When will we get bagels, deep-dish pizza? An update on 7 anticipated Tacoma restaurants
As we peer into the final months of 2022, those of us following the Tacoma restaurant scene are left with some carb-loading questions.
When will those bagel shops you promised finally open?
Will that Chicago-themed Spanaway spot ever present its deep-dish pizzas and Italian beef sandwiches?
What about the combo cafe-taproom at Brewery Blocks?
Every month, we share a list of restaurants now open for business. At the beginning of the year, we looked at some of the year’s most anticipated openings; most have opened, but a few we are still patiently awaiting.
Here we take a look at what’s still on its way — and what we hope starts serving before 2022 is up.
SALAMONE’S PIZZA PUB - UNIVERSITY PLACE
University Place, salamonespizzeria.com
Brooklyn native turned Tacoman Steven Salamone solved a true conundrum when he opened his pizzeria in 2018. The Stadium District shop has churned out thousands of 18-inch, New York-style pies, and soon we’ll also have access to them from a new restaurant in University Place — but not at the location previously reported. The 27th and Bridgeport hopeful has since fallen through, Salamone confirmed to The News Tribune this week, due to the costs involved with upgrading the former gym’s sprinkler system. He has a substitute — already zoned as a restaurant — lined up and hopes to confirm the address in short time. If all goes well, this full-service pub will open before the end of the year.
CHI TOWN PIZZA
15619 Pacific Ave. S, Tacoma, facebook.com
This expansive restaurant dedicated to Chicago’s famed exports — namely, deep-dish pizza and hot Italian beefs — was first teased a year ago. By summer, Donald Miller had remodeled the space and powered up the ovens, testing pie after pie to decrease cook-times for these dense creatures. But the project was foiled by a lengthy delay of sewer permits, he said. As of mid-October, he finally feels confident that he can open the doors in just a few weeks. Miller enlisted the expertise of Chicago native Larry Stein, who has consulted on a few dozen deep-dish pizzerias across the country since opening his own such restaurant in Iowa in 1975. Chi Town Pizza will also have a full bar.
B’S BAGELS & BUTTERS
3308 Uddenberg Lane, Gig Harbor, instagram.com/bsbagelsnbutters
“We’re this close, people!” said Brittany Erwin Oct. 8 on Instagram, as she led viewers on a walk from the Gig Harbor waterfront to her bagel shop next to Better gym. After various delays with construction and permitting, Erwin said in early October that, fingers crossed, she has her eyes on a November opening — about a year since The News Tribune first reported it. Get ready for East Coast-style bagels from this Rhode Island tranplant and former Cooks Tavern chef, who will also bring an array of homemade schmears and, as the business name implies, butters. On this side of the Narrows, B’s will become one of the few Bluebeard Coffee purveyors. For the rest of us in Tacoma, stay tuned for shipments to cafes and pre-order pickup dates.
HOWDY BAGEL
5421 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, howdybagel.com
Tacoma has gone wild for baker Jake Carter’s and his partner Daniel Blagovich’s brand of boiled bagels since they launched in 2020, gaining a following at Proctor Farmers Market. Then in February, excitement reached another level when they announced Howdy Bagel’s brick-and-mortar bagel shop on South Tacoma Way. As of October, with city building permits in hand, they are working through the “nitty gritty details” of the rehab of the shop’s vintage home next to Scamp Brewing. An exact date remains elusive, but they really, really hope it happens in a few months. Alas — perhaps not by the end of 2022, but it’s never too early to prepare ourselves for fresh bagels in flavors like rosemary sea salt and za’atar with lemon-dill and cowboy spice cream cheese.
THE LIVING ROOM AT BREWERY BLOCKS
2101 S. C St., Brewery Blocks, Tacoma, instagram.com/thelivingtaproom
Does the Brewery Blocks development need another taproom? Maybe not, but we can’t help but believe this one holds promise to become more far more than just that for downtown Tacoma. Andria and Colin Wunder first shared news of their self-serve bar and cafe in February, and construction at last began this fall. They hope the buildout wraps by December, with an opening shortly thereafter (they have already applied for a liquor license). The Living Room will offer a self-serve tap wall — similar to The Redd Dog on Sixth Ave. and soon in Puyallup — in a comfortable setting with lots of natural light, greenery and games. The draft system allows customers to pour their own drinks, and the Wunders plan to offer more than alcohol: expect to see plenty of NA options such as kombucha, nitro coffee and craft sodas at this all-day-cafe.
THE CANTEEN BY CAMP COLVOS AT 7 SEAS BREWING
2101 Jefferson Ave. (inside 7 Seas Brewing), Tacoma, campcolvos.com
The sizable kitchen space inside 7 Seas Brewing’s Tacoma taproom has been empty for a few months. 3uilt Tacoma closed its outpost here to focus on its year-old brick-and-mortar on Tacoma Ave. In its stead, neighbor Camp Colvos Brewing Co., whose New York-style pizzas and hoagies on house bread have quickly become a Tacoma favorite, will open The Canteen. The menu will focus on beer-friendly fare including pretzels, local meats and the lovely hand-pies the brewery has perfected at its original Vashon taproom. For the carb-averse, there will be salads! The 7 Seas eatery will be the third for Camp Colvos owner Matt Lawrence.
CIDER & CEDAR
▪ 744 Market St., Tacoma, ciderandcedar.com
Mia and Sterling Paradiso nurtured a cider paradise near downtown Tacoma, but they closed the original location late last year due to complicated circumstances in the neighborhood. Fear not: They have been slowly but surely chipping away at restoring the bar at 744 Market St., moving their beautiful Olympic cedar furniture pieces and curating even more cider from across the Northwest and around the world. They anticipate unveiling the new space before the end of the year.