(Image: Teriyaki & Wok)
(Image: Teriyaki & Wok)
Teriyaki & Wok, an “unassuming” staple of Broadway food and drink for more than 14 years, announced that Thursday will be its final day of business. Its owners are selling and making way for a new restaurant to fill the space Teriyaki & Wok made into its home out of an old Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop:
After 14 memorable years of serving the Capitol Hill community, Teriyaki & Wok, located at 324 Broadway East at the southeast corner of Broadway E and Harrison, is announcing its final day of operation and the sale of the business on this significant Leap Year day.
Our chef Jung and the “Chief Engagement Officer” Jamie along with our long term, exceptional dedicated crew behind the scene have fostered a family-like atmosphere within the Capitol Hill community. “For the past 14 years, it has been my family’s pleasure to serve our Capitol Hill guests, so many of you have become like family and friends,” says Jamie.
Taken over in 2010 by Jeom and Jung Jae Hur along with Jeom’s sister Jamie Yeo, Teriyaki & Wok was a no frills addition to Seattle’s teriyaki addition that thrived in the right place at the right time.
Its building at Broadway and Harrison has one of the few remaining surface parking lots in the area and the extra space has also meant extra opportunities in the property’s coffee shack. Dreamboyz Espresso will never be forgotten. The Antojitos Jalisco food truck has put the space to use in recent years.
There is no word on the buyer and what comes next for the restaurant. The property remains held by prolific Capitol Hill real estate investor and property manager Ron Amundson. Not much has happened to the property since it was the Ron & Jems Ice Cream shop other than the kitchen installed for Teriyaki & Wok.
In its announcement, Teriyaki & Wok said it has been operating for six years without a long-term lease for the space. “The decision to sell,” they said, “was made when an opportunity presented itself, offering a chance to close this chapter gracefully.”
“This unassuming restaurant has been a staple for locals and visitors alike, offering generous portions of beloved dishes even when food costs began to rise,” the announcement reads. “Teriyaki & Wok has been part of many community highlights, from Pride weekend festivities to being a backdrop for a Macklemore music video, and has been a favorite among service industry workers, tradespeople, and first responders.”
For the Teriyaki & Wok family, the departure from Broadway is bittersweet. It is also a new start.
“”We have a mixed feeling but decided to close this door for a new opportunity,” the owners tell CHS. “We will open a new restaurant in Federal Way and continue to show our passion for food and serve the community.”
They’re hoping customers will stop by for the last day and to say goodbye before they close for one last time on Broadway at 8 PM.
Teriyaki & Wok is located at 324 Broadway E. Learn more at teriyakiandwok.com.
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This one hurts. Great teriyaki and friendly owner. Thanks for many years and for staying open during the lockdown.
The north end of B’way becoming a ghost town. Boca and Boca Pizza, Witness, Jai Tai, Americana, Pagliacci still unfilled. Meanwhile tripping over fenty just to get into QFC. Friendly owners, yes, always a smile.
Unless something happened recently I’m pretty sure Americana is still going, albeit with changed ownership from a few years ago.
Yeah, I happened to talk to one of the owners back in 2020. They shut down for the first part of lockdown, then opened up a little when that was allowed, but then someone tested positive. So they had to shut everything down again, have all employees isolate, follow up all the contacts people had written down, etc. “It’s just not worth it” is what I remember him saying, in a tone of voice that I can only describe as “defeated”.
IIRC, they sold the business to one of the cooks. So the brunch menu remained exactly the same, but it operated as a family restaurant. And eventually they opened for dinner but with a more Mexican influence (given the family). It’s not as vibrant or creative, and I miss the old front staff (I’ve seen one of them in the neighborhood). But I think it’s become its own thing now.
If the editors are reading, there might be some good interviews here! The current owners, the previous ones, maybe some analysis about the changing meaning of “Americana”… At the very least, it would be nice for the place to get a bit more profile.
Ah, never mind, here are a few good ones:
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/08/make-americana-great-again-broadway-restaurant-bounces-back-after-permanent-closure/
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2020/07/founded-on-the-belief-that-every-day-on-broadway-can-be-brunch-americana-becomes-a-capitol-hill-covid-19-closure/
We’ve also seen The French Guys replace Joe Bar, La Cocina and Cantina expand into the old Starbucks spot, Basecamp filling in the odd AT&T/Ada venture, Fuel take over the Vivace sidewalk bar, Comedy/Bar in the old Highline Bar spot, and Falafelville sprout up on the All Seasons property…
Echoing that this one REALLY hurts. I feel like I’ve been going there for all 14 years and they’ve always made me feel like family. The best of luck for the new endeavor and I’ll be seeing you one last time night❤️
What a bummer – solid teriyaki and parking, it was a takeout MVP. I hope its successor is worthy!
Sorry to see them go!
God damn. I love this place, and the folks who work there. Sad as hell to see yet another great local business leaving.
Love this place and their owners—this will leave a hole on Broadway
Oh no! It’s been my staple teriyaki place for years. So sad to see them leave. :(
Teriyaki Madness at 15th and Denny is pretty solid though now that this one is gone
I don’t like how they handed my food to me on a paper plate and I payed them next to 20$ and I had to always ask for chop sticks. This ain’t osaka teriyaki! All the great Seattle teriyaki shops did not survive. Even teriyaki madness is sort of weak. It used to be the best, they had the best rice and teriyaki sauce comb.
Sorry to see them go & wish them well. Though my go-to teriyaki for the last 15+ years is Kyoto at Pike and Harvard. Generous serving, the chicken has a nice char, you add the sauce, pickled cabbage instead of wimpy lettuce. They do legit Korean, too.
That’s so sad. For many years it was like a home away from home. Jamie was always so sweet to me.
She’s had to deal with mentally ill homeless drug addicts for way too many years though, even before covid.
It’s a really big loss for the neighborhood but I wish them nothing but the best in the new location.
So horribly sad they are leaving!
Lol they’re still going strong after 6 months. I went in and asked the person working the register if they were closing and they said no. Did something change?