Renovation delays at Space Needle push back re-opening of restaurant

Visitors to the Space Needle Tuesday morning were surprised to see a sign announcing the popular Seattle attraction was closed.

“We’re only here a couple days and we drove all the way here to come see it, and we had no idea and we bought passes,” says Lawrence Jappe, who came from Montana with his wife.

Staff said the Space Needle is mostly open during construction, including the lobby, gift shop and observation deck. In the past month, the Space Needle has closed during a few mid-week days for construction, but primarily has been open, Space Needle spokeswoman Danielle Davis said.

The construction is part of a $100 million renovation to its observation deck and SkyCity restaurant.

The renovations would give the restaurant an all-glass floor, and the observation deck would see that glass floor-to-ceiling.

Last year, Space Needle representatives announced the work should be done by the time the peak summer tourism season arrived, but management onsite Tuesday morning confirmed there would be delays to its SkyCity restaurant opening.

UNITE HERE! Local 8, which represents around 200 of those workers, told us they were notified about a month ago of the delay, and also issued a statement reading in part:

“All union-represented employees, including restaurant workers, have guaranteed layoff protection and will return to work with their seniority, wages, and benefits intact regardless of how long the project takes.”

Those workers have told us in the past, they have resorted to seeking other restaurant jobs to make ends meet.The Space Needle says there is not an updated timeline for the restaurant re-opening, but say workers have been onsite for six days a week, 20 hours a day.