Josh Henderson Teams With Revel/Joule Pastry Chef to Open 'Parchment' in SODO

Seattle's fastest-rising restaurateur Josh Henderson is not wasting any time expanding his Huxley Wallace Collective. The paint has barely dried on Westward, Little Gull and Ballard Skillet Diner, and just as his next venture, Hollywood Tavern in Woodinville, was getting comfortable in the spotlight, Henderson comes bearing news that he has yet another project in the works: a hearth and oven-centric bread/pastry and beer boutique in SODO called Parchment. The concept was largely constructed around Laura Pyles, the pastry chef for Revel and Joule that Henderson plucked to be his chef.

She does amazing desserts and pastry, but she also has a great mind for savory. We're going to be doing open-faced sandwiches, tartitne-style, along with her baked goods. I know Laura loves beer and has talked about potentially doing some brewing and utilizing some of the spent grains in her bread. I could see there being...if she's game, we'd probably go down that road to see if she'd be interested in doing some brewing in-house. I don't want to be a brewery, but I can see an opportunity for her to cross-over.

The 2,500 square-foot cafe on the ground floor of the former Year of the Monkey space (sign is staying put) will have about 50 or 60 seats. Matthew Parker, who designs all of the Huxley Wallace projects, will be designing Parchment as well.

"I want each space to be unique to the area," says Henderson, "making sense for what we do within the space and also be something that's well thought out from a guest perspective and design perspective."

The hours of operation are still in flux, but Henderson is thinking 8 am to 8 pm. He envisions it being a lunch spot with some breakfast items, "It's a great space with lots of clean lines. You're going to have a butcher block counter as soon as you enter into the space, so you'll see them working on all the doughs and prep for the day." There's talk of a long bar that people can sit at and transition into an afternoon beer. Henderson wants it be a different option for the neighborhood, "I believe so much in what Laura does. I think it's going to be really special."

Henderson also uses the "r" word in describing why he's pysched about SODO: revitalization.

I know there's some great stuff happening down there with Gastropod, the distilleries next door; I think that block is certainly going to be trending up in the next 10 years. I think it's a great area. I'm excited.

Now, about that warp-speed of new projects. What gives?

There's just some great opportunities and I have an amazing team. I wouldn't do it if we weren't excited about it. I also wouldn't do it if we didn't have people that we were excited about in those spaces. Every single one of the spaces that we have coming up, be it Hollywood, be it Westward or Parchment, there's exceptional people and I'm stoked they get an opportunity to show everyone what they do. That to me is probably the most exciting part.

Look for Parchment to open early next year. And don't be surprised if Henderson opens something else before then.
· Huxley Wallace [Official Site]
· All Josh Henderson Coverage [~ESEA~]
· All Laura Pyles Coverage [~ESEA~]