The growth of a food and drink family at Summit and Pine will include two big scoops of Capitol Hill nostalgia with a new restaurant echoing the spirit of the neighborhood’s long gone “red-sauce joints” like Machiavelli and Vito’s plus a new bar honoring one of Capitol Hill’s one-time favorite date spots.

The Pike Street Hospitality Group has announced Uncle Dom’s Italian Kitchen and Bar Tango will open next month in the former E Pine Mezcaleria Oaxaca space:

Uncle Dom’s isn’t just another Italian spot. The restaurant is meant to be a love letter to friendship, community, and the neighborhood’s past red-sauce joints, many of which have shuttered. The name pays tribute to two men who shaped countless gatherings: Uncle Mike, an artist and cook who’s called Capitol Hill home since the ’80s, and his best friend Domenick (“Uncle Dom”), an award-winning teacher known in Tacoma for his legendary holiday-decorated home and open-door hospitality. For decades, the pair filled their lives with food, laughter, and nights out at Capitol Hill landmarks like Charlie’s, the Surrogate Hostess and Neighbors.

Bar Tango, meanwhile, will also evoke some memories.

The group has been filling in the former Mexican restaurant building and one-time auto garage

Travis and Carrie Rosenthal’s 2006 purchase of Capitol Hill’s much-loved tapas and date night spot Tango on E Pike was the start of their neighborhood food and drink journey. Tango closed in 2019 but the Rosenthals have gone on to build a family of restaurants and bars across the area.

CHS reported in 2022 on Rumba’s decade of business on E Pike. In 2021, Rumba expanded into the depths below Pike with the opening of its over the top, post-tiki sibling, Inside Passage.

In 2024, the group swung into action to rescue HoneyHole from a challenged run under inexperienced ownership and carry the E Pike sandwich bar forward in its 25-year legacy on Capitol Hill.

The old Tango (Image: Tango)

The group also owns Seattle “paddle club” favorite Agua Verde.

“These projects are about more than food. Our hope is they can help keep Capitol Hill’s culture alive,” Travis Rosenthal said in the announcement. “With Uncle Dom’s and bar tango, we want to create places where neighbors, friends and a new generation of locals all feel at home.”

CHS reported here in March on the plans for the former Mezcaleria Oaxaca complex as the Pike Street Hospitality Group announced it was going to fill the converted 3,280-square-foot auto garage building with new concepts.

In June, the group’s Double O’ Burgers debuted in the complex’s walk-up window below new rooftop bar Cantina del Sol.

Now Vito’s and Machiavelli-inspired Uncle Dom’s will sit at the center of the complex with a menu of “simple, on-point classics like chicken parm, lasagna, loads of pasta, meatballs and garlic bread.”

The loss of Vito’s after a damaging fire in the summer of 2022 led to the demolition of its First Hill home has also been an inspiration on E Olive Way where Donna’s serves up spritzy cocktails and bar pasta. Meanwhile, Machiavelli has been replaced by the Cheese Room from the MEET BBQ family of restaurants.

The long lost El Diablo (Image: Tango)

The nostalgia at Uncle Dom’s will be real life flesh and blood. Uncle Dom’s kitchen will be run by former Vito’s chef Michael Crossley.

Bar Tango’s nostalgia will also involve a few matters of the human body including a craving for spicy chocolate.

There are no promises, but the group’s announcement of the new bar includes a reminder of the old Tango’s “decadent El Diablo dessert, which was named one of Seattle’s best for nearly two decades.”

The new Bar Tango will have “a focus on tapas, cocktails, and an area perfect for Spanish guitar or DJs alike.”

“Expect nods to Tango classics like bacon-wrapped dates and queso azul, alongside a horseshoe shaped bar designed for late nights and shared plates,” the announcement promises.

Uncle Dom’s is set to open in “early October” and Bar Tango in “mid October” at 422 E Pine. Learn more at uncledomsseattle.com and bartangoseattle.com.

Nostalgia? Here’s what the corner looked like in 2011

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