15 extra Seattle-area eating places shut completely as COVID-19 wears on

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COVID-19 continues to hit restaurants everywhere, with the outlook for the fall still looking bleak. Some of those closings in the Seattle area are just sad – the community favorites are lost forever, the places for cocktails have gone dark – but there are bright spots when the owners switch to food trucks or decide to provide us all with more wine to supply. Help the places you love by offering takeout (and a big tip!)

Hana sushi on Capitol Hill: The inconspicuous, inexpensive, and long-standing Broadway standby is gone, with fans sadly telling over three decades of memories of friends, family, and fun times in the place that served as the neighborhood’s Japanese cafeteria. Local high-end sushi hero Shiro Kashiba helped open the restaurant in 1986; It offered Seattle’s first conveyor belt service, which didn’t catch on at the time. Then they took out the belt and Shiro moved on, and the place got strong … until COVID-19.

Silent heart nest in Fremont: Also open since 1986, this vegetarian restaurant almost closed last year – the owner’s son decided to keep going after many sad vegetarian yells, but has now closed it for good.

Cafe Racer in the University District: The beloved, weird neighborhood hangout was the site of a tragic shootout in 2012 that claimed four would stay in the hearts of those who knew them forever. After a near shutdown and a new owner, the place has finally closed, but lives on in a fitting sideways, musical and incorporeal way – it has become an online radio station called Cafe Racer Radio. Additionally, it and its official Bad Art Museum of Art (aka OBAMA Room) in a different location could return at some point … stay tuned.

Bamboo garden in Lower Queen Anne: Another veritable institution, Seattle’s only freestanding, certified kosher restaurant, closed forever in late July as owners decided to retreat amid pandemic problems. My colleague Joy Resmovits, recognizing the intercultural joy found along with vegetarian Chinese cuisine, wrote that Bamboo Garden “is diverse, nurturing Buddhist monks, vegetarians and devout Jews, but also familiarity – a place they rely on can mutually; Waiters who greeted guests with Hebrew expressions, anticipated your order and remembered your daughter’s age even if you weren’t there for a year or two. “

Copal in Pioneer Square: Though it offers quaint, al fresco seating on the cobblestone streets in the summer, this sunny Latin-inspired snacks and cocktail spot that used to be the Sajor Bar couldn’t weather the COVID-19 storm.

Amandine Bakery on Capitol Hill: “With Bittersweet Emotions” Sara Naftaly closed her house on Chophouse Row for some of the best macarons the city has ever seen, but her candy can still be found on the dessert menu at the neighboring Marmite that she with her husband Bruce operates.

Suika on Capitol Hill: All the flavors and textures of the izakaya and the accompanying drinks here were fun – Uni-Shooter with a cocktail served in a personal-size watermelon, anyone? With the end of the lease comes the closure, but luckily the Rondo siblings and Tamari Bar nearby keep going with the same spirit and some of the same menu items.

Marinstation on Capitol Hill: “Thanks for 9 years of Aloha on the Hill!” the owners say – this marks the closure of the tiny brick-and-mortar business that first evolved from the original truck, but remains on the positive side the locations West Seattle and Denny Triangle as well as the sister company Super Six in Columbia in operation city.

Juice box café on Capitol Hill: Fans of the plant-rich little café with the plant-oriented menu since 2013 can comfort themselves with the juice of the vine – founder Kari Brunson opens a natural wine shop called Glinda there every day. “It was time to let go of it, considering what was going on in the world,” says Brunson. “Onward and Upward!”

Fish grill with five hooks on Queen Anne: After serving sustainable seafood since 2012, “the unforeseen circumstances of the pandemic” forced Five Hooks to close and the owners thanked fans for their support and friendship. But they say: “It’s not all gloomy and doom” – they now have a food truck with locations on their Facebook.

Lot No. 3 and Purple Bellevue: After 11 years, Heavy Restaurant Group reports that it made “the tough decision” to permanently close these two places that relied on the kind of corporate events and group dinners that COVID-19 has decimated. They thank their staff, guests, and the community very much, and discover that seven more locations are up and running, including the newly opened Purple Seattle Downtown.

Pagliacci on Lower Queen Anne: Local pizza chain says business slumped dramatically following the sale of Sonics, with COVID-19 solidifying decision to close. All employees were transferred to other locations.

MORE: Flying apron in Fremont (but with custom-made products available there and the still open office in West Seattle) • The ram in the university village

Bethany Jean Clement
is a food writer for the Seattle Times: bclement@seattletimes.com; facebook.com/bethany.jean.clement; on Instagram @bethanyjeanclement; on Twitter @BJeanClement.