Friday, July 10, 2009
Chow Now No Longer Open
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Whym, the diner where Minnie's used to be, is gone. No one in the office has anything enlightening or interesting to say about this closure. It had a stupid name. No one ever went there. It is gone.
UPDATE: Now also no longer open: Saito's sushi in Belltown. It was good, though his heart may not have been completely in it for some time—it's been for sale forever. And it finally sold.
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5
had breakfast at Whym once. they cut their over-fried potatoes into little cubes, it was like eating dice.
7
I never heard anything good about Whym. You have to really suck at being a 24-hour diner to not make it in Seattle.
RIP Oceanaire, though. I never got to try it.
RIP Oceanaire, though. I never got to try it.
9
Saito's was OK, but in a commercial dead zone at their price point. I think El Gaucho is next on the dead list. Maybe it'll happen while Jeff Goldblum is dining in that obscene place.
10
Ouch, that's a lot of piling on Whym. Beyond one visit where we waited 30 mins. to get served after getting seated, I never had a problem with Whym. Friendly staff, decent food, smart/quirky menu, just no audience.
11
I think the issue isn't the quality of Whym's actual product so much as their dumb name and inability to draw anyone in.
Granted, while it seems like a good location, the 1st/Denny location is a bit out of the way, putting any business there at a disadvantage (people have to actively find you since you're not along a beaten pedestrian path or in the heart of a district). Any place located there can't just be decent... it has to be spectacular and notorious to draw a crowd away from the heart of LQA, Belltown, Downtown, SLU, etc. A place like Canlis for example, nestled away from all else near the Aurora Bridge, makes big money not just by being expensive, but by developing a citywide reputation from what they serve people.
On the other hand, Daniel's Broiler is expensive but nondescript: They get away with it because they're right on the SLU shore with a view in an alcove with other high end restaurants that people around the city recognize. If Daniel's Broiler had Canlis' location, they'd have been dead meat years ago. And one can only imagine what kind of extra business Canlis would bring in working from DB's SLU location. They'd probably have to make the restaurant 2-3 stories high to accommodate everyone.
Granted, while it seems like a good location, the 1st/Denny location is a bit out of the way, putting any business there at a disadvantage (people have to actively find you since you're not along a beaten pedestrian path or in the heart of a district). Any place located there can't just be decent... it has to be spectacular and notorious to draw a crowd away from the heart of LQA, Belltown, Downtown, SLU, etc. A place like Canlis for example, nestled away from all else near the Aurora Bridge, makes big money not just by being expensive, but by developing a citywide reputation from what they serve people.
On the other hand, Daniel's Broiler is expensive but nondescript: They get away with it because they're right on the SLU shore with a view in an alcove with other high end restaurants that people around the city recognize. If Daniel's Broiler had Canlis' location, they'd have been dead meat years ago. And one can only imagine what kind of extra business Canlis would bring in working from DB's SLU location. They'd probably have to make the restaurant 2-3 stories high to accommodate everyone.
12
I hope the next occupant of 1st & Denny takes the failures of Whym and Minnie's to heart and uses the space for something other than a 24-hour restaurant.
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