Tacoma bar that was site of weekend shooting known for gyros, pool table, patio

Days after celebrating its fourth anniversary, The Alleycat Patio and Lounge in Tacoma was embroiled in tragedy as a mass shooting inside the bar in the early hours of Nov. 5 left two people dead and three injured.

Located in the commercial district of Sixth Avenue, a Central Tacoma neighborhood known for its funky boutiques and independent bars and restaurants, The Alleycat opened in October 2019 at 2708 6th Ave. Owner Josh Norris and Ammar Mannaa set out to create an everyday bar with a menu of Mediterranean-inspired bar food, including gyros, Greek salad and waffle fries loaded with feta and basil.

In addition to a pool table, the long, narrow space offers somewhat limited seating of a banquette with high-top tables to your right as you enter the door. The bar itself, which can hold just a few stools, is tucked behind the kitchen.

Online reviews often mention the food and spacious back patio as draws. A few have noted that it can get busy on Friday and Saturday nights, with reference to security staff at the door checking IDs.

On its social media pages, The Alleycat describes itself as a “local Tacoma dive bar with covered patio, pinball, pool, and Mediterranean food.”

Reached by phone Monday afternoon, Norris, who was not on site when the incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. but often is during the day, said he always intended for the bar to be an accessible place for people from all walks of life. “We have a pool table, we have games, we have darts, we have the patio out back; every part of the space was almost like a different experience,” he said.

He and his staff were “absolutely devastated,” he said, and they are still processing what transpired.

It was an otherwise typical Saturday night, perhaps even quieter than an average weekend. The closing bartenders had just announced last-call — “the feeling was that things were winding down,” said Norris — before the shooting occurred.

“For things to escalate to the level that they did, it’s obviously devastating,” said Norris.

At least four of the victims had likely visited the bar before, he added. He did not know about the suspect, who turned himself into authorities Sunday afternoon.

Norris also runs neighbor Half Pint Pizza Pub at 2710 6th Ave, which opened in 2014. The two businesses, on the south side of the street between South Oakes and South Anderson, are separated by an alley.

In 2017, Mannaa and Norris joined forces on Sluggo Brewing Tap and Kitchen 3.5 miles away near the Tacoma Dome and the Amtrak and Sounder train station. Sluggo closed in 2022, replaced by another Mediterranean restaurant.

The duo owns the property at 2706-2708 6th Ave., according to Pierce County property records.

On Sixth Avenue, The Alleycat is one of a handful of bars and restaurants open late.

After varying days and hours of operation through pandemic restrictions in 2020 and 2021, it’s usually been open 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Its sister restaurant, Half Pint, opens at the same time but closes at midnight Sunday-Wednesday and at 1 a.m. Thursday-Saturday.

Other bars on this half-mile stretch open past midnight also offer late-night food, a rarity in the area, or activity options like pool or arcade games.

The business district is also home to several coffee shops, an established brewpub, a juicery and a cake bakery, vintage stores, record shops and two cannabis retailers. There’s also a Taco Bell and a Taco Time. The annual summertime Art on the Ave is one of the city’s biggest street festivals.

Adjacent to The Alleycat, a vintage/secondhand shop called Never Heard emerged amid the pandemic. The bar had hosted pop-up events in this space, which has its own entry door at 2706 6th Ave., in late 2019 and early 2020. On weekend days, the flea market often has a rack on the sidewalk.

Both The Alleycat and Half Pint remained closed on Monday, and Norris said he did not have an answer as to if or when they might reopen.

“I’m just numb and sad, and just heartbroken,” he said.