Two months earlier, Mija Chang stood in the half-assembled dining room of BB.Q Olive Chicken in Lakewood and worried about the final details of opening her Korean fried chicken restaurant with her sister Mi Young Kang. There was nothing to worry about except serving the rush of customers who checked out the first day of […]
Pierce County
Louie G’s, the pizza restaurant and live music venue, is closing
Louie G’s, the pizzeria and live music venue in Fife, is permanently closing. Its last day of business will be August 29. It’s a restaurant I adore for its stalwart brick-oven pizza that churns out solid pies and terrific calzones, which made my top calzones list in 2018. In 2016, I took a deep dive […]
Two years after a fire, downtown Tacoma restaurant finally opens
Today was a triumphant day for restaurant owner Tim Bartz. More than two years after a fire took out his popular downtown eatery Happy Teriyaki #4, he reopened the doors (August 3, 2020). “As of now we won’t have sushi, but everything else will be the same. We’re very excited to offer another dining option […]
This Tacoma treasure is turning into a burger palace (temporarily)
In this era of constantly evolving regulations about which businesses can operate (or can’t), locals are doing what we all should strive to do: Turn into scrappy fighters in the face of adversity. Here’s one more amazing survival story of a local business doing a complete turn-around of its business plan. Enter: Tacoma Burger Co. […]
North End Tavern is getting a new life – in Ruston
Two years after he started work on the new home for his North End Tavern, Ron Kerns is still at it. The name is now North End on Pearl and when it’s done, it’ll be at least three times larger than its original perch in the Proctor neighborhood. The transformation has been remarkable at 5037 […]
BBQ Pete’s is still opening in Lakewood. Here’s an update
In January, I wrote about BBQ Pete’s expanding to Lakewood. At the time, an opening was estimated for the spring. And then the pandemic hit. That slowed progress, but BBQ Pete’s fans will be happy to hear they’ll likely be able to enjoy the return of BBQ Pete’s ribs sometime later this summer, if all […]
Old Town is getting a new restaurant in former Montamara space
Old Town Wine Skins is coming to Tacoma’s Old Town neighborhood. Late August or later is the target opening timeframe for the wine bar and small-plates cafe that will be across the street from The Spar. The eatery and bar is at 2208 N. 30th St., in the former home of Montamara Kitchen, which closed […]
Delish Bakery is coming to Steilacoom
Delish Bakery is opening in Steilacoom and visitors can expect a menu of pastries, cakes, cookies, cake pops, macarons, cinnamon rolls, pies, croissants and “a little bit of bread.” The bakery is the project of Lisa Holmgren, a pastry student at Clover Park Technical College who is launching a second career as a baker. She’s […]
Tacoma’s Wingman Brewers opens Little Radio. Here’s a first look
Little Radio in downtown Tacoma is all powered up. The restaurant and bar is from well-known Tacoma beer guy Ken Thoburn and his business partners at Tacoma’s Wingman Brewers. That brewery celebrated its ninth anniversary in April. How do they celebrate an anniversary? By opening another business. This time, a restaurant, not a brewery. The […]