Acclaimed Seattle restaurateur plans first concept in Bellevue
Nov 2, 2026, 1:57 PM
Plates and glasses are set on a table. (Photo: maxbelchenko via Envato)
(Photo: maxbelchenko via Envato)
Bellevue is getting a new concept from an acclaimed Seattle restaurateur.
Renee Erickson, leader of the Sea Creatures restaurant group, is planning to open a yet-to-be-named, 6,000-square-foot restaurant in The Eight office tower, The Puget Sound Business Journal reported. It will be her first restaurant outside of Seattle.
“We’re excited to bring Sea Creatures to Bellevue and to become part of the community on the Eastside,” Erickson said in a statement to The Puget Sound Business Journal. “The Eight gives us a wonderful setting to create something new, and we look forward to sharing more about what we have planned as we get closer to opening.”
Erickson would not share additional information with The Puget Sound Business Journal, but the restaurant is expected to open next summer. The concept is still in the planning stages.
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Sea Creatures expands beyond its Seattle restaurants
The Bellevue plans follow Sea Creatures’ expansion in Pioneer Square, where the group announced three concepts at 419 Occidental Avenue: Lowlander Brewing, Un Po Tipsy and My Oh My.
MyNorthwest previously reported that Lowlander Brewing and Un Po Tipsy were opening in the former F.X. McRory’s space. Lowlander features a working brewery and beer hall, while Un Po Tipsy serves New York-style pizza by the slice.
The third concept, My Oh My, was planned as an intimate fine-dining restaurant with a menu described as “Rome meets London meets Seattle.”
Sea Creatures signed the lease for the Pioneer Square space in April 2024.
The group operates 11 restaurants across Seattle and is co-owned by Jeremy Price and Chad Dale, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.
An award-winning restaurant legacy
Erickson won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest in 2016. Her Ballard oyster bar, The Walrus and the Carpenter, opened in 2010 and was a finalist for Outstanding Restaurant nationwide in 2022.
The group’s Seattle portfolio also includes Wilmott’s Ghost inside The Spheres.
Sea Creatures previously operated The Whale Wins, where chef Ash Stockham worked with Erickson beginning in 2017. Stockham later led the kitchen at Tomo and is now preparing to open Pearl Diver, a Parisian-inspired bistro on Capitol Hill.
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