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Welcome back to Eater News, a semi-regular round-up of mini news bites. Have info to share? Email intel to seattle@eater.com.
Chef Edouardo Jordan Launches His Long-in-the-Works Retail Line
Star chef Edouardo Jordan has kept busy during the pandemic, transitioning his Ravenna restaurant JuneBaby to takeout and transforming Salare into a community kitchen. Now he’s launching a retail brand. Jordan’s Food with Roots — a product which he says has been in the works for two years — debuts at Whole Foods locations around Western Washington starting Friday (in Seattle, Bellingham, and Tacoma stores), with the chef’s popular pimento cheese spread as the first offering ($1.49 per ounce). More items for retail under the same name will roll out soon, and will eventually be available in Spokane and other areas across the state as well, before eyeing expansion to Oregon. “The retail process is a whole new world,” Jordan tells Eater Seattle. “It’s all about scalability and quality.”
Fuel Coffee Moves Forward on Merger with Bookshop
Looks like two local small businesses are joining forces to hopefully weather the current economic downtown. According to Capitol Hill Seattle, Fuel Coffee — which has three cafes in Seattle — will move forward on a planned merger with indie bookseller Ada’s, which includes the popular hop Ada’s Technical Books and Cafe on Capitol Hill, Ada’s Discovery Cafe in the same neighborhood, and a co-working space. Customers can expect some changes to come in June, when Fuel locations open for takeout service and bring some branding from Ada’s.
Ballard Will Get a New Farm-to-Table Restaurant and Whiskey Bar Soon
Despite the challenges of opening a restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new farm-to-table spot is in the works north of the city proper. The Ballard Cut — co-owned by two longtime Seattle bar workers — plans to bring its take on Mediterranean dishes with Pacific Northwest flair to Ballard in June, if Seattle is able to enter phase two of the state’s gradual reopening plan. Per My Ballard, dishes will include local seafood, pasta, and pork chops, while the drinks will lean heavily on whiskey cocktails, such as an old fashioned with house-made vanilla bitters and a strawberry balsamic shrub whiskey sour. The restaurant takes over the space at 5313 Ballard Ave NW formerly occupied by the paleo diet-focused restaurant Carnivore, which closed in January.