A Nightlife Evolution
Four years ago, the Bellevue Downtown Association produced its inaugural Nightlife Guide. There were 20 downtown
happy hours, The Parlor had just opened and only a scattering of restaurants provided late night dining.
Oh, how times have changed.
Since 2006, more than 30 restaurants have decided to call Downtown Bellevue home. Happy hour options
have more than doubled. Choices now include posh bowling, a luxury cinema, neighborhood bars, a live comedy
club, theater offerings, a flourishing arts museum and numerous chef-owned restaurants.
How did it happen so quickly? Planning, risk, vision, investment, entrepreneurial spirit, luck? Yes, and there are
stories to be told.
A dentist trades in his practice and launches his own start up, an upscale billiards hall and ultralounge. A few
years later, owner Steve Olson expands The Parlor Billiards and Spirits to include a live entertainment venue.
National comedians and dinner theater now take the stage each weekend at the Parlor Live.
A son develops a new family-owned restaurant in challenging conditions. He opens in a building without tenants,
without signage and during a month when a snow storm unexpectedly halts business. Fast forward a year
and Chad Mackay, COO and President of El Gaucho Bellevue, has overcome these obstacles and his restaurant is
thriving.
A chef known best for his expertise in seafood has added a prime steakhouse to his résumé of resturants. Chef
John Howie has staked his claim by opening John Howie Steak at The Bravern.
A longtime Old Bellevue property owner seizes an opportunity and transforms a space where a bicycle shop
and salon once stood. In its place, Stu Vander Hoek created The Spot Off Main billiards hall and pub.
There are many others who’ve planned, believed, invested and taken a risk in opening a bar or restaurant in
Downtown Bellevue—Purple, Barrio, Wild Ginger, Artisanal Brasserie, Pearl, STIR, Twisted Cork and 520 Bar and
Grill, to name a few.
Now after 5:00 p.m., Downtown Bellevue is just waking up.
