KP’s Soft Shell Crab Burger (Image: Money Frog)
Sometimes new living arrangements just don’t work out.
Only weeks after its grand opening on the relatively sleepy 19th Ave E, new Capitol Hill restaurant Money Frog was looking for a new pad.
Now, after about seven weeks of business in the space longtime favorite Vios called home for 17 years, it has shut down and is preparing for a move closer to the core of Capitol Hill.
Ownership hasn’t officially announced the new location while the deal is being finalized but license applications show Money Frog is on the move to the corner of 15th and Pine. The location has been home to the Remedium Grill restaurant which had been hosting this Alice in Wonderland-themed “immersive cocktail experience” over the winter to help make ends meet through the ongoing pandemic challenges.
One owner who spoke with CHS said the decision for the abrupt zig zag came with the realization 19th Ave E just wasn’t the right neighborhood for Money Frog’s pan-Asian restaurant and bar aspirations even with a push of weekend brunch to try to entice more neighbors.
CHS reported here on the mid-April grand opening of the project from Joe and Lucy Ye of Hangry Panda in Greenwood and Khampaeng “KP” Panyathong of Taurus Ox on E Madison.
Its arrival was not give the warmest reception on 19th Ave E — an area amid some of the most expensive homes on Capitol Hill and the city — with a few neighbor complaints expressing concern about a “drinking establishment” in the neighborhood holding up some of the buildout of the new restaurant. Money Frog says that Thomas and Rebecca Soukakos of Vios helped act as guides and allies to help the buyers of the Vios space through the process and get the needed city permits secured despite the pushback.
Money Frog ownership says the decision to move wasn’t based on the permit issues but said there are hopes its concept will do better in a more central location.
15th and Pine will put Money Frog at the top of Pike/Pine near new neighbors like Plenty of Clouds, Travis Post and Lisa Zack’s Sichuan concept that opened in 2018 at the corner, and Brandon Barnato’s pizza and salumi rich Bar Cotto. The stretch has also been lined up for a new project at 15th and Madison where Sakana Sushi has been making plans.
They Money Frog team, meanwhile, will not be leaving 19th Ave E completely, making plans for something new to keep the space in motion including a possible “express version of Hangry Panda” in the future.
The new new home for Money Frog at 15th and Pine is expected to be open before the end of the month. Keep track of updates at moneyfrogseattle.com.
UPDATE: The ownership at Remedium confirms the deal and has its own big plans — of a different flavor.
(Image: Remedium)
“I plan on getting engaged and married, and finally raise a family,” Sean Sheffer tells CHS.
“In all our years in the restaurant and hospitality business, over a decade, suffering through CoVid, wanting to make a name for ourselves and bring Pacific Islander Cuisine, Guamanian cuisine, Kamayan Feasts, Ube & Pandan baked goods it finally dawned on us. We did it. We set out to do everything we aspired and dreamed of. And more,” Sheffer wrote in a private announcement of the decision to sell.
Remedium and Cure favorite bartender Joe Wargo, meanwhile, plans to also take a break before continuing behind the bar and hosting classes and learning opportunities “at bars across Seattle.” “It’ll be a great way to support and bring attention to other great local restaurants and dives,” Sheffer says.
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