Steakhouse in prominent downtown Tacoma location has closed after just two years

After just two years, Stanford’s Steak closed Jan. 24 in downtown Tacoma.

Owner Ascend Hospitality Group, based in Bellevue, announced the shutter on social media last week.

“To our loyal guests, we invite you to join us for happy hour or dinner tonight, one last time,” the post read. “We will forever appreciate your support of our restaurant and our team, as well as that of the community and organizations we’ve been fortunate to partner with.”

Three Stanford’s Restaurants — with locations in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood as well as Clackamas and Hillsboro, Oregon — will remain open. Each of those is located in commercial shopping plazas.

The company declined to comment further on what led to the Tacoma closure.

Stanford’s opened in November 2021 at 1502 Pacific Ave., a prominent address best known as the 15-year home of Pacific Grill, which closed amid pandemic strife in the second half of 2020. Many cooks who trained under chef Gordon Naccarato now own and operate their own businesses in the area.

In a statement, Mark Hollander, whose Hollander Hospitality owns the building as well as the neighboring Courtyard at Marriott Downtown Tacoma, anticipated the unit would turn over to another restaurant in the near future.

“Recently [Stanford’s] notified us that they made the difficult decision to close this location, and while we are sad to see them go, we respect their decision,” he said. “There has been a great deal of mutual cooperation to ensure that the restaurant space at 1502 Pacific Ave will not remain vacant for long as we work to identify what will come next. We expect this space will continue to serve visitors and locals a unique food and beverage experience in Tacoma for years to come.”

The first new Stanford’s location in years, Ascend wanted to build on the brand as a “steakhouse for everybody,” CEO Elaina Morris told The News Tribune at the time. Also the owner of Ascend Prime Steak and Sushi, which boasts panoramic views from the top floor of a high-rise in downtown Bellevue, she saw it as a middle-ground choice that would not compete directly with Tacoma neighbor El Gaucho.

In 2019, her company purchased Stanford’s Steakhouse — created in 1990, the first in Portland — as its then-owner, Restaurants Unlimited, declared bankruptcy and was later acquired by Landry’s. By then the chain had dwindled to four locations. Ascend updated the menus, dialing back a move toward casual-dining fare like burgers and bringing in higher-quality steaks.

The Tacoma restaurant, was, in a sense, Ascend’s pilot for where it thought it could take the concept: It cut the “house” from the name and focused the design on a modern aesthetic, with emerald-green velour chairs, no tablecloths and Edison-style pendants. The happy hour menu was part of the plan, too — where you could get a martini for under $10.

In September 2022, Ascend closed its Hayden Island Stanford’s in Portland, citing safety and security concerns, according to local news reports. The company also operates several Famous Dave’s in the region.

Editor’s Note, 2/2/2024, 11 a.m.: This story has been updated with comment from building owner Hollander Hospitality.

This story was originally published January 31, 2024 at 5:00 AM.