Are Barriers to Entry Going up for Restaurants?

As Millennials and other foodies flock to Seattle, we're eating better than ever before. But can the local restaurant business maintain its momentum as competition increases and rents rise? Come hear about it at the 2nd annual Seattle Restaurant Development Summit at the Triple Door at 7:30am on March 18.

One of our speakers, Downtown Seattle Association retail program manager Andi Pratt, tells us that she's spending a lot of time on recruitment and advocacy to bring in new concepts (including restaurants) while working with existing businesses to make the urban core a better place to be. "We have really strong relationships with Downtown landlords and brokers, so I play the role of matchmaker: I connect restaurateurs and retailers looking for Downtown locations to these folks," Andi says.

Andi adds that she gets to help shape the landscape of Downtown by focusing her efforts on the local, unique, innovative and chef-driven concepts that are so critical to the makeup of a vibrant urban area. "And it helps that DSA’s reach is so broad: our involvement in other areas of Downtown—streetscape cleaning, maintenance, hospitality and public safety services, as well as destination marketing—all bolster the work I’m doing to bring these restaurants Downtown." (Snapped: meat at Miller's Guild, which opened Downtown last year).

Here's another food fact about Seattle: WalletHub reports that Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue comes in at 15 out of 100 in regions with weight problems (1 being the fewest problems, 100 the most). The company examined 12 metrics, including the percentage of adults and high school students who are obese and the percentage of people who are physically inactive. Provo-Orem UT had the fewest weight problems among its population, while Shreveport-Bossier City LA had the most. Seattle's spot is good news for local healthy food outlets and their landlords; not so much for fast-food locations. Sign up for the Summit here.