Flatstick Pub, mini golf and WA beer haven, is definitely opening in Tacoma. Really!
Nearly five years after committing to Tacoma, Flatstick Pub — where guests can eat pizza and drink Washington-made beer while playing mini golf and other games like the trademarked Duffleboard — will open downtown.
The Seattle-area restaurant and entertainment brand hopes for a late 2024 debut at 809 Pacific Ave., which the company bought last summer for $1.1 million, according to Pierce County property records.
“We’re really excited about Tacoma,” co-owner Andy Largent told The News Tribune in a phone call this week. “That’s why I think we’ve kind of continued to push to make this happen. Every week we’re getting asked? ‘When’s Tacoma opening?’”
Like its six other locations, the Tacoma Flatstick will pack the draft list exclusively with independent Washington breweries and wineries. The taps also pour cocktails like the Birdie Juice with gin, orange, pineapple and grapefruit and a customizable margarita. Nonalcoholic options range from Rachel’s Ginger Beer to Diamond Knot root beer.
To nosh, the kitchen will bake 14-inch, brick-oven pizzas ($17-$26), such as a double-pepperoni with mozzarella and pecorino and The Fade with garlic confit, prosciutto, spinach and three types of cheese. Daily slices include cheese, pepperoni and a monthly flavor. Snacks feature a Bavarian pretzel, wings, salads and churros.
Ethan Stowell Restaurants continues to consult on the food menus at all Flatstick Pubs.
In addition to a nine-hole mini-golf course, other games could entail Duffleboard, a golf-esque game played with a signature putter but on a waist-high, shuffleboard-like table; Pockets, reminiscent of pool; and Wickets, sort of like cricket on a table.
FLATSTICK COMMITTED TO TACOMA
On the first go-around in 2019, brothers Andy and Sam Largent, with Sam’s former spouse Jenny Largent, had leased the 12,000-square-foot, 1920s-era building. It needed — and still needs — “a whole lot of work” including a new roof, said Andy Largent, but construction, luckily, had not yet begun when the pandemic upended their plans.
They had announced a forthcoming Bellingham Flatstick at the same time. It, too, was delayed but opened in 2021. Asked about the holdup in Tacoma, Largent replied that they subsequently had “some struggles” with their then-landlord. They reached “a point that there wasn’t a way to move forward with us being the tenant,” he said, noting challenges with “following through.”
“We really believed in the project,” he continued. “We are excited about that location and being on that block.”
47 North Development bought the Tacoma property in 2017 from longtime owners Danny and Rosanne Calvin. Their family operated Learning Sprout Toy there for 21 years. (Crews recently stripped the yellow-and-green signage and the distinctive awning.) They purchased it from Dorothy Ghilarducci, whose family name had adorned the facade since the 1960s. Ghilarducci’s Florists, established 1903, replaced Lincoln Auto Electric Co., according to records at the Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room. Originally, it was “an award-winning brick-and-tile garage designed by local architect Silas E. Nelsen.”
The new owners intend to retain historic elements where possible, said Largent. Seattle’s Atelier Dome Architecture and Wilcox Construction will manage the design and buildout, Puget Sound Business Journal reported.
“The character of the building is really special and obviously has a lot of history,” he said, which means the main brick walls and wooden ceiling beams will stick around. But it’s “in pretty rough shape.”
Each Flatstick is unique, he added, from the original in Kirkland, opened in 2014, to the 2022 addition in Redmond. “The building itself will be highlighted in Tacoma,” with a goal of “restoring the storefront back to its original condition.”
Like the others, the Tacoma location will have ample space for parties, whether a corporate event or a birthday — it’s the only two-story outpost and the only one where they also own the building.
“The main focus is on the games, the great atmosphere, and people having fun and having a good time,” said Largent. “We’re excited to hopefully, finally make this project happen.”
They anticipate having 20 to 25 employees.
FLATSTICK PUB - TACOMA
▪ 809 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, flatstickpub.com
▪ Details: Seattle-area pub chain opening Tacoma location; 21+ with games, pizza and Washington beer
▪ Target Opening: late 2024
This story was originally published March 21, 2024 at 5:30 AM.