Will the third time be the charm in the post-Seattle Crab Co. world?
On Oct. 1, the sign went up at 1000 N.E. Northgate Way that Patty’s Eggnest is taking the place of The Fine Diner, whose two-month stint was even shorter than its predecessor, La Bera Cafe.
Both tried to fill the shoes of the Seattle Crab Co., which closed abruptly after 11 years last summer.
Let’s hope that Patty’s Eggnest, which has several locations throughout the the Seattle area, can keep its doors open for longer than six months!
No word yet on when this new restaurant will open, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out.
The Fine Diner failed because it advertised “international cusine,” but it was like any other menu in America. The whole restaurant was confusing and conflicting. I don’t mind “international food” whatever that is, or regular old Denny’s style food but don’t confuse me, LOL. A good message for anyone who moves in there is no one wants to sit on hard wooden chairs. I tried the new restaurant today. The food was good, but the service was lousy. We never got a water refill, never got a coffee refill, ordered to go boxes which never came without asking twice and had to ask for our check. Lets hope it was an isolated incident.
I stopped by Patty’s on Sunday morning. Fully packed and 30 minute wait. Huge portions. Quick service. The interior has been re-done since I visited La Bera in this location. Is it fair to complain that the portions are too large? Nothing special on the menu, but still a step above a Dennys. I visited the Holman Road location a few years ago and they had a shrine to George Bush and John McCaain on the wall, with advertisements for right-wing radio. Irritated me just enough to stop going. I hope they don’t do that at this location.
We went on Thursday a.m. too, and found six other tables occupied. People were waiting outside the door at 10:50 am Saturday, and the parking lot was full yet again at 12:15 pm.
This tells me a breakfast spot was long overdue.
Having met my wife at the old Patty’s in Wallingford back in college, this was a fun surprise to see. We went this morning and it was exactly what I remembered. Good food, great value, and quick service. I sat down and had a cup of coffee within 30 seconds. It was packed too! (Thursday at 10AM)
Drove by the new Eggnest the other day, and looks like it’s open for business. Hope by fellow Pinehursters (Pinehurstians?) will give us a review!
I actually thought the burgers at the Fine Diner were awesome. Definitely better than the nearby Red Robin or Five Guys. That said, my wife thinks that me and our two-year-old were the only folks keeping them in business and our visit every two weeks just didn’t seem to cut it. We liked La Bera as well. Having the kids’ play area made it a favorite with us almost every weekend. I just hope Patty’s Eggnest makes it more than a few months–I’m tired of walking to this location and then finding out the restaurant’s out of business.
Excited to try it! Already looks more appealing then the others did. Never went to the “Fine Diner”
did try the “La Bera” once the service was horrible, never went back. The curb appeal is very important, so far no one has really addressed that. Keep the sidewalk strip neat and inviting not just the area before you enter, it says a lot to me about a restaurant. We will give it a try & hope in the near future they clean things up more.
Anyone else been around here long enough to recall the Pancake Haus that used to be where the mattress store is now? By the way, this spot was once a Skippers restaurant.
Much looking forward to another Patty’s. Expect the parking lot to be full and a long line.
I have it on good authority that the seniors in the neighborhood think this is the best news they’ve heard all week. A breakfast restaurant has been sorely lacking in the neighborhood.
Good luck to the new owners Bill and Susan. I think a great b’fast place is exactly what is needed in this neighborhood, and I wish it was open today because I’m hungry! I agree the place could use some paint, but it won’t matter if the food is great. As a side note, I tried an expensive steak from the “Fine Diner” and it was inedible.
The trouble with The Fine Diner is they never put any advertising out of what kind of “International Cuisine” they had. Pretty vague considering there wasn’t any menu on the outside and saw very few customers inside. I hope Patty’s Eggnest will be there a lot longer than the other short-lived places.
Anonymouse – FYI _ we had an Olive Garden on Northgate Way and it failed. ALso Marie Calendar’s closed during the summer – money issues. Still miss the Denny’s though… Hopefully Patty’s will fill the void. Or perhap’s Beth’s Diner needs another location.
thank you for insight on patty’s egg nest. we plan to open the n-gate location mon. oct. 10. patty’s offers an affordable quality meal and ample portions. We’re proud to serve items such as thick cut bacon, fresh squeezed oj , swedish pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, chicken apple sausages , prime rib dips and our famous elvis french toast. keep blogging ane we will see you at patty’s. sincerely, bill and susan, owners
I had a cheesesteak sandwich at the Fine Diner. It was horrible. I almost feel sorry for them
I think I’m going to like having a breakfast place within walking distance.
But I hope they clean those awnings and to me reflect on the cleanliness of the establishment as a whole.
Never heard of Patty’s. But we had a Denny’s or Shari’s up there for awhile and that failed. Maybe Marie Calenders would consider moving? Agreed that the exterior needs a serious update. I don’t want fast food moving in but more restaurant choices would be nice. Maybe an Olive Garden? Secretly, I’d love the Scarlet Tree to move up there.
Mike, thanks for the laugh about the mattress stores. 🙂
On a busy street, next to a Jiffy Lube and grocery store….near strip malls and a larger mall. Makes no sense to put anything upscale or a “concept” restaurant. You don’t get foot traffic there and the ambience is hardly ideal for anything too nice.
A traditional diner should do well…or some other low key generic restaurant.
I would love something more interesting, but the reality is the spot is not ideal for much else.
As others mentioned, the exterior is awful…no matter what moves in…that needs to change.
I drive by this place from time to time and it never looks open. Even when there were big ol banners up announcing the new grand openings the windows are so dark you can’t tell that the lights are on, and there are no cars in the parking lot. It just looks dead.
I don’t know exactly what they could do to make it better, but maybe it would help if they put some lights under the awnings and a car or two in the parking lot.
Sweet, we need more breakfast places. I used to love Pancake Haus when it was open in that area.
Great news! I unabashedly love Patty’s Eggnest. As a Maple Leaf resident I definitely do not feel that every local restaurant has to be upscale or trendy. We’ve been without a breakfast spot for some time. I like the idea of fixing up the exterior, though–big streetside windows would be great. Here’s wishing lots of success to Patty’s Eggnest!
Darn…I was hoping for another mattress store!
This looks promising. Maybe the Maple Leafers are more “upscale”, but we humble Pinehurstians sure could use a good affordable breakfast spot.
Oh dear! Oh my! I see many breakfasts in my future! Yay! So happy!
Patty’s is the goods… Now we just need a mens’ girdle specialty store.
I have always been surprised that the Mall can bring on half a dozen new restaurants no problem yet everything placed right on Northgate Way seems to fail. I still remember the jewelry store nearv Starbucks was a restaurant many times before it just gave it up as well.
I gotta disagree that this new place should be upscale, as stated before, been there and no sale. I’m thinking this breakfast place may indeed have the golden ticket.
@ Brent:
You aren’t kidding about Greasy and Big!! Although I like Patty’s Egg Nest once in a while. I have eaten at the one in Mill Creek many times. It’s definitely not a trendy place like Portage Bay Cafe, but for a standard breakfast they are pretty good. I think it will do well in that location and because the reality is that people in our country really like extra large portions!
oye! so quickly? I agree with the previous commenter, though – the only reason I knew anything about the Fine Diner was through this blog. Send some flyers out, people! I think it will be nice to have a place dedicated to breakfast in the neighborhood. Many places serve it, but I don’t have a go-to location.
I feel like the Seattle Crab Company and The Fine Diner didn’t really understand how to sell themselves to the neighborhood, which contributed to their demise.
The biggest mistake I think you can make in that location is to orient your restaurant toward general Northgate traffic instead of to the poeple who live in Maple Leaf and Victory Heights nearby. No restaurant can stay in business on Northgate Way if it doesn’t understand the people who live closest to it.
Also, the fare needs to be slightly more upscale than SCC and TFD managed. Maple Leafers tend to be “foodies” demographically and want high-quality, but not necessarily fussy, food. The place still needs to be kid-/family-friendly, as well, given the demographics of the neighborhood. Also, if people feel like it’s unsafe, no one will go there, so keeping trouble-makers away is a tricky but essential thing.
The other problem that location has is that the exterior still looks like a down-and-out New England seafood shack with tiny windows you can’t see in. The new owners would do well to update the exterior style a bit and ideally to install much bigger streetside windows – if drivers passing by can see tables occupied through the windows, then it attracts more first-time visitors. The multicolored flags can never signal “this is an awesome new restaurant” nearly as well as a fresh paint job in a bright color and big windows would.
Here’s hoping their experience with previous locations will serve them well at this spot!
YAHOO! We love Patty’s! It’s about time we have a greasy, big and bouncy breakfast haunt in our ‘hood.