The Eastlake Ave blog reports that the Red Robin restaurant just over the University bridge will be closing its doors for good on March 21st. This is the original Red Robin, and long-time residents may recall a time when the Red Robin’s red eyes seemed a good fit for its less-than-family-friendly atmosphere.
Full details, including a short history of the Red Robin, over at the Eastlake Ave. blog.
I was there last summer, and was disappointed — the place was dirty and the service was slack. I won’t miss it.
Oh, I dunno. It had its charms (not including that gods-awful parking lot).
I had kind of a minor-league funny moment the other night when I was talking on the phone with my folks, who live in central MA. They were telling me that a Red Robin was coming to some new development nearby, and that they’d never heard of RR, and did we have them in Seattle?
Yeah Mom, you could say that…
OMG! The Parking Lot!! I once opened my door and FELL OUT OF MY CAR!
Wonder why they never fixed that?
The last time I was there was quite a while ago when I was enjoying a Summer afternoon on the brand new deck, seated with my girlfriend at the northwest corner, looking down on the canal. It was really pleasant until a kind of surly looking dude toting a rifle came out of the tavern and took a seat near the doorway, laying his gun on the table in front of him! Gradually the dozen or so other patrons kind of slinked behind him until only the three of us were left. We were starting to feel a tad uncomfortable, especially after he couldn’t get served, which didn’t seem to lighten him up a bit. After what seemed like ten or fifteen minutes of us avoiding eye contact and trying to pretend he wasn’t really there two cops came out and took him down in a flash. We drained our beers and only went back one time, just to get the bartender to tell us what was up. Usual story, dude acted out, was 86ed, went home for his gun, returned to even the score. How he got from the front door to the back with it in plain sight still mystifies me.
You should have seen the original Red Robin. It was actually beginning to slide down the hill. The floors were slanted. Then it was primarily a bar. Since they started expanding it just hasn’t been the same. It became commercialized. Now it is no loss. You can go to Red Robin all over the country.
I liked that RR. Sorry to see it go…
It’s another Seattle landmark that I hope doesn’t go away. It may have gone corporate, but it is a place many of us have gone to for decades. We were just there last Sunday night and heard the sad news. Hopefully things can be resolved and it can stay open.
Best article so far is:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/allyoucaneat/2011228316_red_robin_to_close_its_origina.html
There’s over 4,500 members for the “Don’t Close the Original Red Robin” in FB.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=337612079437
Acrobatic parking lot. Cozy tables by the fireplace in the winter. Been a patron since before they were bought out and this was the only venue. Will miss it. Always packed, especially on summer evenings. Suspect that it just cannot provide the high profit margin of the new mega-sized and sterile RRs. Too bad. Funky and history are nice, even if not maximized for profit. They should show a little respect and loyalty to their source. Don’t close it!
Just a small chuckle: my mom and I walked the Cheshiahud Loop this weekend, and as we passed the RR, I mentioned that they were closing. Her response: “Aw. I went to grad school there!”