Acclaimed Belltown Bar No Anchor Closes Temporarily to ‘Retool’

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Belltown Bar No Anchor Closes Temporarily to ‘Retool’

In what’s become an increasingly common occurrence around town, Belltown’s No Anchor is closing temporarily for the foreseeable future. The owners will be using the time off to rebuild the menu from scratch and should have some preview pop-ups coming soon. This follows a trend of several other high-profile restaurants and bars — such as Canon and Life on Mars on Capitol Hill — taking a break during current indoor dining restrictions. No Anchor’s sibling establishments Navy Strength, Rob Roy, and Vinnie’s Wine Shop are all still open for takeout, but that could change as well. “I think they are all gonna take a little nap during the winter, though I think No Anchor is the only one we are going to completely retool,” says co-owner Christopher Elford. “We have a great creative energy with our chef, Anthony Reynaga, and I think we are looking to completely scrap our entire program and rewrite it for this new age we have entered.”

The Tin Table Looks to GoFundMe to Stay Afloat

After 11 years, upscale Capitol Hill bar The Tin Table is struggling to keep the lights on and has launched a GoFundMe in partnership with sibling the Century Ballroom, long a popular venue for dance classes, parties, and events. Though it’s negotiated a rent reduction, the owners need to cover rent and operating expenses at the historic OddFellows building through August 2021, and takeout offerings won’t be able to sustain things in the interim. So far, the crowdfunding has raised $74,978 of an ambitious $240,000 goal. “It is our belief this will buy us enough time to allow science and potential vaccines to begin to return our lives to normal,” a message on the businesses’ GoFundMe page says.

Seattle Brewery Reuben’s Stands Out at 2020 US Open Beer Championship

At this year’s US Open Beer Championship — one of the top competitions for breweries in the country — one Seattle brewery held its own. The Ballard-based Reuben’s Brews earned half of the 19 medals won by Washington breweries, taking home the gold in the juicy or strong hazy strong pale ale category (for Fresh Hop Double Crush), gose, and brett beer (Tropical Funk). That’s a pretty solid showing for an independent operation, considering the judges at the championship evaluated about 6,000 beers that represented 140 different styles, according to Washington Beer Blog (note that every brewery submits an entry). Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery took home the title of 2020 Grand National Champion, while Reuben’s came in fifth on the list of Top 10 breweries.