Fremont’s Upcoming Sake Bar Exceeds Its Fundraising Goal

Welcome back to Eater News, a semi-regular round-up of mini news bites. Have info to share? Email intel to seattle@eater.com.

• Downtown’s Thompson hotel is reinventing its ground floor dining concept, formerly known as Scout. The new restaurant, still headed by executive chef Derek Simcik, will be called Conversation. When it opens on May 1, it will serve internationally-inspired food in a redesigned space.
• Georgetown Trailer Park Mall’s Lowrider Baking Company is bringing its cookie enterprise to the Central District. Owner Emily Allport will open her bakery in the current home of Street Treats in May. The space can only accommodate to-go orders, but the menu will include cookies served with milk, pints of Full Tilt ice cream, and cold brew coffee.
• Ballard’s Root Table, which specializes in Thai food, closes at the end of March after seven years in business. A sign posted on the door blames the decision on “financial struggle.”
• P.F. Chang’s is closing its downtown Seattle location after service on March 24. The chain Chinese restaurant announced the decision in its email newsletter.
• Mutsuko Soma’s upcoming Fremont sake bar, Hannyatou, has exceeded its Indiegogo fundraiser goal of $15,000. The new business will open two doors down from Soma’s Fremont soba restaurant, Kamonegi. The new spot will sling sake flights, sell retail sake, and serve a menu built around fermentation as soon as late March.