Canlis To Close Monday, Open Burger Drive-Thru, Start Deliveries

SEATTLE, WA — One of Seattle's most celebrated restaurants will overhaul its operations Monday as the region navigates the worst outbreak of the new coronavirus in the United States.

Canlis, which won two James Beard awards in 2019, will shut its doors next week, replacing upscale dining options with a "bagel shed" for breakfast, a burger drive-thru for lunch and a dinner delivery service for family meals.

"Fine dining is not what Seattle needs right now," the restaurant wrote on Facebook. "Instead, this is one idea for safely creating jobs for our employees while serving as much of the city as we can."

According to the Canlis website, the drive-thru opens Monday and will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The bagel shed debuts Tuesday and will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekdays. Deliveries for family dinners, including a bottle of wine at your doorstep, begin Wednesday and will be available between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays.

The restaurant said the menu for home deliveries will change daily. Details on pricing were not immediately available. A link for orders is to be posted on the Canlis website in the days ahead.

The Seattle Times reports that several restaurants in the area have recently announced closures due to plummeting business, as thousands of employees work from home until at least the end of March. Tom Douglas, one of the city's most successful chefs, said he will temporarily close 12 restaurants Sunday after sales dropped 90 percent.