The Virginia Inn, One of Seattle’s Oldest Restaurants, Is Closing | Eater Seattle

"One of the oldest restaurants in the Pike Place Market area, opened in 1903 as part of the now-defunct Hotel Livingston and predating the market (which opened in 1907). Long a reliable stop for market-goers, it’s described as old but not pretentious — “full of dark wood but not stuffy” — and retains a homespun, grungy charm (it “basically looks like it did when Singles shot a scene there”). The menu is familiar Northwest market fare — Penn Cove mussels, fish and chips, burgers — comparable to nearby staples like the Athenian, Lowell’s, or Matt’s in the Market, and under recent owners Karl Sexton and Craig Perez (who bought it in 2019 and Perez later bought out his partner) they kept prices relatively affordable. The closure was announced on social media, with the restaurant saying “We want to stay!” and encouraging followers to contact PDA officials and the mayor; its Instagram also shared images of customers who wrote “Fuck the Market” on checks, with the caption, “I mean we didn’t say it, but...” The restaurant will close permanently on Sunday, April 27, citing “due to failed negotiations for an equitable lease.” The landlord is the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA); since March 2024 the business had been operating on a month-to-month lease. As owner Craig Perez told the Seattle Times: “The one sticking point that I had with our lease was the percentage-based rent that [the PDA] charges on top of the base rent and the maintenance,” Perez told the paper, “and that is 6% of our total sales after $1.2 million.” Perez wanted to adjust that $1.2 million for inflation but was unable to reach an agreement, and the PDA ordered him to vacate by the end of the month. A PDA spokesperson said, “we don’t discuss the details of individual leases,” and added that “Over several months, the PDA offered numerous opportunities to either negotiate a new lease or sell the business, but [the restaurant] did not pursue either path. As a result, the PDA was forced to end the month-to-month tenancy.” They also said, “As a public agency, we must ensure leases are consistent across tenants and cannot offer significantly lower terms to one business over others.” Looking ahead, the PDA spokesperson wrote, “Our goal moving forward is to find a new partner and steward for this Seattle icon so it can remain a part of the Market,” and “We recognize and appreciate [the restaurant]’s long history at the Market, and we share in the disappointment surrounding its closure.”" - Harry Cheadle