Closure of popular Seattle restaurant is a blow to nostalgic
May 21, 2015, 5:45 PM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 10:14 am
Some people may not care that Seattle's oldest Mexican restaurant is closing, but for some it's like losing a piece of the city. (Creative Commons image/Alex O'Neal)
(Creative Commons image/Alex O'Neal)
Some people may not care that Seattle’s oldest Mexican restaurant is closing, but for some it’s like losing a piece of the city.
Mama’s Mexican Kitchen has a six-month lease and is expected to stay open until at least September, The Seattle Times reports. After that, it will be demolished and replaced by a 60-unit mixed-use building.
Mama’s opened in 1974. June 1 marks the popular restaurant’s 41st birthday.
The closure effects even those who didn’t necessarily enjoy the food.
“I was shocked to hear that Mama’s is closing,” KIRO Radio’s Rachel Belle told Ron and Don. “No offense — I’m not a fan of the food — but I think it’s a fun place. You sit out in the summer on the patio and drink margaritas.”
Belle said Mama’s is a great place to hang out prior to a night on the town. Though she’s not completely resistant to change, it’s the nostalgia of the place that makes it a difficult loss.
The property sold in March for more than $4.5 million, the Times reports. The development planned for the site is in review. The applicant designed other mixed-use buildings in the area.
Related: What are they building?
Mama’s adds to the city’s culture, Belle said.
“It’s about the way the city looks and the city feels,” she said. “If you like a certain neighborhood for the aesthetics and the kind of businesses that are there — if the businesses go away, it’s not a cool neighborhood anymore.”
