EVERETT — The Flying Pig Food and Beverage Co., a fixture on downtown Colby Avenue for more than a decade, has shut its doors.
The restaurant and bar stopped serving customers just after the first of the year. A sign taped to
the door Tuesday said: “Sorry we are closed. We will reopen in February.”
Alligator Soul, another local favorite, closed its doors, too, in December.
HB Hospitality LLC purchased the Flying Pig in 2007 from the founders. Calls to Omendra Jayasundara, one of the owners, were not returned.
The state Department of Revenue filed a warrant for unpaid taxes in September against HB Hospitality. With interest and fees, the owners owe nearly $17,000.
Revenue spokesman Mike Gowrylow couldn’t comment specifically on the case. He did say that filing a warrant is a last resort.
The Flying Pig could get a new life as a steak house.
Glenn McLoughlin of Lake Stevens and Colin Latapie of Granite Falls are in talks now to buy the restaurant, McLoughlin said.
McLoughlin, a former Lake Stevens city councilman and police officer, said he’s waiting to close on the sale until after the owners have settled their debts. He said he probably won’t keep the name.
He and his partner want to open a restaurant called McLoughlin Steak & Chop. He’s already applied for a liquor license. It’s unlikely the venture would open by February, as the sign on the door says.
McLoughlin said he wants his restaurant to focus on service and high quality food. The steakhouse will likely have some Irish flair.
“We’ll try to keep some portion of The Flying Pig,” he said. “We want the current customers to know they are still welcome to come. What they are going to experience is going to be a whole lot better.”
The apparent end of The Flying Pig is sad news for Joel Starr, who founded the brew pub in 1997 with a partner.
Starr remembers that year as a pivotal moment for Everett’s downtown.
The police were making strides on crime downtown, he said. The city had just finished up a face-lift of Colby Avenue, a main retail street downtown.
In the beginning, Starr said the emphasis was on quality and service. The Flying Pig started as a micro brewery and it offered pizza, burgers and sandwiches, a combination that worked in Everett.
By the time the Everett Events Center, now known as Comcast Arena, opened in 2003, it was difficult to find a seat on busy nights. At the height of the business, Starr said The Flying Pig served 12,000 people a month.
Starr said the passion and personality of his staff is a large part of what made The Flying Pig successful.
“The new owners made changes to what I thought was a successful formula,” he said. “The biggest change was the crew.”
New owners at that location may have one advantage he didn’t.
The city is finalizing a deal with a Seattle developer to bring an eight-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel just down the street at the southeast corner of Colby Avenue and Wall Street.
Starr said opening a new restaurant in this economic climate will be tough. The recession has made it tough on restaurants as many people decide to go out to eat less often or to reduce their spending when they do go.
“Even if you have the horsepower, experience or financial stability to support your new venture, it’s a gutsy move,” Starr said. “And that’s an understatement.”
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com
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