LYNNWOOD — After 10 years of serving award-winning clam chowder and Northwest seafood, Ivar’s Seafood Bar at Alderwood mall is being forced to close its doors, according to the Seattle company.
General Growth Properties, the Chicago company that owns Alderwood mall, did not renew the lease with Ivar’s. The Alderwood location will close by Feb. 15, said Ivar’s regional manager Carl Taylor.
Ivar’s was shocked by the news, especially with such little notice, he said.
“It is tough to lose a restaurant doing as well as that,” Taylor said. “We get so many good comment cards on that restaurant. It is a little disheartening. What can we do? There is nothing we can do except build a store somewhere else.”
According to Taylor, Alderwood signed a non-compete agreement with McGrath’s Fish House — which opened at Alderwood in 2004 — to keep other seafood restaurants away. Ivar’s didn’t find out about the arrangement until it tried to renew its lease about a month ago, Taylor said.
“I think (Alderwood management) knew what they were doing,” Taylor said. “It is kind of disappointing.”
Mall officials declined to comment about details beyond issuing a brief statement.
“We value the 10-year relationship with Ivar’s,” Erika Koehler, Alderwood’s senior marking manager, said in the statement. “We wish them the best and look forward with potentially working with them in the future as circumstances change.”
John McGrath, who founded McGrath’s Fish House in 1980, said the decision to close the Ivar’s Seafood bar is between the mall and Ivar’s.
“One fish bar is enough for a mall,” McGrath said. “I think Alderwood is trying to make their mall more interesting and it has added a lot of interest in the mall in the last year.”
McGrath, who grew up in Mount Vernon, opened his first restaurant in Salem, Ore. Today, he operates about 19 McGrath’s Fish House restaurants in Washington, Idaho, Utah and Arizona.
McGrath said he worked with Alderwood mall to create a unique experience and the key feature is the outdoor fish bar. The Alderwood location is the biggest investment the company has made in its 25-year history and it is the only McGrath’s restaurant with an outdoor fish bar, he said. Now, it is the company’s busiest restaurant.
“We invested a lot of money into that restaurant building and fish bar,” McGrath said. “I never would have done that if they kept another fish bar there. I guess the mall liked the appeal we had being an outdoor fish bar.”
Ivar’s is not giving up on Lynnwood, Taylor said. The Seattle company is looking for a new location to move in or build an Ivar’s Seafood bar, Taylor said.
“We have a lot of loyal customers. They are really disappointed,” Taylor said. “We would like to find another restaurant somewhere in the vicinity so we can get those people to come back and not have that hole in the map. That is our goal.”
Darcy Thomas is one of those loyal Ivar’s customers. A trip to Alderwood is not complete without an order of prawns and coleslaw at Ivar’s, the 50-year-old Snohomish woman said.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Thomas said. “I can’t imagine any other fast-food seafood that is that good. I think they are getting rid of a real good thing that most people will want.”
Through the Alderwood Web site, Thomas sent an e-mail asking management to keep Ivar’s.
“I think people should speak up for what they want and maybe if they speak up it’s not too late,” Thomas said.
Ivar’s has found a place for all 15 employees from the Alderwood store, including store manager Mike Rankin, Taylor said. They have been transferred to other Ivar’s locations.
“Luckily for us, we have homes for every single one of them,” Taylor said.
For now, Ivar’s Seafood Bar at Alderwood is distributing tray liners to explain the situation and say “thank you” to customers. Taylor said he hopes customers will be willing to drive to other Ivar’s locations. The two closest seafood bars are at 14912 Highway 99 in Lynnwood and 9910 Edmonds Way in Edmonds.
“We hope they find a new home for their local Ivar’s instead of coming to the mall because they obviously will not find us there,” Taylor said.
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