I’m not asking for a 24-hour city. I mean, I am, eventually. But first, I’m simply asking that a city of nearly a million people does not keep the same hours as a small-town bank.  

Disclaimer: Seattle businesses,  I know you are doing your best. Most of you, at least. The world is against you. From our city being uniquely warped by tech, to our inability to care for folks in crisis on a systemic level, to the fact that Seattle is crazy fucking expensive, to the many other variables that need progressive taxation and a good-for-something Legislature to solve, I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for business owners to make it work. 

But this is the Complaints issue, and I do have a Complaint to file. This city closes too fucking early. This is not just my grievance, it seems to be everyone’s. Not a week goes by that we don’t play Seattle’s favorite game: “Is anything open right now?” 

The lights go out hours before the light rail skids to a 1 a.m. halt. Our parks shut down so early they seem like they don’t actually want to be parks (see here); we don’t have a lot in the way of late-night non-bar spaces or events, and our cafes, bakeries, and other daytime shops seem to close earlier and earlier. For a city this big and this expensive—we rank ninth most expensive in the U.S., woof—it should be easier to find restaurants open past 7 p.m. outside of a bar setting. 

We’re a music city (right, everybody?), a restaurant city, a theater and art city. We’re also a dark, wet, and winter-heavy city. If anyone should understand the value of having more late-night indoor options and reasons to leave the house, it’s a town that spends nine months of the year auditioning for the role of “bleak exterior” in an A24 movie, and still losing to Vancouver. 

A multiplicity of later-night options—transit, culture, errands, gatherings—lets us live fuller days without forcing our lives into a narrow window of daylight built entirely around work and sleep, where only productivity is considered a legitimate use of time. A city this big that grinds to a halt by 9 p.m. feels like a sad HOA-run diorama. Is it depleted vitamin D making us SAD, or boredom?

I want to live in a city where I can get off work late, exit a show, or just leave the house at night, and have a plethora of food options. Perhaps a 24-hour diner situated in a part of town close to venues and theaters. Perhaps a 24-hour diner anywhere. Imagine the trains and buses are still running frequently and on a real schedule that won’t strand you, and helps make exploring other neighborhoods feel less like a major life decision potentially entailing a $70 Uber ride. What makes a 24-hour or 18-hour (can I get 14-hour?) city appealing isn’t the promise of nonstop excitement—we’ll get there—it’s simply having normal, useful options for spontaneity. Pharmacies and grocery stores open late; museums, theaters, galleries, and other spaces holding events on the later side so people who work irregular hours can attend. Even one or two spots in the image of the old Cafe Presse or Vito’s—both of which served ambience and food late into the night, RIP—might help Seattle feel a bit like her old self again.

I know folks are fighting the good fight to stay open at all. I’m just hoping that it’s something we could just think about, together. 

While writing this piece, I polled friends and strangers: “What’s your favorite spot for food—or literally anything—open past 10 p.m. in Seattle?” The response was overwhelming. Not necessarily in the amount of tips I received, but in message after message saying “PLEASE, WE NEED THIS, SHARE WHAT YOU FIND.” (I did! See list below.) I will say, the tips I did receive came with exuberant recommendations, which I found heartening, and reminded me that there are bits of hope here yet. 

Even with the anecdotal enthusiasm, I know there’s still the big looming question of: What if it’s us? If the city itself got its groove back and fostered a late-night vibe, would the people come out and actually enjoy it? We’re weird and anxious and vitamin-D deficient, but I think we can get it together. If you build it, we will come (out past 10 p.m.). 

On the last kinda-nice autumn night, I realized it was 10 and I hadn’t planned ahead for dinner. Because Hell Is a Grocery Store and because I have to remind myself not to waste this one precious life doom-scrolling and paying $28 in fees for a $12 burrito on Grub Hub, I walked down to Hot Mama’s (open until 11 p.m.) and bought two slices at the window. The workers inside were projecting a movie onto a sheet on the wall inside where there used to be indoor seating. They’re always so nice. 

I sat at one of their metal tables outside; the guy next to me, also solo, nodded in solidarity and set down some sort of large instrument case he was lugging. I was surprised Break Away Vintage across the street was still open; I hadn’t checked it out yet. (Turns out they go until 11 p.m. on weekdays, and until midnight on weekends). Their music was soundtracking the whole corner, and they had good taste. People passed by in good outfits, giggling. It wasn’t even the weekend. This shouldn’t have felt like a big deal, but here, it did. A city dweller in a real city.

---

What Is Open Late in Seattle

An incomplete list of places that serve food until at least 11 p.m.

* That isn’t strictly bar food

Adot Ethiopian & Restaurant

Al Bacha Restaurant 

Al Basha Mediterranean Grill 

Alem Restaurant 

Alibi Room 

Baba Yaga 

Bait Shop 

Bangrak Market

Beth’s Cafe 

Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

Cafe Ibex

Casablanca Express 

Cedar Tea House 

Cinnaholic 

Dick’s Drive-In

Donna’s 

Falafel King 

Fort St. George 

Harry’s Bar/ Olympia Pizza House III

Hattie’s Hat 

Honey Court Seafood Restaurant 

Hong Kong Bistro

Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

Hot Mama’s Pizza 

Il Bistro 

Insomnia Cookies 

Le Caviste 

Lost Lake

Massawa Eritrean & Ethiopian Restaurant

Mr. Gyros 

Neighbor Lady

New Luck Toy 

North Star Diner 

Ocho Tapas Bar

Orient Express 

Pacific Inn Pub 

Purple Dot Cafe 

Roxbury Lanes 

Spice Bliss 

Sunset Cafe 

Taqueria El Sabor 

Taqueria Juarez 

Twilight Exit

The Ballard Smoke Shop

The Unicorn 

Yetenbi Bar & Restaurant 

Zig Zag Cafe 

13 Coins