“I’m walking downtown at Second and Pike,” reported Slog tipper Rebecca to my voicemail mere minutes ago. “Apparently they’re putting a Hard Rock Cafe down here. Did you know this? I did not. It’s on the same block as Sneaker City and the notice of application is dated November 17.”

Dear Rebecca: I did not know this either, but it is true.

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...

41 replies on “A Question from the Streets of Seattle”

  1. Yeah, this was announced months ago.

    God, I remember going to the one in New York in 1988. I was 16 and saw a whole booth filled with Talking Heads memorabilia, including a David Byrne guitar and Chris Franz’ snare drum. Needless to say, I was convinced that there was no cooler place in the world. I wore my fucking Hard Rock Cafe hat religiously for the next year. Don’t tell anyone, though.

  9. a hard cock rafe?

    put it on the hill, anything hard…
    yadda..

    oh…snap
    a gay mafia joint
    it could be the new pony we’re all wanting.

  10. Wonder what they’re going to stock the place with, seeing as Paul Allen already owns every scrap of Seattle-based music memorabilia worth displaying.

  11. Let’s have all of us queers take it over right from the start! Seriously, we will just flood the place 24-7. We can make it the GAY HARD ROCK CAFE!!!

  13. Huh. “84-year-old, terra-cotta-clad building”… is this the one that the Slog reported had that covering destroyed on while nobody was looking and before permits could get filed? Was that these douchebags?

  17. @13, no it’s not those particular douchebags. The principal of the company that owns this building is Urban Visions’ Greg Smith. He’s a second-generation downtown developer descended from anglos who arrived in Seattle in 1868. Greg’s thinking of running to become our next ex-developer Mayor.

  18. Their salads are impossibly good, and I don’t know why. You’d think combining various greens and veggies with chicken would be simple, but no, they do something extra-special.

    Maybe the dressing is made from Nikki Sixx hair drippings?

  20. I went to NYC theme restaurants in the 1990’s and it was fun. I wouldn’t expect the locals to like it, but as a tourist trap, it should be fun while it lasts.

  21. The whole purpose of Planet Hollywood was to lose money, as a tax shelter for the rich movie stars who invested. That’s why they shut after five years, which is the longest the IRS will let an obviously fixed money-loser to run before they stop allowing the deduction. I have always assumed that Hard Rock was the same way.

  22. Hard Rock is strangely legit, permanent spaces, permanent memorabilia collections, etc.

    And their salads, I discovered, are also made with hair leavings of Axl Rose. Yum yum.

  23. @9
    Not only is the mandatory post preview a great opportunity to proof read your post, it’s also a good time to make sure it’s more than incohearant babble.

  24. They make their drinks with Guns n Roses Lime Juice…

    If we’re going to have a craptastic, retro 80’s food chain, I’d rather have a House of Blues…the food is better and they have live entertainment…also, my old House of Blues t-shirt is getting rag-baggy and I need a new one.

  25. Wow, a Hard Rock Cafe, that’s so….80s. Should I pull out my leggings and leg warmers for the grand opening?

    And, can I just say, about the cafe at EMP, the food there is not good and I don’t know why people rave about it.

  30. The point is, that area needs SOMETHING. ANYTHING. Pike is dead/dying from 1st Ave to 5th Ave. Its ridiculous considering its proximity to the tourist corridor of Pine Street. I will support any business that has the balls to open something on that stretch. I don’t care how many bleached-hair douchebags I have to tolerate.

  34. Not sure what to say about this…

    Hate the whole chain thing but when I was living overseas in the 80’s, the hard Rock cafe in London was the only place you could go to for a much needed “American Meal”.

    Have fond memories of The Hard Rock back then.

  35. I doesn’t particularly bother me. That area is basically a mall spread out into different buildings already. So be it. If people are already down there to go to Fox Sports Grill, the Adidas store, Niketown, Benneton, Banana Republic, etc., etc., more power to them at the Hard Rock.

  38. I’m having one of those moments where there are so many snarky comments going through my brain that I can’t choose just one.

  40. Should help to keep the summer tourists corralled safely in their special “zone”, where they can experience the REAL Seattle of Nordstrom, Westlake Center, and the Cheesecake Factory.

  41. @39,

    I’ll go if you threw Seals AND Crofts in.

    But actually go to a Hard Rock Cafe outlet in Seattle when I can still go to the Central and El Corazon (i.e – places where actual hard rock history occurred)?

    No.

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