This spring was Steamer’s last at Titlow Beach
Reporter’s Note, 3/31/2021: Steamer’s last day of service was today, March 31. The restaurant’s parent company originally said it would close the Titlow Beach seafood spot at the end of 2020.
Steamer’s Seafood Cafe will close its doors in January 2021, making this summer the waterfront restaurant’s last at Titlow Beach in Tacoma.
Parent company E3 Restaurant Co. announced the shutter in a press release Monday afternoon.
“For more than four decades, we’ve had the privilege of serving up Pacific Northwest seafood to guests spanning many generations,” said E3 owner and CEO Jim Rowe. “We look forward to welcoming the community through our doors this summer and fall before we must bid them farewell.”
The landlord has decided not to renew the lease at 8802 Sixth Avenue, according to Rowe. Though sales have suffered as the coronavirus forced restaurants to shutter dining rooms for three months, it was not the reason for the closure, he added.
“We like the Tacoma market and would definitely consider expanding there if the right opportunity presented itself,” he told The News Tribune in an email.
Steamer’s was closed for the first six months of 2016, after a pipe burst in the building. At that point, it was the only remaining Steamer’s, after E3 — then known as Consolidated Restaurants Inc. — closed its Seattle outposts. The first opened at Pier 56 in 1975.
The seafood restaurant, known for its fish and chips and clam chowder, overlooks Titlow Beach and the Tacoma Narrows.
With offices in Seattle, E3 now owns five restaurants: Metropolitan Grill, Elliott’s Oyster House, Heartwood Provisions, Quincy’s Burgers and Wing Dome.
The Tacoma restaurant will remain open throughout the summer season. It will close in January 2021.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with comment from E3 Restaurant Co.
Steamer’s Seafood Cafe
▪ 8802 6th Ave., Tacoma, 253-565-4532, steamersseafoodcafe.com
▪ Details: open daily, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 2:43 PM.