Canlis flea market ‘an enormous hit’ – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

SEATTLE – A line snaked around the block and traffic was a nightmare when the owners of upscale Canlis restaurant hosted a one-off flea market.

People came two hours early. An hour after the start of sales, almost everything was gone.

It surprised the owner of Canlis.

But apparently people just wanted a slice of this iconic restaurant.

The line in front of Canlis Restaurant was dangerously close to Highway 99.

Traffic was a nightmare too – all for the chance to get cheap items from the legendary Seattle restaurant.

Most of them live here in Seattle. But Laurie Smiley now calls New Orleans home.

“I’m here because I’ve been coming here for decades,” said Smiley. “It seemed like a fun thing and I was in town for a couple of days.”

“I just wanted a piece of history,” says Jada Brazil from Seattle with a laugh. “I just wanted a cup, but it looks like that’s not going to happen.”

That could be a case, whoever is here on time gets, well, what’s left.

Bennett Buchholz from Seattle heard at 10 a.m. on Friday that some people were outside.

“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “But they have the good things. I have a cheese board. But I’ll take the cheese board. “

Even the goldfish were up for grabs.

“He’s got black on him,” said Seattle-based Shannon Galiotto of the goldfish she adopted. “He is unique. He is something special. “

In a way, this is just another crazy idea Mark Canlis and his brother had during the pandemic to keep the restaurant afloat.

“I recently became a flea market mogul,” Canlis said. “I think the flea market is Canlis’ new business model.”

He’s joking, of course, but he thinks he knows why so many people showed up.

“You put some Canlis pandemic things in a yurt, I don’t know,” Canlis said. “It’s a beautiful sunny day. It’s time to get out. The weather is great. We need some of it. “

“This family has so much heart and soul in everything they do,” said Jane Hesslein from Seattle, “that it is good for me to have just a little bit at home.”

The only thing that wasn’t sold was these yurts. Ms. Canlis says they will be donated to Camp Sambica in Bellevue.

Mark Canlis estimates they made about $ 1,100. He says they’ll be using it for the big renovation of their kitchen.

And like restaurants all over Seattle, they’re hiring.

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