Fremont Brewing Co. Beer
Do it for the bees. Fremont Brewing Co.

Save the Bees With Beer

The Environment America Research and Policy Center just launched a new initiative called the Bee Friendly Food Alliance. It is, obviously, a group of restauranteurs and chefs dedicated to protecting our friendly pollinators. As you may have read somewhere and then promptly forgotten in order to keep from giving up and driving off a bridge already, bees are dying off. This environmental crisis is, of course, man made. And Trump is still president, which means it's not likely to get better via governmental means.

Seattle's only member of the apian alliance is Fremont Brewing Company co-founder Sara Nelson. If you needed another reason to drink their beer, other than that it tastes amazing and is a great reason not to drive off a bridge, there ya go.

Amazon Kickstarts FareStart

The tech giant is donating 25,000 square feet of space to FareStart for five new eateries, as well as catering space and training classrooms, a gift that's awesome because it will enable FareStart to launch a new foodservice apprenticeship program to help turn a shitload of people in entry level foodservice jobs into cooks, which is something this city needs. Those cooks will be drawn from populations that desperately need employment, a wonderful way of killing two birds with one stone. Now if only they could figure out how to make it so those cooks could afford to live in the city on $13 an hour, instead of taking the bus in from Federal Way every day.

The Neumos Remodel is Done

Neumos has been revamping itself for the past few months, and they're finally done. This is great news for me, because it means my friend who was the foreman for the remodel can go skateboarding again instead of tearing his hair and working nonstop to meet deadline. It's also great news for everyone else, because it means we can all go see cool shows again. Better still, we can see those shows from their snazzy new mezzanine that faces the stage, instead of the awkward side balcony thing they used to have.

The remodel also brought a reincarnation of Moe Bar, which is now the Runaway. According to CHS, it is named for the eponymous band, and is inspired by the spirit of Joan Jett. Sounds wild. The Neumos/Barboza/Runaway complex will be throwing a grand re-opening bash this Wednesday March 8, with a free show by Brothers From Another.

Marmite Dinner Service

Marmite, Bruce and Sara Nafalty's latest offering, has been promising expanded service since before they were serving, and they've delivered. Brunch was a recent addition, and now they're offering dinner. It'll run from 5 to 10pm Tue-Sat, and judging from the menu that Eater got their hands on, it's going to be fire.

Party Mountain Has a New VIP Area Where You Can Turn It Up

Get your bros, turn your hats backwards, and head on over to the Capitol Lounge. The Lobby Bar replacement opened this weekend, reports CHS Blog. Capitol Lounge isn't a gay bar, as the Lobby was. It's a straight-up nightclub, and the VIP section is a very real part of the remodel. They've also added TVs and opened up the floor to really give Chad and Jeremy some space to move it, shake it, and aggressively grind on women without being invited to or even so much as speaking a word to them first.

It's owned by someone who knows a thing or two about separating drunk bros from their money— Japanese hot dog mogul Shinsuke Nikaido—so the makeover makes sense. Food will come from his neighboring restaurant Ikina Sushi.

There's a Blog Called the 'Fremocentrist'

Which is wonderful enough in and of itself, but they also report that popular Irish bar Shawn O'Donnell's has opened a new outpost in Fremont, joining its previous locations in Everett and Seattle's Smith Tower. The latest incarnation of Shawn O'Donnell's is located in the old Hunger 2.0 space.

A Couple Corporate Departures: Evolution Fresh, the First Hill McD's

Starbucks "concept" Evolution Fresh—a trailblazer on the holier-than-thou eating front—will close its two Seattle locations, reports Seattle Met. Meh. I am slightly sad to see the First Hill McDonald's, go, however. Demolition is slated for April, says CHS Blog. It is the one McDonald's I have encountered the world over that does not look like every other McDonald's. I don't know what weird marketing decision or building code quirk led to its design, but I always appreciated it as a little island of non-conformity within the otherwise homogenous burger mega-chain.

Sun Liquor's Distillery Soon to Move

So says CHS Blog. Sun Liquor will be moving distillery operations up to a warehouse somewhere in the vicinity of University Village, continuing its hard work manufacturing mini bottles for Alaska Airlines. The fate of the Pike Street bar, however, is up in the air. It could stay, it could go, and it all depends on finding a partner who wants to operate it.

PRESSED Juicery: Onward and Eastward

Apparently Seattleites really like $6.50 juice, as PRESSED Juicery, an LA-based chain of cheap(ish) juice stores, went from one to three locations in a matter of months. Their latest outpost is in Bellevue, where their popularity amongst jegging-wearing, GX 460-driving soccer moms is all but guaranteed, and reaches the largest concentrated population of said soccer moms in Bellevue Square. Hours are 7am-10pm Mon-Sat, 8am-8pm Sun.

Smash Putt, We Hardly Knew Ye

Smash Putt is calling it quits for real after their latest iteration—Seattle Met's Darren Davis wrote them a wonderful eulogy—and you've only got March and half of April to go get drunk and shoot golf balls out of a cannon. Or whatever crazy thing they've cooked up for this particular location. Either way, it's guaranteed to be the most fun you've had, possibly ever.

Another Day, Another Poke Place

It's called FOB Poke Bar, and it's located in Belltown. They are, according to Eater, "crushing it on Yelp." That phrase alone makes me want to puke, but perhaps it means they're better than the 5,000 other poke places in Seattle. I don't know or care, and if I'm going to Belltown to eat raw fish you can bet your sweet ass it will be at Umi. Or No Anchor. Have we talked about No Anchor, the "weird food and rad beer" bar from the Rob Roy folks, dear readers? It's so good.

If you love cured, smoked, or pickled seafood things and good beer, you need to go there. Get the smoked and pickled mussels with burnt garlic aioli. Get the smoked and cured fish board. Get sour beer. Most importantly, get off the internet and get your ass over there!