Yard House may not have invented craft beer, but it certainly helped fuel the craze when it opened its flagship restaurant on December 7, 1996, in Long Beach, California, with an astounding 250 taps. More than 16 years and 42 locations later Yard House will open its very first Pacific Northwest location on Sunday, February 10 at 11am at Downtown Seattle’s Century Square Building.
With less than a month to go, the company just finished hiring 200 new employees who are in the midst of intense training.
Shortly the ovens in the exhibition kitchen will be fired up, hundreds of full kegs will be stacked atop one another in the glass-enclosed keg room, and 130 taps handles encircling the island bar fully operable as Yard House welcomes the residents of Seattle to its 43rd location.
“Seattle has been on our radar for a very long time, said Harald Herrmann, president of Yard House Restaurants. “It’s a vibrant city that has a lot to offer, and we’re extremely excited to be part of the community.
The new Seattle location will be the only Yard House to boast its own totem pole. Serving as a beacon to the restaurant’s entrance, the Yard House totem pole pays homage to the city’s early heritage when Seattle positioned itself as the “Gateway to Alaska. The totem pole, which first appeared on city streets during the 1909 Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition, came to symbolize the connection between the city and what would eventually become the 50th state. The Yard House totem pole is best described as an urban work of art assembled from various motorcycle parts, from handlebars and gas tanks to pedals and wheel wells, and measures 14 feet high and spans seven feet wide topping the scales at more than a ton.
posted by Tiffany Haslacker
01/30/2013
