Two Highly Anticipated Restaurants Axe Plans for Downtown Bellevue

Double bummer! As reported in two separate stories in the Puget Sound Business Journal this week it looks like a couple of very different, but equally significant restaurants planned for downtown Bellevue have pulled the plug on their plans. One is the fine dining Angler concept that was being developed by San Francisco Michelin Star chef Joshua Skenes, planned for the visually interesting, but commercially challenged Avenue Bellevue development on NE 8th. The other is Pinstripes, a large format activities (bowling/bocce) and pizza casual dining format that was intended for the large street level pavilion attached to the recently completed, Amazon occupied 555 Tower on 108th NE.  This is not a total surprise to downtown watchers, since there hasn't been much activity associated with the development of either project since their announcements... and the Pinstripes site has had For Lease signs up for a few weeks. 

I'm sure there are some company and site specific issues associated with each of these situations. However, in general this points to challenges that restaurants are facing across the board. On the national level increased cost of goods, expensive financing, labor shortages and the ratcheting back of corporate expense accounts have caused pain. Locally the exceptionally high cost of labor and rents just compile the pain. I'm also convinced that people are eating out less often, due to higher prices restaurants need to charge to make their businesses work and, to some extent, due to folks becoming more adept in the kitchen at home.. a trend that started with the pandemic and continues to be fueled by TikTok, YouTube, etc.

That said, I hope we see new concepts for both of these locations show up soon. The 555 Tower location particularly should become increasingly attractive as Amazon brings more workers into the office in downtown Bellevue and as the light rail deposits commuters from Seattle a block east later this year (fingers crossed) and new tenants fill the void left by Microsoft at City Center. The Avenue Bellevue space might take a bit longer, as new ownership develops a holistic strategy for the property.

Michelin-starred chef scraps plans for Avenue Bellevue restaurant (paywall)

Pinstripes space at Amazon-leased Bellevue tower goes back on the market (paywall)

Main Street Place Development To Displace Downtown Bellevue Retailers

There's a post today on the Downtown Bellevue Network site about how PetSmart is closing on Feb 2nd to make way for the Main Street Place development that was announced for the site at Main and 108th in 2021. This same development will also impact HMart, Office Depot, Blazing Bagels and the long closed Toy R Us space. What I'm interested to see is whether the four viable retailers at that location are able to find other retail space in or near downtown Bellevue. It seems to me that there is lots of unoccupied retail inventory in the lower levels the many the new developments that have come online in the last couple of years, but most of those spaces present challenges in terms of easy access parking. This is particularly true for stores like HMart and PetSmart where consumers often need a cart to car option. It'd be shame to lose these retailers in the downtown core, but also a missed opportunity to make use of existing inventory. There seems to be a misalignment in downtown Bellevue between the supply being made available in new developments to retailers/restaurants and the demand. I plan to cover this topic more comprehensively in a future post.

Downtown Bellevue PetSmart to Close February 2