Welcome to The Gatekeepers, in which Eater roams the city meeting the fine ladies and gentlemen that stand between you and some of your favorite impossible-to-get tables.
[A. Fawcett]
Jamie Boudreau, his wife Erin, and business partner Andrew Fawcett opened Canon just three months ago. In this short period of time, they managed to recruit Murray Stenson, who Tales of the Cocktail anointed the best bartender in America in 2010. Finally, they organized their social media fans to wage winning campaigns for three Eater 2011 Awards: Best Bathroom, Bartender of the Year (Jamie Boudreau) and So Hot Right Now.
If you want a taste of just how quick witted the Boudreaus can be, check out the #toiletwars twitter exchange between Brian Canlis and Canon, when both campaigned for the Best Bathroom Award. Sample Canon tweet: "Want to see the 1% clean a toilet? Vote for canon. Want to see @JamieBoudreau clean a toilet? Come to @CanonSeattle any day before noon." We recently chatted with the Boudreaus about what it's like getting a table at Canon these days.
What's the busiest time of the week?
Wednesday-Saturday around 10pm
What's the wait for two people (at busiest time)?
Usually no more than 20 minutes.
How would you describe your clientele?
Diverse. We get students from Seattle U to older folks in their 60's and 70's. And tons of industry.
Any celebrities?
We would stop seeing celebrities if we told you about them.
Any regulars already?
Yes! There are a lot of people we see 2-3 times a week.
So, you're at the three month mark. How is morale right now?
Morale is fantastic. We've ironed out most of the kinks, and we're still adapting every day, but we're getting settled in!
What else would you like to do in the next six months?
Within the next 6 months we'd love to be open for weekend brunch and have dessert on the menu (hopefully much sooner).
Is there any particular award/recognition you've set in your sights?
We don't do it for awards, but to put out good product and give people a cool place to hang out. If we built this bar just to win awards, it would be a very different bar. Although, we were pretty happy about winning Eater's "Best Bathroom" award.
What is your favorite place to get late night eats? drinks?
Ba Bar is a great new spot in our neighborhood, they serve until 4am on weekends.
For more Gatekeepers published today from across the Eater Universe, head over to Eater National.
· All Canon Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]
