It's yet another end of an era. After 63 years on Broadway, Jimmy Woo's Jade Pagoda has closed its doors for good. And with its closing Broadway, and Seattle, loses yet another relic from its past and possibly its heart.
The cause? Rising rent. The building's owner has said the building is in serious need of repairs. And many assume that the property will in short order be replaced by a large, multi-story, mixed-use project similar to the one just underway at the old Safeway site.
But stepping into the Jade Pagoda, up until its Thursday, Aug. 31, closing, time tended to stand still. The restaurant at 606 Broadway East opened in 1943 and over time became known for cheap and generous drinks. Lovingly referred to as a dive bar, it was a place where the restaurant trade became incidental to the character of the bar.
And on the last night it was packed.
Owner Pearl Woo, along with her son Bryant and numerous friends and relatives, held a private party in the restaurant. But in the bar it was a youthful standing-room only. Former employees came to say goodbye; some even took turns behind the bar. While regular customers were well represented, the majority of patrons were not necessarily longtime habitués but rather fans who had come to say good-bye to a Seattle institution.
Heineken in hand, 20-something Bud (possibly not his real name) loudly proclaimed his love of the place. When pressed, he admitted to having been in the Jade Pagoda only one time previously.
"But I am sad to see it go," he said.
Others came by out of a sense of curiosity.
"I've never been here before," said Suzanne James, drinking a something-and-coke from a short glass. "I wanted to see it while there still was a chance."
The inevitability of change was hard to ignore. But the Jade Pagoda's timeless quality was a major source of its appeal. Special, perhaps, for its lack of specialness.
"It was just a place. You could just go. The drinks were strong," said Brian Purcell, 49.
And how often did you drop in to the Jade Pagoda?
"A few times a year," he said. "I came more often when I was younger. But I was never really a regular."
Pearl Jam plays on the jukebox.
"It sucks," said a man whose ability to stand might have been assisted by the compress of the crowd. "It shouldn't have to close." His words didn't compete well with the substantial ambient noise. But it included a rant about developers. Wrecking the city. No concern for small business people.
A common lament held that the passage of time was to blame, that all good things must come to an end. There were indeed many glasses raised toward some variation of that sentiment.
A website, www.jadepagoda.com, will be up shortly.
Doug Schwartz is the editor of the Capitol Hill Times. He can be reached at editor @capitolhilltimes.com or 461-1308. He first visited the Jade Pagoda many, many moons ago.
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