Staying Afloat in Turbulent Times

Mackay Restaurants has closed its Tacoma seafood operation, known as Sea Grill. It was the sister restaurant to Seattle's Waterfront Seafood Grill on Pier 70. A polite press release thanks Sea Grill's guests for their support and for "allowing us to help celebrate the pivotal moments and chapters of their lives." But memories don't pay the bills, and large, downtown restaurants like Sea Grill are particularly vulnerable to the current downturn. (Mackay's new El Gaucho Bellevue is hurting, too, but will do fine once Microsoft moves into the building.) A well-run chain like Mackay pays attention to every detail, from the cost of a napkin to the knot on the servers' bow ties; you can bet they know down to the penny how much they're making (or losing) on a daily basis, and they're unsentimental when it comes time to pull the plug.

On the other hand, owners of smaller restaurants know how to suffer; they look at every opportunity to keep money coming in. Why do you think that more and more places offer happy hours? And have started to open on Sundays and Mondays? Those "unused" daytime hours on the weekend, when most places are closed, present a terrific opportunity: brunch!

Capitol Hill's Olivar has been doing a three-course, $15 prix-fixe brunch for several weeks now, and two more spots, Capitol Hill's Barrio and Madison Valley's Rover's, are expanding as well. Different approaches, however. Barrio hits the deck with traditional south-of-the-border cocktails and egg dishes; Rover's offers a two-course, $25 package. That done, they'll proceed to Sunday supper.

It's a great time to be an eater, what with all these terrific neighborhood restaurants dropping prices. What's important is not just to hope they'll survive but to keep patronizing them. If you love your street, shop your street, eat your street!