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After U District dive Kraken Bar & Lounge sued the Seattle Kraken over a similar-sounding restaurant, the expansion pro hockey franchise has made a significant line change. Instead of calling its Northgate training facility spot the Kraken Bar & Grill, the team has renamed it 32 Bar & Grill (after the fact that the Kraken are the 32nd NHL franchise).
The Kraken Bar & Lounge has been a U District mainstay since 2011, when couple Katherine and Daniel Colley took over the former Galway Arms space to turn it into a live music destination for punk and metal fans. The lawsuit the bar filed in April contends that the new NHL team caused damage to its reputation going back to 2020.
“The Kraken Bar observed new patrons visiting the bar in hockey-themed attire and suggesting that The Kraken Bar could or would become their new ‘hockey bar,’” states the court filing. “That The Kraken Bar would or should become a ‘hockey bar’ or a sports bar of any kind was anathema to The Kraken Bar and its regular patrons.” Though the venue did not take legal action last summer, once the NHL franchise decided to name its restaurant the Kraken Bar & Grill, it seemed like enough was enough.
The Kraken’s announcement about the restaurant’s moniker change makes no mention of the lawsuit, only that “as many of you know, we changed the name and after some weeks of deliberating we reached the perfect name.” But it’s leaning heavily into that singular digit. “It is fitting that we honor the number 32, as 32,000 fans made it possible for us to become the NHL’s 32nd franchise, and the freezing point for ice which our players and community will skate on at the facility is — you guessed it — 32 degrees,” the franchise wrote in a statement.
The Kraken is also still touting the stewardship of veteran Seattle restaurateur Mick McHugh, who owned the popular pub F.X McRory’s in Pioneer Square. In April, shared details about the hockey’s first official branded restaurant, a 4,600 square foot space that will overlook the rinks at the team’s training facility, with 17 TVs scattered throughout the main area and a concession area. It also plans to be open year-round for events, such as youth sports, when it debuts in the fall. And one of the newly announced design features will be a “puck drop bar,” where fans can donate pucks from teams (professional and amaeteur) around the world.
As for the lawsuit, a rep for the Kraken tells Eater Seattle, “he litigation is ongoing and as such we cannot provide further detail.” We also reached out to the legal team behind the Seattle Kraken Bar & Lounge’s lawsuit, but did not hear back before this piece was published.
