If you've heard rumors about the demise of two North Broadway businesses, you've heard correctly.
At the end of January, Da Lat, a popular Vietnamese restaurant, and the Elite Tavern, one of the city's oldest gay bars, will close their doors. Count it as a dose of sad news for the holidays.
The closings continue a trend for the east side of the 600 block of Broadway East that began last summer when the Jade Pagoda closed for good. Soon after, the Glade grocery, a small convenience store several storefronts north, ceased operations. The end of the year also sees the closing of Jump Gourmet Espresso and Boma Fine Art, two small businesses located in the Diamond Parking lot on the south end of the block.
The block is not owned by a single owner, so the change very likely does not mean the entire block will soon be turned into a large, mixed-use project like the Brix building now under way one block south. In a conversation last fall, Alan Jones, representing the ownership group that owns the building occupied by Thai Siam and the Asian Wok, said that the group has no plans to redevelop its property and has passed along assurances to that effect to the two restaurants.
When the Elite and Da Lat close at the end of January, the block will be a very different place. Including the two shuttered businesses in the Diamond parking lot, the street will have lost six independent businesses in the last five months. Add to that a storefront that's been empty longer, and the east side of the block will have only two operating businesses where there used to be nine.
Inside the Elite Tavern the festive Christmas lights and decorations belay its upcoming demise. There has been a tavern at the location since Prohibition. Since 1979, the Elite has operated as a gay-oriented bar, the second-oldest continuously running gay bar in the city. It's also one of the last old-style taverns left on Broadway.
Perhaps due to the holiday rush, the owner of the Elite was unavailable for comment
Next door, Hung Lam is now calm and sanguine about being forced to close his restaurant. But when he heard the news in mid-November he was completely stunned. Aware of the Jade Pagoda's closing at the end of summer, Hung did not expect to receive similar news despite the fact that his building was owned by the same owner.
The reason he was given had largely to do with the underused parking lot behind the building.
"I was told that if we could come up with a way to improve occupancy in the parking lot, we could stay. There was no way for us to do that. My wife cried for five days when I told her we had to close," he said.
Hung and his wife opened Da Lat in August 2003. While the economic challenges facing a small restaurant are huge - consider how many similar restaurants close in very short order - Da Lat proved a popular location despite many Vietnamese restaurants along Broadway.
Hung said that while the business has had its share of challenges, including the closing of QFC and Safeway nearby and the resulting loss of foot traffic, Da Lat has not lost money during any single month of operation. Nor, he said, had he ever been late with a rent payment.
"I'm a nice guy, but of course I was pissed. But what could I do? It isn't my building," he said.
Craig Swanson, whose family owns the building, agreed that the issue of the parking lot was key in the decision to sever ties with Da Lat and the Elite. He said that given the parking shortage on and near Broadway, the fact the that back parking lot was mostly empty was something his group could not ignore.
"This is woefully underutilized real estate," he said. "The building is dilapidated and needs plumbing and electrical updates. This was largely why the Jade Pagada had to close as well. "
Swanson said he offered Da Lat and the Elite the chance to come up with some way to utilize the back parking lot.
"I understand that this was a difficult proposition for them. But there are very few properties on Broadway that are able to offer parking. We have it, and we've done a poor job of taking advantage of it historically, and that needed to change," he said.
Swanson said the plan is to develop the two storefronts, along with the boarded-up former grocery, as well as the former location of Orpheum Records, into what will probably be one retail space. A back entrance will be created, one that will encourage and promote the parking lot.
"At the end of the day I'd like to think that this will be an improvement for the neighborhood," he said.
As to his tenants, Swanson said he understands that the reality is harsh for them. But the choice to evict Da Lat and the Elite was a business decision that needed to be made.
"They are good people, and I understand they're frustrated. I had no desire to wreck an institution like the Elite. I wish I could paint a prettier picture, but it's pretty cut-and-dry," he said.
For Hung Lam, the challenge is what to do next. He's learned a lot about running a restaurant in the last three years and said it's quite possible that he'll try a similar venture. But finding a location that will work will be difficult. And staying on Capitol Hill, his first choice three years ago as well as now, may prove impossible.
"We've cried our tears," said Hung, who moved to Seattle in 1986 and met his wife during a visit to Vietnam. "Now we will try to figure out what we do next."
Doug Schwartz is the editor of the Capitol Hill Times. He can be reached at editor@capitolhilltimes.com or 461-1308.[[In-content Ad]]
