Tamara Murphy’s new restaurant won’t be opening at the Melrose Project after all.
Capitol Hill Blog Seattle has the story, and it’s a big mess; Murphy (of Brasa/Elliott Bay Cafe) responds over here.
At this point, it appears that the new incarnation of Sitka & Spruce, the cheese shop the Calf and Kid, and other tenants will go ahead as planned at the space on Pine and Melrose.
(Meanwhile, opening a week from tomorrow in the former Sitka & Spruce space on Eastlake: Nettletown, from Christina Choi, protegee of S&S’s Matt Dillon.)
It’s no surprise to any of us familiar with any employee of her other restaurant – Brasa. None of them have been paid in months. The food would have been great – but why abuse a whole other set of employees and open another restaurant when you can’t even take care of the people who already work for you?
As I understand it, Terra Plata will be opening at the Melrose Project after all, which makes me incredibly happy! I am happy because I will have the opportunity to continue to enjoy Tamara’s fabulous food. Tamara built a beautiful restaurant in a horrible location and kept it going for more than a decade. It makes sense that she would build a new restaurant in a location and a size that makes sense for this coming decade, and continue her culinary profession, which by the way, she is incredibly good at. I have tremendous respect for her contributions to our culinary community and I look forward to her new place. Any word on when it will open?