Restaurant newshound Nancy Leson of the Seattle Times broke the surprising news yesterday that The Oceanaire Seafood Room has shut its doors for good. It turns out their parent company--which has already removed Seattle from its website and closed down its blog, Facebook, and Twitter feed on June 30--filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, revealing that their new restructuring plan included shutting down four of the sixteen chain seafood restaurants across the U.S. While we typically don't profess our love for chain restaurants, we do have to admire and appreciate Oceanaire for bringing the talented former executive chefs Kevin Davis, 2001-06 (Steelhead Diner), Eric Donnelly, 2006-08 (Toulouse), and Aaron Valimont, 2008-09, into the Seattle food community. more ›

Indeed, we mean bankruptcy. As previously predicted, the 89-year-old Bellevue-based outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. has finally thrown in the flannel after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. For some time, it hadn't been looking good for the "original outdoor outfitter," who lost nearly a half billion dollars over the past three years. Today, they've found themselves with $476.1 million in total assets and $426.7 million in total debt. In part of the filing agreement, the local retailer will sell off its remaining assets to a private equity firm, who plans to keep a majority of the retailer's employees and operate a majority of its stores while under court protection. The bankruptcy of Eddie Bauer makes them the third national retailer and high-profile Washington company to file for bankruptcy.
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• Dog people, stop reading and just look at these cute puppies instead. Cat people, keep reading. PhinneyWood blog reports that Greenwood's cat-loving-adoption organization PAWS celebrates the adoption of it 10,000th kitty.
• Still wringing out their clothes, photos and soggy possessions, the residents of the recently flooded Wedgwood neighborhood want the city to foot the bill for all the damages the broken water main caused.
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Q13, our local softcore right-wing television station, has made a bold move in the reporting of our faltering local economy by actually filing for bankruptcy themselves. Well, the parent of KCPQ-TV, the Chicago-based Tribune Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, which means we might soon be seeing creditors face off in no-holds-barred cage matches on upcoming Jerry Springer shows. Our money is on Judge Karen, by the way. more ›