(Image: Tanaka Ramen and Izakaya)
A busy season of change for Capitol Hill restaurants includes a new ramen joint coming to a space left empty by the downsizing of a former popular diner chain.
Tanaka Ramen and Izakaya has its roots in Hawaii where food and drink entrepreneur Jue Tina Wang opened her first restaurant eight years ago before expanding with new ramen joints, a dessert concept, and a dumpling brand on the islands and now in Illinois, Texas, and around the Puget Sound including a Kirkland location of Tanaka that opened last year.
While her MangoMango Dessert franchise locations and Dumpling Factory concept haven’t caught on, the Tanaka joints have grown with a focus on fresh Japanese comfort food in stylish settings.
Permits show an overhaul is underway at 14th and Union where Tanaka is set to take over the former Skillet Diner.
CHS reported here in November as the Seattle-based chain announced it was closing down its diners while hanging on to its counter inside the Seattle Center Armory and locations inside Sea-Tac Airport. Skillet, born as a food truck, opened its first brick and mortar location on this edge of Capitol Hill in the then-newly constructed Chloe building in 2011.
Fifteen years later, the transition underway is part of a season of merger and acquisition activity in the neighborhood’s food and drink ownership. The stories are as varied as the businesses. A legendary leather bar is back in control as it will take over a relative upstart gay bar that briefly owned it. The old Broadway Grill is now the street’s latest taqueria. A Pike/Pine lounge is getting a jolt of new energy via West Seattle. A 19th Ave E coffee joint will have an artful new chapter.
(Image: Tanaka Ramen and Izakaya)
The change will also come with new food and drink growth in the area around 14th Ave. The completion of construction on a new mixed-use building on E Madison that bucked the trend of stalled development across the city includes plans for Virtue Coffee and Cocktails, a new day/night venue planned for the street level of the new Tanager Apartments. The new development is puzzle-pieced into the block, rising above music club Chop Suey, the Madison Pub, and 14th Ave bear bar Diesel (celebrating 15 years this month) that all have remained opened through the construction.
The coming soon ramen joint will also have a relatively new food and drink neighbor. 8 Ping Yang and its Thai grill opened a year ago next door in the Chloe development.
Tanaka joins a Capitol Hill already bursting with ramen and Asian noodle choices and will compete with the likes of chains like Ramen Danbo where customers line up daily along E Pine for bowls of ラーメン and home-cooked favorites like Ooink.
Tanaka Ramen and Izakaya will open soon at 1400 E Union. Learn more at tanakaramen.com.
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