After Remaining Closed for Over a Year, Canlis to Reopen Its Iconic Dining Room July 1

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Canlis to Reopen Its Iconic Dining Room July 1

As the full toll of the pandemic came into view last spring, Canlis co-owner Brian Canlis said, “fine dining is not what Seattle needs right now.” The iconic restaurant soon pivoted to a series of different takeout options, as well as some outdoor service. But now it’s almost ready to return in full. Per an announcement in the official Canlis newsletter, the East Queen Anne destination will open for indoor dining once again July 1, with reservations beginning June 9 at noon. That will be a day after Washington state plans to lift all capacity restrictions on restaurants across the state.

The reopening happens not long after the restaurant announced it has hired a new executive chef, Aisha Ibrahim — the seventh chef in the 70-year history of Canlis, and its first female executive chef. Before the hire, reinventions over the past 14 months included the creation of a burger drive-thru, a crab boil, a series of online cooking classes, and most recently, an outdoor barbecue-focused menu.

“If 18 pivots didn’t make it painfully clear, we think you are worth pursuing, yes through a pandemic but even through our differences, through those things that want to separate us or turn us away from one another,” said co-owner Mark Canlis in the newsletter. “I don’t know what it will take to alter our course, but it will take more than a pandemic.”

Food Truck Tres’s House of Cheesesteaks Finds Fixed Crown Hill Location

Since 2019, food truck Tres’s House of Cheesesteaks has been delighting locals with sandwiches stuffed with its terrific twist on a Philly classic. Per My Ballard, the operation recently moved into a more fixed location in Crown Hill, taking over the kitchen at Goofy’s Sports Bar on 15th Avenue NW for the foreseeable future. The move includes later hours and an expanded menu of specialties, which runs the gamut from pizza cheesesteaks to pork belly versions, as well as a selection of burgers, loaded fries, and mozzarella sticks. While the food truck made the rounds throughout northern Seattle, including a regular spot at Greenwood’s Lantern Brewing, will be mostly retired now, only used for special occasions. Goofy’s has long been a favorite of neighborhood sports fans, but the location will eventually be replaced by a large apartment complex, so the long-term future is uncertain. For now, Tres’s cheesesteak business will be serving diners from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily, as well as delivery through DoorDash, Caviar, and Grubhub.

Tutta Bella, John Howie, and Others Offer Free Drinks to the Vaccinated

Newly relaxed rules from Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board allow restaurants, bars, and breweries across the state to offer complimentary drinks to those who provide proof of vaccination between May 15 and June 30. And several Seattle businesses are already hopping onboard. Ubiquitous Neapolitan pizza chain Tutta Bella will pick up the tab for any one drink on its menu when guests show their vaccination cards (with the purchase of a food item). Likewise, John Howie’s group of restaurants will buy diners a cocktail, glass of wine, or pint of beer with vaccination proof until June 6. On the beer side, Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery in Greenwood will host a pop-up vaccine clinic Saturday, May 22, purchasing the first pint for all those who get their shots at the site. All these places, and others who decide to provide vaccine incentives, must use careful language, though — Washington’s complicated revised regulations still don’t permit the word “free” when promoting the offers, but rather note that each business will pay for a drink on the house.