The speculation over what will replace Lombardi’s (2200 NW Market St.) restaurant can stop. It’s not a Tom Douglas spot, nor is it an eatery by Maria Hines, according to our news partners, the Seattle Times, 5 Corner Market Bar & Kitchen will be run by chef Sam Crannell.
According to the Times’ All You Can Eat food writer, Nancy Leson, the 125-seat gastropub is slated to open on December 13th. Crannell, who has worked at Quinn’s Pub and Oddfellows, tells Leson that the food at 5 Corner Market will “focus on what he calls ‘anti-molecular gastronomy’: quality ingredients (say, smoked chicken thighs, barbecue-pork whole hog, wood-roasted mussels) paired with other quality ingredients (say, cornbread salad, beef-fat fries, harissa).”
“Ballardites who might quibble, ‘Just what we need, another bar!’,” Leson writes, “Should note that families will be accommodated in an upstairs dining room. Meanwhile, upstairs and down, imbibers can lift a hand-crafted cocktail made with micro-distilled gin and small-batch bourbons.”
Leson won’t let on about who’s funding the new bar, but has been told it’s someone very familiar to the restaurant business.
You can read Leson’s entire column here. (Thanks Ari for the tip!)