Tully's Closes, Sunrice To Close, Other Spaces Still Sit Empty After Months

Many Laurelhurst Blog readers have emailed the Laurelhurst Blog Staff about Tully's suddenly closing last Sunday.

One neighbors said:

As a long time Tully's customer I was saddened to learn that it had closed. I was told by employees the rent had tripled.  No word what is planned for the space.

 

The Laurelhurst Blog Staff spoke with a Tully's who said that the landlord "wanted to triple our rent." He added that Kinko's will most likely be downsizing in the same space.

King County Records show that the building, appraised at $3,152,600 is owned by William Guimont of Gemo-Guimont LLC.

That appears to be the only building he owns in the area as Property Development Associates (PDA), a division of Safeway that focuses on the leasing and disposition, owns the building where Burgermaster is.

Nearby Baskin-Robbins has sat empty since September of last year. 

The manager and also son of the owner, told the Laurelhurst Blog Staff that the new landlord "wanted to raise the rent by more than 50% with all costs included."








So they had to walk away from the business his family has owned for 15 years, and in which it has been located for 40 years .  

Word on the street is that the rent is $7,000 a month for the space. One neighbor said "Probably the only business that can afford that is Starbuck's."

Also empty is the space that used to house Chloe Bistro which closed in January of last year.  Before that, Union Bay Café was there for a number of years.

The landlords, the Spigers, have told potential renters that they only want offices in that space and no more restaurants.

The Spigers own the entire building, which also houses Epic Barber, a variety of offices and businesses.

The Sunrice Café is also in that building and the Laurelhurst Blog Staff has heard that it will be closing very soon, because the rent has suddenly increased.

Blog readers speculate that these spaces will continue to be vacant as the "loss of rent is a tax write-off so no money is lost" one resident said. "Landlords can afford to have their spaces sit empty as long as they want." 

A reader who is a Tax Preparer and Business Development Specialist, wrote in and said:

Landlords still have to pay property taxes and other costs. They can, in some cases, take the loss generated by the property as a reduction in taxable income and, thus, get some tax savings, but that's not the case for most property owners because their incomes are too high for that.

Undoubtedly, most property owners would prefer to have tenants and it may be worth their time and lost rental income to wait for one that will pay a higher rate or to redevelop the property.

 

 

Chloe Bistro Closes (Next Door To Epic Barber Shop)

 

 



Chloe Bistrot (3515 NE 45th Street), which opened in June of 2010, closed recently. 

It was owned by Laurent Gabrel, who also owns Voila! French Bistrot and La Cote Creperie in Madison Park. 

Gabrel had completely remodeled the space from the previous restaurant, Enotria, which was there about a year and closed in February of 2010.

And before that the popular Union Bay Café was in the space for many years until it closed in June of 2007.

The 2,300 square foot restaurant was up for sale for $129,000 for several months around September of this year and was listed in BizBuySell, Business Week and LoopNet, advertising it as sub-lease with "low, low, low rent." and "great potential for growing much much more $$$s "

A frequent diner at Chloe told the Blog Staff that the restaurant broke its lease which was supposed to go until 2020 because the restaurant was "going belly-up."

He added that he had heard that the landlord does not want another restaurant in that space.

He also added that he believes that Epic Barber, next door, will be expanding into the back area of the former restaurant, where the chef office used to be.

There are two signs on the space - one a "For Rent" sign giving a phone number, and the other listing the details of various spaces available in the building.

French Bistrot, Chloe, Opening Tomorrow in Laurelhurst

Chloe, a French Bistrot, owned by Laurent Gabrel, who also owns Voila! French Bistrot, is set to open tomorrow, Tuesday, at 5pm.

One of our staffers was able to go inside to see the restaurant and said it looked very charming. They did a complete remodel from the previous restaurant, Enotria.

"Now it looks just like a bistro," the staffer told us.  The chairs have bright red cloth, the walls are spotted with French writing in beautiful gold and silver tones.

Inside Laurent was busily getting the restaurant ready saying "It's been a lot of work but we're very excited."

We spoke with Michael, Service Directof of Voila!, who told us that they brought the "charm over from Voila!"

Michael said he had seen the menu, (which is  now hanging up outside the restaurant, see photo below), and it looked very interestng - a beautiful seafood selection including bouillabaise, mussel dishes, and oysters to name a few.

And for meat dishes - entre cote (french rib eye), bavette (flank steak), pork shop similar to that served at Voila! and a "fabulous burger" that's been written up he said "by all sorts of places" with brie and caremlized onions.

For dessert - creme brulee, chocolate mousse, sorbet and all the "classic desserts" will be offered.

And the pricing will be similar to the Voila! menu - $14-$16 for entrees and specials between $19-$26.

And to go with that delicious food, he said there is a "fantastic wine list."

He said Laurent will be focused on this new restaurant for the next 3 months as he has a seasonsed staff running his other restaurant, Voila! French Bistrot.

Another staffer recently went to Voila! and said it was absolutely delicious, especially the salmon (saumon a la creme) and duck confit (confit de canard).  And the profiteroles au chocolate were "wonderful" the staffer said.

One of our readers wrote in to us saying this is a "meteorite about to hit Laurelhurst."He said it's a New York phrase referring to a "completely out of this world restaurant landing in an unlikely spot."

Chloe will be open Tuesday through Sundays 5-10pm and Friday and Saturdays 5-10:30pm.

Here is a previous post we did on Chloe.

Update on New Restaurant Opening Soon

An update on the post we did last week about Chloe Bistrot, a new restaurant opening soon in the space where Enotria was.`.

Several readers contacted us after our post, having found an application for a liquor license filed last month under the name Laurent Gabrel.

And great news Gabrel is the chef and owner of Voila!, another French bistrot, in Madison Park.

Gabrel also owns La Cote Creperie, a few doors down from Voila! He was also former Figaro Bistro owner.

Several staffers have eaten at Voila and had great feedback. They said it's great bistro food at reasonable prices.

Voila! also gets great reviews on Yelp. com.

Some comments on Yelp -
"Best find in a very long time."
"Hands down the best meal I've eaten all month".
"Great neighborhood feel, excellent food and top notch service."
"Very solid neighborhood French bistro. No big surprises on the menu or the plate but there's nothing wrong with a well prepared, classic French bistro dish. Maybe not the kind of place you'd drive across town for, but definitely a place I could see myself going to often if I lived nearby. Also quite affordable."

We have an email out to Monsieur Gabrel and hope to hear back soon.

We're looking forward to this new restaurant in our neighborhood!