2023 could bring a new start for a longtime part of the 15th Ave E food and drink scene with new ownership lined up for Smith.
A new owner with designs on keeping the restaurant’s longtime recipe of quality food and drink in place is finalizing a deal for the Linda Derschang-founded neighborhood pub. Victor Gonzalez is an industry veteran who confirmed his plans with CHS and said he would have more details on the change in ownership soon. Gonzalez said he is planning to take over Smith but is not planning major changes.
CORRECTION: CHS mistakenly reported that Gonzalez is part of the ownership of club and restaurant El Callejon. An owner of the Post Alley concern had responded about his interest in Smith to an email CHS sent trying to reach Gonzalez. The new Smith ownership is not related to the El Callejon club and restaurant. Sorry for the error. The new owner is part of the ownership of El Callejon which has grown its reputation for clubbing and surprisingly great Peruvian food in Post Alley. Plans for Smith are still being worked out but the hope isn’t to mimic El Callejon. The pub represents an opportunity for “a different experience” as the entrepreneur expands his entertainment and nightlife efforts.
Smith broke a string of failed restaurant concepts from Jake’s to Mango to Mcguire’s to Kozak’s to Cypress when Derschang debuted the bar and restaurant in the summer of 2007. 15th Ave E has grown up around it — but not as much as areas like Pike/Pine and Broadway.
That slow pace is shifting. Construction is underway on a new five-story mixed-use development replacing the strip’s old service station and the future of the empty QFC grocery has added a degree of uncertainty to what comes next for the street. Another longtime 15th Ave watering hole also has new owners as the old Canterbury remains lined up for a new restaurant project.
In 2019, Derschang found new owners for Smith as she began downsizing her Capitol Hill nightlife empire. The investors were first time food and drink owners who, Derschang said, she was happy to match up with on their intentions to find a Seattle venue ready to move forward as unchanged as possible.
Now, Smith is set to move forward again.
HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.
Honestly, I’m impressed that Smith survived the pandemic. The new ownership was still getting their footing when lockdown happened, and honestly it never quite felt like it gelled. Fingers crossed that the new ownership rocks it!