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After nine months in limbo, several well-known Seattle spots are officially closing permanently. Steelhead Diner, Blueacre Seafood, Orfeo, Zane and Wylie’s Seattle Steakhouse, and Tempesta Coffee and Donuts all announced that they will not reopen, even when current restrictions on indoor dining are lifted. Co-owners Kevin and Terresa Davis wrote goodbye messages on the restaurants’ Facebook pages: “We met pretty much everyone we know at our restaurants, so this is a sad day for us.”
The news may not come as much of a surprise, given the challenges faced during the pandemic and how long all five were closed. This group was among the first to completely shut down when COVID-19 first impacted the region, a decision made in early March even before Washington’s first stay at home order was implemented. Soon, a wave of additional closures would arrive downtown, signaling the devastating fallout to come.
Pre-pandemic, anybody who frequented Pike Place knew Steelhead Diner as a reliable favorite. For more than 13 years, the restaurant served stellar versions of seafood staples, such Dungeness crab cakes, fish and chips, and gumbo, in a handsome dining room with great views. Its success led to the subsequent openings of Blueacre Seafood downtown (known for its popular raw bar) and Belltown’s upscale Italian restaurant Orfeo. The downtown steakhouse and the small doughnut shop next to Orfeo were the most recent additions to the restaurant family and also developed a following.
It’s unclear if the restaurateurs are done with Seattle completely, but it looks like Kevin Davis has already launched a new project out in Ellensburg, Washington. He is listed as executive chef of the newly-opened Canyon River Grill, a restaurant located in a private residential and recreation community.
