Cassis Planning February 2014 Opening on Alki

There was a flurry of excitement about a year ago when word spread that Cassis owner Jef Fike was planning a resurgence of his popular Capitol Hill restaurant after eight years. But then...crickets. Fike says he signed a lease on a 1,700 square-foot gallery space next to Cactus on Alki this past Friday, so it's time to get the word out — again:

The original plan was to move into the space where the [Alki Urban] market is because there is already an existing kitchen there, but it didn't work out. So, we decided to circumvent and open in the gallery space (next door) and build a new kitchen.

Fike also says his concept has not faltered since planning a West Seattle relocation.

I've been pretty resolute about what the concept is. The original concept was successful. I still don't think there's anything like what we did in Seattle and so I'm bringing it back, which is why I decided to keep the branding too, instead of open with a different name; it's been nine years since we closed, but that gives me an opportunity to introduce Cassis to a whole new group of people as well as a bunch of loyalists who remember Cassis fondly and are really excited about coming back.

While Fike is finally releasing the location of his resurrected restaurant, he's still staying zip-lipped about the chef (who hasn't quite given notice at his current job):

The food is anchored in French tradition, but any chef is going to put their own spin on things. I think that's going to be part of the challenge for some of the people who loved Cassis, because it will be a little different. If they're going to come to the restaurant expecting the fish soup to taste exactly the same or whatever their favorite was on the menu, it's going to be a little different.

Fike is planning a November 11 pop-up at Grub on Queen Anne. Two seatings at 5:30p and 7:30p. Cost is $38 for 3-courses. Reserve a seat by emailing Jef directly: johnefike@msn.com. He's also looking to do another one in January somewhere in West Seattle. "It'll give us a chance to introduce our food to a lot of people and start to get the word out that we're back."
· Cassis [Facebook]
· Cassis Owner Optimistic About West Seattle Move [~ESEA~]