Our news partners at The Seattle Times have reported that beloved sandwich shop Paseo (6226 Seaview Ave NW) has closed its doors for good.
The sign on the front door of the Fremont store (pictured) notes that the closure is due to “unfortunate circumstances” and it thanks customers for their support and loyalty.
The My Ballard team called both Paseo locations multiple times throughout the day and no one answered the phone.
According to The Seattle Times, an employee at the Paseo’s Fremont location arrived at work expecting business as usual, but was told by the owner that both the Fremont and Ballard stores (both stores pictured below with doors closed this afternoon) were shutting down.
“We know he didn’t want this to happen,” a longtime staffer, who wished to remain nameless, told The Seattle Times. The staff member reportedly did not know what had prompted the owner to shut down the popular spot. “He said — and I believe him — he found out he had to close on Monday… he said he was sorry and wished he could find a way to keep going,” the staff member said.
A legal document regarding a lawsuit filed in early September by former Paseo employees against the owners has surfaced online and it is not clear at this point if it has to do with the closure.
The My Ballard team contacted attorney Trevor Osborne from Davies Pearson Attorneys at Law in Tacoma who confirmed that he is representing four former Paseo employees in a lawsuit against Paseo owners. Osborne confirmed that he submitted the complaint to the owners in April and that the suit was filed in early September.
When asked if the law suit had anything to do with today’s closure, Osborne stated that he was “as surprised as anyone to find out the news this morning.”
“I would only be guessing about a correlation between the closure and the law suit,” says Osborne. He also confirmed that the law suit is currently ongoing.
Locals are sure to be devastated by the closure of the highly popular spot that Yelp listed as #2 on the list of the top 100 places to eat in the country.
