Thanks to CHS reader Doug for the picture and tip!
Something is definitely afoot inside the former home of Charlie’s on Broadway, just not a resurrection of the recently departed restaurant and bar.
Property owner Johnny Limantzakis was tight lipped Monday on the details of the construction going on inside the longtime restaurant space. Though he didn’t specifically rule out the possibility of the Charlie’s name sticking around, he did dispel rumors that the same restaurant was making a comeback after closing in June.
“There will be something good coming out in the next 30 days,” he said.
Limantzakis Properties plans to continue to hold on to its only Capitol Hill asset as the new project gets underway.
On Monday, the windows were covered up on both sides of the building, but workers could be heard banging away inside. We got a peek of some of that work thanks to CHS reader Doug.
Ken Bauer helped open Charlie’s in 1976, taking it over in 2000 after the restaurant’s namesake owner passed away. As the end of the lease agreement approached five years ago, Bauer started looking to sell to no avail. Limantzakis couldn’t find a new tenant, either.
CHS broke the bittersweet news of Bauer’s long-awaited retirement and Charlie’s closing in June.
The large restaurant and bar space sits on a mid-Broadway block that’s poised for plenty of foot traffic when the Capitol Hill light rail station opens down the street in early 2016, not to mention the 418 apartment units, community spaces and new retailers to open in the following years.
There’s something comforting about the woman still riding her bike…
Another “mystery tenant”, another Evan starts hoping it’s an Apple Store so he never has to go to UVillage again.
Given the timeline, it’s unlikely this will be anything but a (probably super great (we hope)) restaurant
Hoping for a late night coffee spot with big tables and lousy wi-fi, myself.
Just go to the mac store on 45th street next to petco. So much more convenient than u village!
pretty sure any new apple store in seattle would go in downtown, amazed there isn’t one
Fingers crossed for Olive Garden! Would fit right in on the new Capitol Hill. They just need to add unlimited gluten-free breadsticks for people without Celiac disease.
If were an Olive Garden, at least the prices would be less than most new places popping up.
Actually I’d welcome Olive Garden over a “tapas”, “bite sized”, “shareable plates”, ect restaurant
Or an IHOP north
You do realize tech people eat at expensive, non-shitty restaurants, right?
If anything, your elitism is exactly the opposite of what you intend; Olive Garden is a restaurant for families and the working- and middle-classes. Capitol Hill hasn’t been that for many, many years.
For all Max knows, nobody who has ever used a computer has ever stepped foot inside Oddfellows.
Hey Che! You do realize that non-tech workers have a sense of humor and don’t take themselves so seriously right?
Chick fil A ?
I heard people talking about this on the bus last night. The rumor they heard is that it’s going to be a new restaurant/bar but still called Charlie’s…
Looks like there isn’t any middle ground between gauche and pretentious in the desires of the hillbillies.
I wonder how many high-end (pretentious?) restaurants need to open and close down before people realize that a) everyone on Capitol Hill isn’t a highly-paid tech worker; and b) even highly-paid tech workers don’t spend big bucks on every meal, and they like cheap restaurants as much as anybody. People can turn their snobby noses up at places like Olive Garden (full disclosure, I’ve actually never eaten at one) but I’d bet anything if one DID open there, it would be packed most of the time. Same goes for the cursed McDonald’s.
One of the biggest problems for Capitol Hill especially the North Broadway end is that weekday lunch just isn’t ever going to be long term viable for a lot of places and that precludes a lot of the types of restaurant that are willing to rent out space.
I’m kind of a snobby snob snobberson and look down on a lot of places (especially Darden owned chains) but no lie, I wish there was a greater variety of fast or convenient food on the hill. We have a burger for every palate (Smith, Dick’s, Freddy Jr’s, etc etc) but an economical fried chicken/fried chicken sandwich place, a shwarma or halal fast food eatery, a competitor to Rancho Bravo in the style of taqueria they are, maybe another walk-in indian place that is on the level of Kastoori Grill down on Stewart down by the market.
I don’t know, i’m just frustrated by the lack of meaningful differing options at times and get huffy when people suggest obviously stupid things like Olive Garden based on some miscalculation of who they imagine lives in the neighborhood. Yuppies have and always will chase ephemeral experiences of sophistication, not ram never ending breadsticks down their gullet because they grew up in the burbs.
Not at $25,000 a month rent there isn’t.
damn it is sad as hell seeing all that stuff being destroyed. I really hope they keep what they can of the vibe. I actually wish they’d split apart the bar and restaurant, have the bar only have alley entry, pool, etc.
Not sure what can come in here that won’t disappoint, but here’s hoping anyway.