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Old Town Alehouse closing.

(91 posts)

Started 6 months ago by Cougar Bob
Latest reply from allisonw

BuffaloHawk

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Screw Ballardopoly !!! Imagine what kind of Ballard video game you could make with all the bars, cars, bicyclists, pedestrians & strollers. I wonder how many points you would earn for safely returning a lost hen, dog or cat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZtJWJe_K_w

Posted 4 months ago #
SmartsyArtsy

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Apple, really? Class is learned in a bar? lol

Posted 4 months ago #
MrINTJ

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SmartsyArtsy, her kind of class might be

Posted 4 months ago #
donarb

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I talked with a friend of mine who knows someone who works at Old Town. According to him, they are not closing, there is no Percy's. Apparently the building owners had some dispute with the tenants over the liquor license and weren't ready to sign a new agreement (the lease expires in March 2013). My guess is it was just a negotiating tactic over the lease.

This is the only reference to Percy's in the liquor board's database, a license to sell cigarettes (not liquor) at the Old Town address.
http://bls.dor.wa.gov/LicenseSearch/lqsLicenseDetail.aspx?RefID=125598

Note I have no firsthand knowledge, but their website does say they are closed for the holidays until January 7, and they "look forward to serving you in 2013".

http://www.oldtownalehouse.com/index.htm

Posted 4 months ago #
MrINTJ

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Seattle is still handing out licenses to kill with cigarettes? Such an archaic society.

Posted 4 months ago #
9

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This may donarb's claim.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/fbh/3489334542.html

Posted 4 months ago #
ks

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Jeff Ofelt has obtained a WA State business license under the entity name JOWW LLC and business name Percy's. The LLC was registered 10/25/12. A registered trade name Percy's was issued 10/30/12. The business location listed for Percy's is 5233 Ballard Avenue, NW. A cigarette retailer license (which any business that will have a cigarette machine has to have) was issued 11/5/12. Note that the WA Business Licensing Service site "is limited to searching for business licenses issued through the Washington State Business Licensing Service." The WA Department of Revenue shows a NAICS code (industry classification) that is used for full service restaurants. This seems like a lot of paperwork for a sophisticated investor/owner like Ofelt to have completed if the space was not a done deal ...

Posted 4 months ago #
SEdholm

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Saw a sign Friday night or so that said they were in fact closing now and moving to a new location. So maybe this all has legs again? Their website says they open today, but the place is empty now, no tables, no chairs, nothing. It is sad to pass by as it is a really cool bar.

Posted 4 months ago #
Gardening_Angel

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Went by there today thinking they might be open after their holiday break. The windows are covered and a sign in the door says they are closed and will be reopening in a new location.

Too bad.....love their fish n chips!

Posted 4 months ago #
ks

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Good to hear that they plan to reopen.

Posted 4 months ago #
Edog

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I'm glad they plan to reopen, but that space was perfect for them. I'm sorry to see them go.

Posted 4 months ago #
gcm

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what was perfect about that space? they were never close to full any time i passed by.

Posted 4 months ago #
Edog

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I thought it worked well with the vibe the owners were creating with the taps and menu.

Posted 4 months ago #
SeaSpider

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That it was never full was part of what made it a great space. As parents we could get a table right away AND always get a table in the back out of respect to others. Not many places like that in Ballard. Ballard Pizza has good food at good prices but not a lot of seating. High Life is great but you often have to wait for a table. Old Town hit a sweet spot in terms of availability, price and quality.

Posted 4 months ago #
Ernie

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Just purely from a business perspective, if your resturant never fills up, even during the rushes, then your space is too big and you're probably paying too much. Also, your landlord will probably notice this and see the potential to increase the rent if they had a tenant in there who was packing them in.

I'd bet that one or both of these scenarios is the reason for the move.

Posted 4 months ago #
Edog

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I never took the vacant tables as a good sign, but I did enjoy being in the space, full or not. The high ceilings gave it a very relaxing vibe.

The new place sounds like its going to be pretentious. Maybe it won't be.

Posted 4 months ago #
allisonw

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I haven't changed my screenname yet. Too lazy.

I'm not really crying crocodile tears over the closing of the Old Town, that place was kind of the beginning of the end for Ballard Ave. I used to like to go to it when it was Enger's--it was delightfully oldey timey. Between the stroller bars and the ridiculously overpriced hipster joints, I've taken to having my pops at the convenience store with the food truck out front.

But you already knew that.

Maybe once we move, the Viking will be convenient. If it stays, I'll go there. :)

Posted 4 months ago #
ks

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From Seattle Magazine 1/10/13.
"Two New Bars Opening and Other Drinking News"
http://www.seattlemag.com/two-new-bars-opening-and-other-drinking-news

"Percy’s
Ballard’s Old Town Alehouse is closing. Not a place I visited every day, but a solid, friendly spot, and once (after a bunch of local beers) I sat there for hours while my pal Chris Lorraine (from former Seattle band The Malinks) played Billy Joel songs on an old piano. However, I’ve also heard that a new bar called Percy’s is moving into the space. Jeff Ofelt, from Bimbo’s Cantina, Cha Cha Lounge, and King’s Hardware, is opening it with two friends, cousins Kyle Taylor and Joe Petersen, who currently are manager and bartender at New York’s Apotheke. I’ve actually been to Apotheke, and it’s pretty swell, with a sweet old-time pharmacy/speakeasy feel that’s to be replicated at Percy’s. It should be opening sometime this spring. Learn more (and check out some fantastic old bar and booze pics, like the one above) on the Percy’s Facebook page. "

https://www.facebook.com/percys.seattle

Posted 4 months ago #
ks

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Check this out as well:
http://www.oldtownalehouse.com/

"We hope to re-open in a new location and would not only like to count on your support there but would love to get your input along the way with what you have liked at the Old Town Alehouse over the years, what you might like to see at a new location and of course HELP US find that perfect new spot!

We intend to keep our email, website, Facebook and Twitter accounts all active and look forward to hearing any ideas you might have as well as making announcements concerning where we will open up next.
Thank you again for your patronage,

John Burreson, Proprietor
The Old Town Alehouse"

Posted 4 months ago #
ks

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Update on Percy's in Eater Seattle ...

Posted 2 months ago #
ks

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Oops. Here is the link
http://seattle.eater.com/archives/2013/03/21/checking-in-with-percys-in-ballard.php

Posted 2 months ago #
Compass Rose

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So now it's going to be Percy's again, not Old Town. Got it.

I noticed that the new seafood place in the former Thaiku space opened this week. Looking forward to trying that.

Posted 2 months ago #
donarb

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The new seafood place is owned by the same people that own the Matador and Kickin Boot. Seriously, three pretentious overpriced restaurants owned by the same people within a few hundred feet of each other? Wonder how long it will take for them to buy up every storefront on Ballard Ave.

Posted 1 month ago #
anotherballardite

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Agreed donarb!

Posted 1 month ago #
allisonw

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We wandered over to the Sloop the other night. It was so nice to be in a regular unpretentious place with regular folk.

Posted 1 month ago #
Oly

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Based on your review of Delancey you are the pretentious one.

Posted 1 month ago #
allisonw

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Why, because I liked it?

Posted 1 month ago #
Oly

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"The radicchio salad was an amazing juxtaposition of flavors, the cleverest pairing being the earthy charred goodness of the radicchio and preserved lemon against the grana padano. It was complex, and interesting, and I ate every molecule of it."

"I think the only pizza experience I have had that is in the same league was the land/ocean half and half I had in the Trastavere in Rome. That is a meal I will never forget."

Posted 1 month ago #
Ernie

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Sure doesn't sound like any of the "regular folk" I know!

Posted 1 month ago #
marigold

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Hmmm, she seems to like dive bars, good food, travel and has a large vocabulary. Sounds totally regular to me. But then again, I like the fact that business savvy restaurant owners are "buying" up Ballard and investing in our community.

Posted 1 month ago #
allisonw

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I tried to use some of the vernacular of a food critic in my comments, kinda for fun. I was "pretending" to be a food critic, so technically, you are spot-on.

As far as liking food and travel, and knowing a few 5-dollar words, I am guilty as charged. Totally like dive bars too.

I could probably lull this audience right into a coma going on about some of the high points of my dining adventures.

Posted 1 month ago #

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Old Town Alehouse closing.

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