Grilled Cheese on Wheels Expands to South Lake Union

Hoping to capitalize on the still-booming South Lake Union scene, The Grilled Cheese Experience food truck has opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant to complement its melty mobile operations.

The restaurant landed last month at 434A Yale Ave N, near REI and the frenzied Amazonia construction zone. Owner Mark Amatangelo says he’s long looked to set down roots for his business born on wheels, and South Lake Union was a natural fit given its explosive growth, workday lunch crowd, and the success of other truck-to-restaurant concepts in the area, like Skillet and Marination.

The Grilled Cheese Experience serves — you guessed it — tricked-out grilled cheese sandwiches with additions like house-smoked bacon, caramelized onions, and sunny side up eggs. The truck will continue to operate; on any given day, it offers just a handful of sandwiches from a master menu of about 12 to 14. The restaurant provides Amatangelo the opportunity to sell almost his entire repertoire at once, save for the seasonal creations. You may see some specials rotate through, too.

Amatangelo is waiting on a liquor license, so he’ll soon be able to serve beer and wine alongside the sandwiches. At that point he’ll also extend his hours, which currently run only Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.