Stoup’s New Capitol Hill Location Is Opening Next Week

Well, that didn’t take long. In June, Stoup announced that the Ballard IPA merchants were expanding in a major way, acquiring Optimism Brewing and its 16,000-square foot Capitol Hill space. Now, just about two months later, Stoup is completing its move-in process.

A Stoup spokesperson sent Eater Seattle a message this week saying that Optimism’s last day of existence in the former warehouse at the corner of Broadway and Union will be this Saturday, August 19. The brewery will be closed for the following few days as the staff “STOUPifies” everything, and will reopen at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August, 23.

After that, the taproom plans to be open seven days a week starting at noon. For Optimism regulars the beer will change but a lot will stay the same, as Stoup is retaining the taproom staff and keeping the food truck rotation in place. For updates, you can follow the Capitol Hill location on Instagram.

Lil Woody’s is headed to Japan

Local burger chain Lil Woody’s is opening its first location outside of Seattle — way outside Seattle. On Thursday, August 24, Lil Woody’s Tokyo will open in the new Dogenzaka-dori building in the Shibuya neighborhood after the building’s developers “fell in love” with Lil Woody’s burgers, Woody’s owner Marcus Lalario said in a press release. “Japan has not seen any burger restaurants that highlight grass-fed beef,” Lalario added. The Lil Woody’s Tokyo menu will be the same as our Seattle locations including our signature and specialty burgers. We are shipping our buns there — our bread is a different texture and flavor than what is found in Japan.” This will be the first Seattle-based burger restaurant to have a location in Japan.

Chains Expand in the Seattle area

Couple of chain restaurant news items to knock out here. First, remember when we talked about how chicken finger chain Raising Cane’s was planning a University District location? Well that’s not the only Western Washington outpost the Louisiana-based business is thinking about — KING 5 is reporting that it could be opening a Renton location as well.

In addition, California’s fast-casual chain Mendocino Farms is rapidly expanding in Seattle after opening its South Lake Union location in May. The second location will open at 4th and Union in downtown on September 6, and the chain has five more in the works, it announced this week in a press release. Mendocino Farms has also been partnering with Seattle-based brands like Monorail Espresso and Tom Douglas.

Get crabs at Queen Anne Beer Hall

This Sunday, August 20, Queen Anne Beer Hall is closed for normal service and instead throwing an all-you-can-eat Dungeness crab feast. For $75 you get fresh baked pretzels, salad, and steamed crab and crab chowder; there will also be drinks and a la carte appetizers for purchase. These crabs will have been offloaded from a boat Thursday and “never touch a freezer,” according to the event info. Buy tickets at that link.