Euro-style tavern to open on 6th Ave from owners of two late-but-loved Tacoma beer bars

Shake-ups continue on Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue, as Crown Bar, which had served the corridor since 2007, closed in December to make way for a new concept.

Michael Gruber and Craig Moore finalized a deal to purchase the business at 2705 6th Ave. late last year. They have since been working to transform the space — while retaining its charming woodwork — into Kingfisher and Rye Tavern, a neighborhood bar with pub fare and, as the name implies, lots of whiskey. They hope to build an ambiance befitting of a solo hang, a casual date or a gathering of friends.

A Robert Burns night, in honor of the Scottish poet, is possible, they said, but in the normal course it will be a comfortable, everyday kind of place.

“That’s the type of energy we want to bring,” added Gruber.

What was mostly gray and white has been painted forest green around the pretty mahogany backbar. In the main dining room, already nicknamed “the gold room,” they have decorated the walls in an apropos gold bird wallpaper.

The food, drink and atmosphere aim to resemble a British or European-style pub. They are still fleshing out menu details but in a recent conversation offered tidbits including ambition to fry “the best fish chips in town” (beer-battered), plus sandwiches, burgers, and sides like roasted Brussels sprouts.

They also teased a mystery dish that “involves a bit of theater,” said Gruber. Moore added that he has never seen it stateside, at least not presented in the way they plan to present it. “Unless you frequent Ireland and didn’t only do touristy stuff,” he said, you’ve probably never seen it either.

From the bar, expect plenty of rye whiskey as well as bourbon, Scotch and other brown spirits. Cocktails will focus on whiskey but not exclusively, and six taps will pour a careful selection of beer.

The limited draft system is perhaps the only drawback for the duo, who are no strangers to Tacoma’s bar scene — specifically the beer sphere.

MORE SIXTH AVE CHANGES

Gruber owned a draft-cleaning company before taking over Edison City in South Tacoma with partner Sausha Lynn in 2022. The beer bar and bottle shop was a lone ranger on that side of town but closed last summer after the couple declined a rent increase, they shared at the time.

Moore worked there, too, but he’s perhaps better known locally as the proprietor of Copper Door in the Stadium District. Also a beer destination, that taproom operated in what is now The Powder Room Champagne Bar from 2015 to 2019.

After saying goodbye to Edison City, they enjoyed some down time before searching for their next project. The prospect of being on Sixth Avenue was, of course, appealing, and being able to take over an existing bar has its perks.

Charlie McManus and Jacqueline Plattner, who just sold their longstanding restaurant, Primo Grill, next door, originally opened Crown Bar in 2007. (The couple owns the building.) They sold it to Christina Smyre in 2015, and in 2019 she passed it to Bob Jensen, who adjusted the concept to be more burgers-and-wings than Irish pub.

Jensen has worked in the industry for decades and still co-owns Spar Pole in Orting. Shepherding two bars through the COVID-19 pandemic was “just brutal and exhausting in so many ways,” he told The News Tribune in a phone call in early February. Higher costs and diminished foot traffic compounded with personal circumstances and what he sees as an ongoing challenge for bars and restaurants across the country as work and life habits change.

“It just became a challenge for me personally,” he said of his decision to sell the bar. “I didn’t have the emotional energy to do that, to continue to fight that fight. Sausha, Michael and Craig — they bring a fresher energy and hopefully can turn that around.”

The new owners hope to reveal Kingfisher and Rye, with the door painted copper in homage to a “lively and inviting” Tacoma bar of yore, in the coming weeks.

KINGFISHER & RYE TAVERN

▪ 2705 6th Ave., Tacoma, instagram.com/kingfisherandrye

▪ Details: neighborhood tavern with pub fare, beer and cocktails coming to former Crown Bar space; target opening before winter’s end

This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 5:30 AM.