Ivar’s will lose popular Fish Bar location
Jun 14, 2017, 9:10 AM
Ivar's Fish Bar in Sea-Tac Airport. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Despite a large group of supporters calling for Port of Seattle commissioners to keep Ivar’s at Sea-Tac Airport, the Seattle staple will lose it’s Fish Bar location in the central terminal.
Ivar’s president: Something fishy going on at Sea-Tac Airport
Ivar’s argued its 79-year history should have given it an advantage over the new fish shop that won the bid for the space.
Commissioners urged Ivar’s to bid on another location at the airport.
Ivar’s President Bob Donegan said the port told them that Ivar’s bid score was not as high as others, so they lost their spot at the Central Terminal. Their 10-year lease was up in 2015, but Donegan said that the port had such high employee turnover recently, they are just now getting to their lease.
“The port has been saying that we were outbid, but according to the ratings they have given us, we in fact, bid the most,” Donegan said. “We projected the highest sales and therefore the highest rent to the port. So we were not outbid.”
Perry Cooper, a spokesperson for Sea-Tac, said it’s all part of the bidding process.
“We are not kicking them out,” he said. “It’s actually part of the competitive bid process that all of our dining and retail redevelopment is going through right now. So, in this last group that was approved, their specific spot was up for bid and they did not win.”
