32 Bar & Grill at Kraken Community Iceplex opens Saturday
Nov 6, 2021, 7:33 AM | Updated: 8:51 am
Early designs for the 32 Bar & Grill. (Courtesy photo)
(Courtesy photo)
At the Kraken Community Iceplex at Northgate, the new 32 Bar & Grill is set to open Saturday.
Kraken Community Iceplex at Northgate opens to the public
The Kraken Community Iceplex opened to the public on Sept. 10. It houses the Seattle Kraken’s practice facility, and it’s a place for the community to come together and experience ice sports.
“We are dedicated to the development of youth and adult ice sports in Seattle and the Puget Sound region,” the mission statement for the iceplex reads. “We hold fast to our commitment to providing our athletes, volunteers, officials and families a safe and fun environment to grow on and off the ice.”
The facility at Northgate features three NHL-sized ice rinks, 12 locker rooms, two meeting rooms, Kraken Staff HQ, the Kraken Training Facility and Hockey Operations, as well as a team store, the 32 Bar & Grill, and a Starbucks Community Store.
The 32 Bar & Grill — the restaurant located inside the team’s Northgate practice facility — will be run by Mick McHugh, formally of F.X. McRory’s. Its name was chosen to pay homage to the “32,000 fans [who] made it possible for us to become the NHL’s 32nd franchise, and the freezing point for ice which our players and community will skate on at the facility.”
The restaurant has overlooks out into the Starbucks Rink where the Kraken practice and the Smartsheet Rink. The website says it will feature pub fare with customized furnishings, Seattle hockey memorabilia, unique Kraken art, and 17 high definition monitors where you can “catch all the hockey action, all the time.” There’s seating available for 250, plus a private dining space for 35.
Seattle Kraken fans celebrate historic start of hockey season
The team had initially decided to name the restaurant the Kraken Bar & Grill. Shortly after the name was announced, a University District punk rock bar called the Kraken Bar & Lounge filed a $3.5 million lawsuit, alleging the newly-minted NHL team was harming the 10-year-old venue’s brand.
Not long after the lawsuit was filed, the NHL team indicated that it planned to change the name of its restaurant to avoid any potential confusion.
