The Yard House chain recently announced that they will be opening their first Washington restaurant featuring 130 taps of beer in the downtown Seattle core early in 2013.
Press release:
Seattle, WA– (March 22, 2012) – Yard House Restaurants announced today that it has signed a lease for 12,600 square-foot, ground level space at Century Square, 1501 Fourth Avenue, in downtown Seattle which, until recently, operated as a Borders Books & Music store. Known for its American fusion fare, 100-250 taps of draft beer and playlist of classic and contemporary rock, this will be the company’s first foray into the state of Washington and is expected to open early next year.
“Seattle is an exceptional city, and we’re excited to be part of the community,” said Harald Herrmann, president and CEO of Yard House Restaurants. “The location, adjacent to Westlake Park in the heart of downtown’s vibrant retail and financial districts, within walking distance to hotels and offices, and just a fish-toss from Pike’s Place Market, is ideal. We’re looking forward to opening early next year.”
Yard House, which caters to an eclectic mix of professionals, couples and families, features an extensive menu of shareable snacks, appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pasta, steak and seafood. In addition, The menu also offers a selection of gluten-sensitive alternatives as well as an array of vegetarian options where chicken, beef and pork are replaced with gardein™, a blend of garden vegetables and protein that have the look, taste and texture of their meaty counterparts.
The Seattle location will boast 130 taps of draft beer–including local and regional brews–with the handles encircling the restaurant’s signature island bar. The glass-enclosed keg room will hold as much as 500 kegs and collectively contain approximately 7,000 gallons of beer. A network of steel and nylon tubing, which runs overhead and creates a striking visual effect, transports the beer from the keg room to the fleet of taps at the island bar. Yard House also offers a select wine list, a full bar and a menu of Fresh & Skinny cocktails that are 176 calories or less.
Yard House is known for its continual playlist of classic and contemporary rock along with flat screens broadcasting the most current sporting events, which are visible from just about every seat in the house. The restaurant also has an extensive collection of original abstract art by artist Jerome Gastaldi displayed in a casual and inviting backdrop of warm woods, stainless steel accents and ambient lighting.
Yard House is expected to open its first Seattle location in early 2013 on the ground level of Century Square in downtown Seattle. The company will look to hire more than 200 residents from Seattle and surrounding environs toward the end of this year.
About Yard House Restaurants
Yard House Restaurants was created by restaurant veteran Steele Platt. Platt, along with his partners, launched the first Yard House restaurant in December 1996 along the Long Beach waterfront just south of Los Angeles. Today there are 36 units from coast-to-coast. The company is headed by Platt’s partners Harald Herrmann, president and CEO, and Executive Chef Carlito Jocson. Yard House has received glowing reviews from both consumer and trade publications and is the recipient of several industry awards.
Great news! Taphouse needs competition.
Woo. I can’t wait to visit this “unit”, and experience their continual playlist of classic and contemporary rock along with flat screens broadcasting the most current sporting events.
Wait. In fact, I’d much rather visit a pub than a unit, and not deal with a TV or contemporary rock.
What marketing droid created this schlock?
Taplist sounds promising, menu not so much.
Every Yard House i’ve been to has been disappointing. You look at their marketing concept & you say, wow, these guys care about good beer, but in practice they really don’t. The problem is obvious – way too many taps to manage well & to keep fresh …not to mention trying to keep that many tap lines clean.
Last visit was to Rancho Mirage, Calif, where my company had a sales conference, and amazingly there was hardly any interesting beer (admittedly i’m a hophead) among their 160 or so taps. When i have found something i liked, invariably it has tasted off; i.e., not fresh. Our many local ale houses mostly do a far better job curating & managing their 10-30 taps …around that number seems to be a good “sweet spot”.
Can Yard House do better here? With our strong local competition, they certainly have an incentive to try.
Been to 4 different Yardhouses and was disappointed in the beer selection and prices. Just another tourist trap.
whoa, whoa, whoa! yes it’s corporate, it’s big, and it’s not the kind of place we sbn readers like to drink beer, but i say this place is 10X better than the other corporate, big places in town (ram, taphouse). the food is excellent, service and vibe are well done, and yes i happen to like classic and contemporary rock.
100 taps? Are you kidding me? Will they keep the tap lines cleaned on a very regular basis? There’s nothing worse than a good beer gone bad with the tap lines getting rancid.
Can’t wait to see the Yard House come to Seattle!!! Just a heads up to all! I’ve been in the restaurant biz for over 20 years. I worked for the Yard House for over 2 years in Phoenix AZ before moving to Seattle and never once did we have ANY problems with clean beer lines at any store!(3 locations in AZ). It was an amazing company to work for! Food was fantastic and the classic rock music kicked ass to! Do yourself a favor and stop in! As a patron now……I’m just happy I can finally sit at the bar!lol. See u there!!!
I fell in love with the Yardhouse in Phoenix AZ! Love the Scottsdale location too, never had a single bad experience and the food and drinks are always delicious!