Christmas will not end in December at St. Nick’s, a new year-round holiday bar and restaurant planned for 1133 U.S. Highway 2 in Leavenworth, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.
Rich Fox, CEO and operating owner of Yes Parade Restaurant Group, told What Now Seattle that the team is hoping to open in October, though a date has not been set.
The idea for St. Nick’s had been on Yes Parade co-founder James Weimann’s mind for years. After the group opened Rhein Haus in Leavenworth, he saw the city as the right place to bring it to life. Earlier this year, Weimann purchased the former Evergreen Inn property, which is being renovated and will reopen as the Red Bell Inn.
“He purchased the building earlier this year specifically because it offered the ability to do both the Christmas-themed motel rooms and the Christmas-themed bar and restaurant,” Fox said.
Fox had his own reason for connecting with the idea. He grew up near Frankenmuth, Michigan, where visits to the year-round Christmas store Bronner’s were part of his childhood.
At St. Nick’s, the team wants to recreate some of that feeling through the décor, food, drinks, and traditions people associate with the holidays.
According to Fox, it will be “a festive and fun Christmas-themed bar and restaurant with loads of decorations, a menu inspired by family holiday gatherings, and overall a place to find the warmth and community of Christmas any day of the year.”
St. Nick’s will occupy the first floor of the property, with the Red Bell Inn rooms upstairs. The restaurant will be open to everyone, not only hotel guests.
The Christmas theme will carry through the food and drinks all year. Chef Evan Kuehni will lead the kitchen, with dishes inspired by holiday meals. Though Christmas will remain the main theme, St. Nick’s will make room for other celebrations throughout the year.
St. Nick’s will also have a small stage for live music, including Christmas songs and regular sets. Christmas karaoke, movie trivia, and Santa photos are also planned.
Some of that programming will take shape after the doors open. Fox said the team wants to hear about the traditions guests associate with the holidays and use those ideas as St. Nick’s evolves.
“The calendar will fill out as we come up with other ideas and as we hear from guests what they’d like to see. That’s part of the fun of the concept: learning about the holiday traditions of others, whether or not it’s a dish or a drink or an annual event, and letting that guide where the restaurant goes.”
That attention on community will also extend outside the regular events calendar.
“We’ll also have fundraising nights because giving back will be a huge part of what we do,” Fox said.
St. Nick’s will be the latest addition to Yes Parade Restaurant Group, which traces its history to 2008, when Weimann and co-founder Deming Maclise opened Bastille in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood.
The group’s current restaurants include Rhein Haus, Macleod’s Fish & Chips, Sabine, and Wally’s Wisconsin Tavern.
