If you don’t have your New Year’s plans locked in, you may want to set aside some time for a visit to a Wallingford tradition that is soon to end. Shana Kelly writes:
It’s official, The Moon Temple is closing its doors. January 9, 2014 is the last day Johnny Chen will be slinging drinks for his loyal patrons. The new property owners, Velmeir Companies, will begin demolition to make way for a CVS, the 3rd drugstore in two block radius, on the northeast corner of 45th Street and Meridian. This is following a long battle with the community regarding building plans, calling for the removal of the historic 1929 building.
For some, The Moon Temple is just another dive bar, but for others it is a place where memories and long lasting friendships were formed. A place where Superbowl parties, holiday events, and birthdays were celebrated by patrons and employees alike; where people congregated for Tuesday night coin collectors club and Sunday night trivia. The Moon Temple, for some, was a place that you can always return and know that you will have a friend at one end or side of the bar, where strong drinks and great Chinese food were offered far after other kitchens had closed.
In speaking with the ‘old timer’ crowd, stories of the history of The Moon Temple are as varied and colorful as the loyal patrons sharing them. One thing is for sure, it will be missed. Stories of this historic Chinese restaurant, local ‘dive bar’ date back to 1958. The Moon Temple was reported to be “one of the first Chinese restaurants in North Seattle.” Harry Eng, bartender and friend to many, worked here for nearly 50 years and in 2006 and retired from The Moon Temple at the age of 72. Harry, with his strong accent, stiff drinks, and a true love for his customers, left big shoes to fill. One thing is for sure, The Moon Temple is consistent.
Johnny Chen, began bartending in 2000. With a flair for fun, a heart of gold, and an artist’s creativity, Johnny has gone the extra mile to meet his customers’ needs. Johnny is the creator of the original Trash Can, which has since been adopted by various surrounding establishments, has made it his mission to create a new drink annually, drawing crowds in to try these legendary concoctions.
While The Moon Temple for some is one of the last surviving dive bars in Seattle, to many of us, it is the end of an era filled with fond memories and great friends.
Something tells me, this isn’t the end for Johnny . . . stay tuned for Johnny Moon’s!
oooohhh, thank you f r letting us know. I am sorry. I need clarification.. I thought the CVS store was going to be where the old Tullys is.. or will there be 2 CVS?
Terrible news, even if we’ve known about it for a while. But I’d like a clarification: Shana Kelly writes that this is a “demolition”. Isn’t it really a renovation?
Oh geez, how in the world did the developer think this was a good idea?! A 3rd drug store?!? Clearly there is a lack of imagination issue at hand.
Johhny is the best, I’ll follow the moon temple anywhere (but preferably in wallingford!)
The only thing I’ll ever use that CVS for is parking in their lot while I run to Bartell. That east coast chain with its half-baked suburban architects and zero respect for our neighborhood can GTFO.
SHOP LOCAL. SHOP BARTELL.
I won’t miss Moon Temple. As a native of Wallingford, I always thought the food was awful (didn’t need the bar). I hate the idea of of a CVS moving in – there’s too little variety in our shops on 45th now (see the diversity that is Market Street in Ballard). Oh well.
@cocoloco – The CVS will take up all three of the old storefronts – the Tully’s, the Moon Temple, and the place that used to be some sort of mysterious weight loss spa.
It’s amazing. I was thinking, what do we reaaaallly need here in Wallyworld? What are we lacking? And voila, my wish has been granted! Now I no longer have to walk 2 blocks in either direction for a drug store. America is awesome! Awesome!
(Jack, you were doing it wrong. Moon Temple. Possibly life itself, if you’re okay with what’s happened to poor Ballard.) Hoping the Hamilton kids turn their world-class shoplifting / store-trashing efforts toward this CVS, which isn’t welcome and isn’t wanted.
Something tells me CVS will do just fine. With how many of you whine about how you won’t patronize a particular business because of the lack of parking, it seems they did their homework and are perfectly welcome here.
I don’t need a new drugstore either Bartell’s is great but I was impressed by the city feedback process. All of my feedback was adopted into the plan which was to nix the original tear down and building of a suburban style chain completely out of place for the neighborhood and instead taking the building and restoring it closer to how it looked originally.
As far as Chinese take-out I suppose we’ll give Bamboo Village a try when Moon Temple is gone. Cities are like living organisms. It is unrealistic to expect everything stays the same.
Just a point of clarification. When CVS first announced it was going into the Tullys-Moon Temple site, its plan was to demolish the building and put up one of its standard suburban type stores. There was a great deal of community objection. The Wallingford Community Council and developer engaged in a long series of negotiations. CVS agreed to remodel/restore the old building design, much of which was covered or removed. Past versions of the building were reviewed from historic photographs. As a result, WCC and CVS agreed to a number of design elements to recover and/or retain details of the old building’s facade.
CVS was coming to that corner whether we liked it or not. Because of the efforts of the WCC Land Use Committee’s work and CVS’s willingness to sit down and negotiate with the community, the resulting building will be more in harmony with our neighborhood than originally proposed.
Incidentally, if anyone would like to become involved in Wallingford land use, public safety, quality of life, transportation and other issues, your help would be appreciated. You can join WCC at http://www.wallingfordcc.org/p/membership_11.html .
Lee, thank you for your insight and communication. Evon, well said. But Bamboo village is not great food. Their dim sum may be good, I’ve not tried it.
As a cosmetics afficianado, I am looking forward to CVS in seattle. It seems like a weird place for them, though, and I’ll likely never go to that one.
For the first 20 years or so I lived in Wallingford, I thought that Moon Temple must be some kind of secret society or something. There were no windows and I never saw anyone coming in or out. Some years ago they finally put windows in and you could actually see that there were people inside….but not many. I have wondered how they were able to maintain a business. Still, will be sad to lose this business and this building, if for the color alone.
Sad end of an era. True the food wasn’t the best but the bar had a bit of the feel of an English pub where neighbors and friends gathered. And remember Bartell’s is a locally owned company that has served the community for many, many years. Shop local!
Sad end of an era. True the food wasn’t the best but the bar and the crown were what makes a neighborhood hang-out, dive or not. And remember Bartells is a local company that has served Seattle well for many, many years. Shop local.
Lee, thanks for the update. I am so glad to hear that CVS will retain the original building facade, especially (I hope) that beautiful terra cotta cornice. Thanks to all who were involved with the City’s input process. No, Moon Temple’s food wasn’t the best, but they had pretty darn good chow mein, kung pao and Mongolian beef — way better and more consistant than Bamboo village. And, no, no neighborhood can stay the same, but with every new development that goes in, their required ground floor retail rents out at a higher price than before, which our local small businesses generally can’t afford. So we end up with more cell phone stores, tanning salons and other businesses that don’t contribute to the personality of the neighborhood.
I’ve lived in Wallingford for 40 years. The Moon Temple hasn’t changed in all that time. I love it! Too bad the old neighborhood is slipping away.
CVS is not a bad store, but we do not need one so close to Bartell.
If you haven’t tried the crispy fried tofu at the Moon Temple yet – I recommend you run there and try it right now! I agree that the restaurant is pretty odd, but that crispy tofu and their green beans have made this vegetarian happy for many years! I’m probably going to go at least twice in the next week.
AG showing some class in at #9. I don’t know what should have gone in that spot regardless I wouldn’t wish vandalism or theft.
If the people of Wallingford don’t want CVS their tenure will be short lived if they vote with their bank account.
The only theory that makes sense to me is that CVS expects to drive out one or two of its Wallingford competitors. They can’t imagine that the market is big enough to support Bartells, Walgreens, Pharmaca and CVS within a couple blocks radius. They can’t expect to make money at their location under those circumstances. They can only hope that no one else will make money – and that the others won’t be able to hold out as long.
Crispy tofu and green beans, sounds good to me.
The Mu Shu pork is also very good.
Definitely don’t want crime (and none of the Hamilton kids I know do anything like that), and if they actually are not tearing down the building to put some suburban stucco BS, that makes me super happy, since when CVS fails we may get some interesting businesses in there.
I do think the likelihood is that CVS will kill Bartell which is sad, but when I see the land office business that Dominos is doing, I guess people really do like big corporate schlock. (I’ll take Pudge Bros 1000x over Dominos)
I doubt CVS will kill that Bartells…but it may force them to renovate. Bartells built a huge new store right across from Walgreens in Ballard, after all. They don’t seem afraid of competition.
Maybe MT was just good at vegetarian food? It’s been the go-to (takeout) place for my wife and I for 20 years. Crispy tofu, yes! Home-style tofu also great! I hope the place gets reincarnated somewhere close!
/rob
(Urk. “My wife and me”. Sorry.)
All this talk about Moon Temple – we went there last night. The ambiance was as crummy as ever, but… O, Crispy Tofu, I will miss you so! 😉
/rob
I’ve been a customer of Moon Temple’s delivery for about thirty years. I’ve never enjoyed their bar and now regret it (I seldom drink). I think the food at Moon Temple is great, and I’ve “trained my chops” in some of America’s great “Chinatowns.” I am grateful for their proximity, their professionalism (the young man who usually takes my orders and delivers it is GREAT) and the promptness of their delivery – it sometimes seems the food arrives before I’ve hung up the phone. I hope Moon Temple is able to find a new site in Wallingford near their old friends, but if not, I wish the entire crew GOOD LUCK and a future filled with happiness and greater accomplishments!
I learned to use chopsticks while still in a booster seat at Moon Temple. We must have started going very soon after they opened, because I was born in 1956! We went there regularly until we moved away in 1968, and at that time they made the best Chinese food around. They made a sweet and sour sparerib that was unique … and their hot mustard was unparalleled!
Thanks for the memories.
My friend suggested that the Moon Temple move into where Patty’s Egg Nest used to be. It would do so well and break the curse of that space! I will dearly miss being Moon Templed.
The story above said they were closing on the 9th, so we went there last night expecting a sentimental farewell, only to find they were already shut down and starting to dismantle things. Disappointed not to get in a goodbye visit.