Downtown hot spot has new owners. Are changes afoot at one of Tacoma’s best restaurants?

New owners, veterans of the local industry, quietly took over one of Tacoma’s best restaurants in February.

Since opening in 2017, en Rama has attracted locals and visitors alike to the intimate, wood-paneled corner space of the historic Courthouse Square, where homemade pastas joined Spanish-inspired small plates and finely tuned cocktails.

Alexis and Ziggy Taladay aim to retain much of what made tables at this petite haunt hard to snag: “great food, from scratch, with a high level of service,” as Alexis put it — while alleviating pressure on the staff to “let them do their craft and showcase their creativity in the kitchen and behind the bar.”

Major alterations will be few. The couple will lean into careful tweaks to the menu and a concerted effort to refocus on approachable but memorable hospitality.

“We’re in the business of saying yes,” said Alexis, who has worked in restaurants since her college days at the University of Washington, crafting cocktails along the way.

Originally under the wing of Chris Kiel, en Rama positioned itself as more of a cocktail bar with food to pair. Drink ingredients always starred various forms of sherry, the fortified wines that have become a darling of the cocktail world but remain enigmatic even to seasoned imbibers. (The restaurant’s name references a straight-from-the-barrel style of sherry.) Chef changes eventually led to the talented Reginald Jacob Howell, who infused more Southern and Caribbean influences in the kitchen. He left last year, as the restaurant went up for sale. Kiel also declined to purchase it.

In addition to the name, the Taladays intend to maintain “the core of what people love about the place,” said Ziggy.

Some of that quirkiness will continue, said Alexis, referencing a cilantro and cotija “shakshuka toast” served with a Worcestershire-cured egg. Over the years, I loved an unusual carrot lasagna and a jalapeno radiatore. Overall they hope to make the whole thing “a little more user-friendly.”

Their background in the business, spanning more than two decades, speaks to that plan.

FINDING A RESTAURANT IN TACOMA

With two other couples, they owned and operated Wakefield Bar in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Described as a “must try” by Seattle Magazine after its 2015 debut, it was considered a casual haunt with thoughtful food and cocktails. Pushing through the pandemic and changes in their personal lives — they moved to Tacoma in 2018 and now have a young son — they sold their shares at the end of 2020.

Having moved south also with the goal of opening their own place here, as the pandemic dragged, they found quality time at home while working at local restaurants. Among others, Ziggy spent time at McMenamins, Zodiac Supper Club and Red Star, while Alexis worked at Wooden City and Matriarch Lounge (the original name of the cocktail bar at the late ALMA). By 2023, they felt ready to restart the search.

“We kinda fell in love with it right away,” said Ziggy of the city’s “decidedly Tacoma” ethos.

They had watched Seattle evolve in real-time. Although Wakefield was well-liked, he continued, “It wasn’t like we were crazy busy all the time … We knew that, if you’re really doing things right in Tacoma, it’s hard to get a table.”

Taking over an existing restaurant wasn’t necessarily part of the plan, they admitted, but available rentals moved quickly and building from scratch was financially unpractical.

En Rama was an unusual case. The owners of Courthouse Square, A Street Associates, technically owned the restaurant, as they also have Outpost Sandwiches in the basement and Liftbridge Coffee on the ground level, next to the post office. When they were restoring the building in the early 2010s, explained manager John Hunt in a phone call last month, it became clear that the cost of installing everything a restaurant needs was likely too high for an independent operator. So they put the money into it themselves and hired hospitality professionals like Kiel, who left the restaurant last summer, in a management contract model.

“Our attitude from Day 1,” said Hunt, “was we don’t necessarily want to be in the restaurant business. But if we’re going to pay for building and improvements, if it works, then maybe we could sell the restaurant to somebody and kind of everybody wins.”

The Taladays, with the help of the same kitchen staff, now look forward to continuing the important role en Rama has played in downtown Tacoma over the past seven years. In coming weeks, look for a proper introduction in the form of a spring menu and weekend brunch. Down the line, they hope to be open seven days a week with special winemaker or similar events on Sundays and Mondays.

EN RAMA

▪ 1102 A St., Tacoma, 253-223-7184, enramatacoma.com

▪ Current Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 4-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 3-10 p.m.

▪ What to know: new owners for popular downtown Tacoma restaurant; expect menu updates, weekend brunch and patio seating in coming months

▪ Reservations: encouraged but walk-ins welcome

This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 5:30 AM.