. Our Capitol Hill location is our national headquarters and home. Rather than move our offices offsite we decided to stay home. - Upper Bar Ferd’nand is now open in Chophouse Row.
- Peloton cafe, bar, bike shop now open on E Jeff.
- Happy 2nd birthday, Chuck’s CD.
- Former Elysian brewer now doing his own thing with Cloudburst Brewing.
- Julia’s in 2016: Julia’s sign is coming down. Le Faux Theater sign is going up.
- One-time Hill haunt Cassis has shuttered in West Seattle.
- The Mamnoon folks are all in on South Lake Union. Now, come plans for juice bar Anar,
- Favorite dishes of 2015? Hot Island Pizza from Windy City Pie, Tagliatelle with Abalone, Lemon Brown Butter, Sungold Tomatoes, and Shaved Bottarga at Lark, Braised Sunflowers at Cafe Barjot.
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Hoping they will shake things up a little bit and reinvigorate Coastal’s dinner menu. I feel they have lost their way a bit over the last few years, and I rarely go their for dinner anymore. Too bad as it has been a neighborhood staple for me since it opened.