‘A desirable location’ — Cheers owners return sports bar to downtown Tacoma

Cheers Bar and Grill will return to downtown Tacoma.

The owners of the still-running Cheers restaurants in South Hill and University Place are converting the former U.S. Bank building at 2317 Pacific Ave. into Cheers Tacoma. A sign with the cursive red logo went up in July, confirmed Ali Mehdizadehkashi.

“It’s a desirable location,” he told The News Tribune in a phone call. He anticipates an opening mid-fall, he said.

Although similar to the famed television show, the South Sound chain is not a spinoff or affiliated with a broader franchise. There were around 15 sitcom-associated bars scattered across U.S. airports in the 1990s, but all appear to have closed; a brick-and-mortar remains in Boston’s Beacon Hill.

From 2011 to 2019, Ali and Stephanie Mehdizadehkashi operated their version of Cheers, a sports bar and restaurant with a big menu of pub fare, just a few blocks south at 2611 Pacific Ave. They had purchased that building, according to Pierce County property records, for $725,000 in 2010, and sold it in 2020 to the team behind Zips Cannabis for $3 million.

The Mehdizadehkashis bought the U.S. Bank property in November for $1.7 million, county records show. Initial building permits were filed with the City of Tacoma shortly thereafter, which outline tenant improvements to renovate the barebones space to accommodate foodservice. Those plans were delayed by the need for a new water meter on a fire service line, permits say, which the new owners elected to manage “by their own forces.”

A plumbing permit to install a grease interceptor was filed in December, followed by one related to a new sprinkler system in March. The most recent permits for site development were recorded May 16. Improvements involve fixes to the pavement, a grease interceptor and dumpster, “related to building conversion from abandoned bank building to new bar and restaurant.”

Cheers South Hill — the first of the Mehdizadehkashis’ enterprises — opened in 2009. By 2015 they had expanded to University Place, Lacey, Lakewood and Renton. Mehdizadehkashi said at one point they had nine locations, including in Port Orchard. The Lacey and Lakewood locations appear to have closed around 2018, according to online reviews; Renton’s Reddit page reflects a 2024 shuttering of that outpost.

The two remaining restaurants are all ages, according to the website, outfitted with televisions that often show NFL games and UFC fights. The bar pours around 20 draft beers, as well as wine and spirits. Pool tables are also a draw.

The kitchen serves burgers, wraps, sandwiches and apps like wings, quesadillas, potato skins and onion rings. There are also a few flatbreads made with naan. The menu and amenities will be similar at the new Tacoma restaurant, said Mehdizadehkashi.

Cheers Tacoma

• 2317 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, cheerstacoma.com
• Details: local bar and grill chain opening new downtown Tacoma location; target opening October 2025

This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 5:15 AM.