‘Losing a lot of money.’ Johnny’s Dock has closed again with no firm future

Less than a year since Johnny’s Dock reopened at Thea Foss Marina and Landing under new ownership, the restaurant has closed again and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Roy Kissler, a majority owner of the waterfront property on East D Street, confirmed in a phone call Tuesday that the restaurant closed last weekend. The tenant, which went by the name Johnny’s Dock Seafood and Grill, had fallen behind on rent and other payments, according to Kissler. He said the situation began to slip about six months ago but recently grew so dire that he and his co-landlords decided to break the lease.

The main restaurant owner, Gurinderjit “Gary” Purewal, “just was absolutely running the restaurant into the ground,” Kissler told The News Tribune.

“It just didn’t fit, and he started losing a lot of money,” he said. “We just went our separate ways.”

Purewal took over the popular waterfront restaurant across Thea Foss and Dock Street last spring with business partner Poojadeep Purewal. They had owned and operated restaurants in the area for 25 years, including pizzerias and full-service spots, and their Indian restaurants in Seattle and Oak Harbor continue, Gary Purewal confirmed in a phone call. Their version of Johnny’s Dock opened in July with a menu of classic seafood plates, American grill-type staples and Indian dishes like pakora and tandoori chicken.

The space looked much as it did before it closed in March 2020, along with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It sat empty for five years, as the owners of 13 Coins, the 24-hour restaurant chain with a location near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, pulled out of a potential deal to purchase the property, according to Kissler. The Purewals arrived in March 2025, and the restaurant reopened in late June.

Dating back to last summer, many online reviewers called out slow service, food that didn’t live up to the price, and items listed on the menu that were unavailable to order.

Purewal said the restaurant “had a good beginning,” but sales tanked after the holidays. He admitted they had been late to pay rent sometimes but said only in the past month had they missed the date by 30 days.

“They gave us the option to just close the doors,” said Purewal, adding he “invested a lot of money of my own” and would have to “take my losses.”

“I think they have better plans,” he said.

Kissler told The News Tribune that the restaurant owners had “fallen so far behind on everything” that they had to cut the cord even before having a new tenant in place.

He confirmed that a company with several restaurants in Auburn has expressed interest in the Johnny’s Dock space, and developers continue to reach out about the greater marina property. It has been listed for commercial sale for a while, he said, adding that he and his business partners already refurbished the marina, about a third of which is leased by Ranger Tugs, an upscale boat manufacturer based in Auburn. They also completed a $1 million update to the restaurant in 2018.

The history of Johnny’s Dock dates to 1954 when it first opened near Pier 3 at the Port of Tacoma. It was rebuilt at that location after a fire in 1954, but owners Johnny and Beulah “Bea” Meaker moved it to Thea Foss in 1977. It was operated by Meaker’s grandson, John Crabill, and business partner Dave Bingham before Kissler and his group of developers bought it.

“It’s a great location and setting,” continued Kissler, and Johnny’s Dock was “very successful before COVID — we were always busy.” But neither he nor his partners have much desire to run a restaurant. “My main goal today is to get everything inside cleaned up … I would love to see the right person get in there.”

They foresee the site as capable of accepting a “good-sized condo or apartment,” an event venue or other multi-purpose development.

“It’s zoned for just about anything,” said Kissler. “I’m not in a big hurry. I think it’s a great piece of property. There’s really no more waterfront like that — we’ve got almost 500 feet of waterfront. It could be very nice, but we’ll see.”

The News Tribune archives and staff photographer Brian Hayes contributed to this report.