The original Red Robin restaurant is closing.
Current Red Robin
Red Robin is a restaurant chain that started with one place in Seattle. It’s sign says open since 1949. Apparently it was more of a bar than a restaurant until the early ’70s. When we first moved to Seattle in the early ’80s there were two that we knew of, the original and a branch at Northgate. We would go there every now and then. It turned out to be a good place to go with the kids. We still go every now and then, mostly at the original.
We have noticed several things about the original – most notably the steep parking lot. It is dropping from street level down to the ship canal, and they never did anything to make it easier to navigate. The canal and the University Bridge can be seen from the restaurant, and we watch the bridge go up and down (it’s a drawbridge). Lately we have taken to walking to the restaurant, about a mile from our house, and don’t have to deal with parking.
When they announced the original was closing we knew we had to go one more time. If only to get a picture of their original sign – which is inside the restaurant now. It has the Red Robin, if in a slightly earlier version, and he is smoking.
The Original Red Robin
Since the newspaper article came out, the original has been packed.
We went for an “early” dinner, around 4:30, and had to wait 20 minutes to get a table. But everyone was there for the one last experience, so we waited. It was a nice walk down, a beautiful day, and a good thing to do.
And on their door they had a sign posted that said.
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
Theodor Geisel
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