EVERETT — It’s a majestic new start for a downtown Everett eatery. The Majestic Cafe is moving from its original Hewitt Avenue location to Colby Avenue at the site of the old Flying Pig Brewing Co. The official opening is Wednesday.
Restaurant owner Scott Lord is still shaking his head over
how quickly this much-needed expansion fell into place. He was contacted about the building’s availability on a Thursday at the end of March.
“We came and looked at it on Friday and expressed some interest,” Lord said. “Put a proposal together and met on Monday and hammered out a deal in abou
t 15 minutes. We had a lease signed on Tuesday and it had not been on our horizon at that point to move at all.”
But such a move was badly needed. The current location was too small. It was challenging to squeeze in larger parties or to accommodate meetings and events. There was no bar.
The new Majestic Cafe offers all of the room Lord needed to expand, not only in space but in service. Instead of simply serving dinner five nights a week, the restaurant now will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. There also will be special brunch times available.
Lord explained that the remodel of the Colby location is just phase one of a two-part renovation. Phase two will involve remodeling the lower level into a banquet and meeting room. This space should be available to businesses and private parties this fall and in time for the holiday season.
During the recent remodel, there was never a question whether to retain the large, beloved bar that was a signature feature of the old Flying Pig. The addition of the bar means that the Majestic Cafe will be able to add a happy hour for customers. There also will be a late-night menu to complement the bar.
Another new addition to the Majestic Cafe is also fairly new to Snohomish County. Those who would like to make a reservation for the restaurant will be able to use the online Open Table reservation system to book it.
This added convenience is common practice in large cities such as Seattle, New York and San Francisco. But so far, few local restaurants have opted for the online reservation service. Telephone reservations are still accepted.
It has taken six weeks to turn the empty restaurant into the new Majestic Cafe. Great pains have been taken to recreate some of the old Hollywood ambience that was so loved by customers at the Hewitt Avenue space.
Something else that hasn’t changed is the quality of the food. Chef Susan Jensen plans to retain the menu and standards that got them through recent tough times when so many other restaurants failed.
The Majestic Cafe has a reputation for scratch-made, American classic comfort food. Jensen doesn’t buy things like salad dressing or her signature zesty ketchup. They are made from scratch.
Jensen’s macaroni and cheese, for example, is made from penne pasta, which she prefers for its texture and ability to hold the cheese. There are no binding agents in her macaroni and cheese — just four different cheeses, cream and seasonings.
She is also known for her fish-of-the-day selections, which are based on the best available fish from her purveyor and which recipe she believes will complement that fish.
Rather than use a large restaurant supply service, Jensen prefers to stick with her own network of small purveyors that she has built up over 25 years in the restaurant industry. This way she can keep a tighter control over the quality of her supplies.
Even with the quality of the food, there were times during the last few recession years when the restaurant came perilously close to closing. Last June, the Majestic Cafe stopped serving lunch due to the down economy.
“It was a hard decision but it was purely economic,” Lord said. “If we hadn’t stopped serving lunch then we would not have made it. There is no doubt in my mind.”
There already has been a great deal of positive feedback from customers about the return of lunch service, especially as the new Colby Avenue location is convenient for local business professionals. Lord believes the move to the new location was a wonderfully lucky step.
Jensen agreed. “Things are just falling into place and it feels really good.”
On the move
The Majestic Cafe is moving from 1409 Hewitt Ave. to 2929 Colby Ave., Everett.
It’s scheduled to open Wednesday.
A new website will be launched in the near future, but the old site at www.themajesticcafe.com still works if you want to check the menu.
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