Kristin and Patrick Rye (Image: HoneyHole)

One of Capitol Hill’s most-loved provider of relatively affordable neighborhood chow and stiff drinks has new owners with plans for spreading the HoneyHole love beyond E Pike:

HoneyHole Sandwiches, home of the “Best Sandwich in Seattle,” has sold after nearly 22 delicious years on Capitol Hill. The new owners, Kristin and Patrick Rye (no relation to the bread), fell in love with HoneyHole upon a visit to Seattle in 2020. The Ryes are committed to maintaining the restaurant’s uniquely funky atmosphere, including the floating shark and hang-gliding lizard, and the core values of providing fresh, locally sourced, sustainable food options.

Founded by brothers Sean and Devon London in 1999, HoneyHole is being lined up an expansion that could add new locations around Seattle.

“HoneyHole has been our focus and our passion for the last two decades,” Sean London said in the announcement of the sale. “From the moment we met Kristin and Patrick we knew they were meant to carry on the legacy of HoneyHole Sandwiches. We’re excited for the Rye’s to build upon and expand the HoneyHole for our amazing customers and dedicated staff.”

Meanwhile, this 2018 trademark dispute ended up with the good guys winning.

The exit of the Londons and co-owner Hannah Roberts puts the E Pike favorite on new footing after months of business under COVID-19 restrictions. The new owners relocated to Seattle from San Diego with Patrick Rye taking a new job in the aerospace and rocketry industry. Kristin Rye formerly worked in finance and will now “focus on her passion for artisanal, sustainable food.”

The HoneyHole business will not be the Ryes’ first rodeo — or chicken farm for that matter. “With previous experience owning and operating a heritage breed chicken farm, Kristin began looking for opportunities to create a farm-to-table experience in downtown Seattle,” the HoneyHole announcement reads. “However, when the opportunity to acquire HoneyHole arose, and she learned of the restaurant’s core beliefs of providing locally sourced, environmentally conscious and sustainable food options, she realized sandwiches were her true calling.”

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According to the announcement, the HoneyHole is “exploring growth opportunities within the Seattle area,” and they’re also hiring.

They’re also bringing back a legend sure to help boost HoneyHole toward whatever sandwich-y dreams the Ryes have. HoneyHole’s monument to housemade pastrami and weeks of preparation has been off the menu since the start of the pandemic. Showing that they’re ready to fight to win, the Ryes are bringing The Corleone back. You’ll find it on the menu starting Friday.

How HoneyHole’s growth takes shape from there could shift.

The simplest plan, Rye said, is expansion and keeping the E Pike original in place. A new HoneyHole could end up anywhere — even a second on Capitol Hill if a space offers a larger kitchen.

Rye said a larger space would better the HoneyHole’s booming takeout business. In the meantime, their major investment and the HoneyHole’s status as a neighborhood institution, helped set up a stable financial start for the new owners taking on Pike/Pine rent in the middle of a pandemic.

As for a second, any new ‘Hole won’t try to replicate the original. You just can’t.

“There’s nothing quite like the HoneyHole,” Rye said. “It has some funk to it. Some of that is the charm of it.”

HoneyHole is located at 703 E Pike. You can learn more and order online at thehoneyhole.com.

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