A NEW SODO FACILITY IS ‘ROASTING’ PLANT-BASED ‘COFFEE’

What is coffee? If you answered, “a drink made from coffee beans” you’re wrong — at least if you listen to the folks over at Atomo, a Seattle-based company that is making “beanless coffee” and just celebrated a grand opening of its new “roastery” in SoDo. Local tech outlet GeekWire has the details:

The 33,547 square-foot facility south of downtown Seattle at 1421 S. Dean St. is capable of producing 90 million cups of coffee per year and ushers in another new era for the 5-year-old startup.

“This factory really is a breakthrough for us,” said Atomo co-founder and CEO Andy Kleitsch. “We’re going to satisfy every delivery method of coffee — espresso, drip, ready to drink, and pods.”

The “coffee grounds” being produced here are “a molecular concoction derived from naturally sustainable, upcycled plant waste ingredients, including extracts of date pits, lemon, guava and sunflower” and is “designed to have dark chocolate, dried fruit and graham cracker tasting notes.”

Atomo says that its product is more sustainable than regular coffee because the world’s coffee-growing regions will be adversely impacted by climate change in the coming years. If you want to find out how it tastes, it’s available at Heard Coffee in Pioneer Square.

High-end hot pots arrives in Bellevue

There’s been a reshuffling of destination restaurants in Lincoln Square North. Din Tai Fung has moved its Bellevue location (the chain’s first in the Pacific Northwest) into larger, fancier digs on the mall’s ground floor. Taking over the DTF space is a restaurant called Wagyu House from a company called Chubby Cattle; the new spot will offer “all-you-can-eat wagyu hot pot and Japanese barbecue, in addition to a la carte items and chef’s tasting menus for two that start at $188 and peak at $999,” via the Puget Sound Business Journal. What does nearly $1,000 get you? Apparently “three main courses and eight hot pot items such as wagyu beef tripe, shrimp paste with bamboo fungus and boneless duck flipper.” The Business Journal says Wagyu House plans to open in December.

The Kraken (the bar) re-emerges

Remember last year, when beloved punk dive the Kraken Bar and Lounge had to close because the space’s owners wanted to demolish the University District building? Well, co-owners Kat Colley, Daniel Colley, and William Knupp were able to successfully relocate not far away (to 5828 Roosevelt Way, where Cafe Racer used to be) and now the new Kraken is back, hosting shows and slinging food.

Ballard Avenue gets a new sports bar

Finally, the former Great State Burger space on Ballard Avenue is getting a new occupant: a sports bar called Slim Goody. The bar’s website doesn’t offer much in the way of details but a press release says it will feature 100 seats (including a pair of heated patios), a bunch of TVs, and standard sports bar food supplemented with Wisconsin-esque twists like fried cheese curds. The bar plans to hold a grand opening in June.

2024-04-26T21:28:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd