Hungry for news? Welcome to our Friday Feed, where we run through all the local food and restaurant news this week—and maybe help you figure out where to eat this weekend.

Warmth and Taste at New Aurora KBBQ

Onmi, a new Korean barbecue spot on Aurora, soft-opened this week, with reservations coming to Resy soon (but available by Instagram DM until then). The name combines the Korean characters for “warmth” and “taste,” explains general manager Jeemin Lee. Executive chef Seunghoon Lee originally comes from South Korea’s Gangwon Province, and he takes inspiration from the region’s mountains and sea in his cooking. More recently, he cooked at Charlotte Restaurant, in the Lotte Hotel. The menu includes à la carte options, combo packs of meat, and an omakase option of four selected cuts.

Harbor City Sets Sail

After 17 years of serving some of the Chinatown–International District’s favorite dim sum—and another 20 before that as a seafood restaurant, under different ownership—today is Harbor City’s final day of operation. The Seattle Times reported lease negotiations as the reason behind the closure, Vanishing Seattle expands on that a bit: The restaurant was hoping for a five-year lease, but the landlord intends to sell the property, and thus wouldn’t agree to something that long-term. Dim sum fiends will be happy to know that Harbor City’s Tacoma location continues to operate and may employ some of the displaced Seattle staff.

New Hotel Rolls the Dice on Vegas Chef

The former Pan Pacific in South Lake Union is now the upscale 1 Hotel, and the restaurant has brought in Las Vegas chef Oscar Amador to run its restaurant, La Loba, opening sometime this spring. Amador’s fancy resume includes a stage at the famed El Bulli and a short stint at Vegas’s Le Cirque. Since opening his own Edo Tapas and Amina by Edo, he received a James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef Southwest and a long-list mention for Outstanding Chef. Amador plans to look at the shared terrain between his Spanish homeland and the Pacific Northwest to create dishes from local ingredients. Flashy Vegas style has rarely played well in these parts, but Amador seems to have the cooking chops to back up the caviar and truffles.

The H is for Hello, Ballard

Korean grocery chain H Mart has filed a liquor license indicating it intends to open in the former New Seasons space in Ballard, which has been empty since the Portland chain’s short-lived stint there ended in 2019. The space, at 25,000 square feet, is smaller than the chain’s usual full-fledged shops—the Lynnwood store is 77,0000, Redmond 38,000, and Federal Way 60,000—but larger than the 16,000 square foot M2M shop the brand has on Capitol Hill or the similarly sized Downtown store.

Putting a Trompo in the Ground

Fly-by-night taco shop La Cuadra dropped a bombshell on Instagram this week, stating “They are ready for our restaurant.” They, apparently, is us, because we are very much ready. Slowly, the taco cart dripped out the news about their fixed location, which is now open at 24602 Military Road S, in Kent, an address Google Maps doesn't seem to believe exists (but it does!). As of now, the shop will be open from 2pm to midnight.

Small Change

Meat the new owner: Pike Place Market butcher shop Don and Joe’s Meats welcomed new ownership this week, as it said goodbye to retiring owner Don Kuzaro Jr.—tomorrow will be his last day. Don’s father opened the shop in 1969 with his brother-in-law Joe Darby. Don Junior took over the shop from Don and Joe in 1986. Manager Ben Frey and friends have purchased the shop, which will continue operating under the same name.

Wheels up: Spinnaker Chocolate announced this week that it has outgrown its Ravenna digs and will be moving the entire operation to a new location in Fremont, with hopes to open in May. The combination café and factory will give the company the space to make a few new products and serve drinking chocolate.

Bait and switch: This week, Capitol Hill Seattle reported that Bait Shop owners Mike Leifur and Jonah Bergman are now a part of the ownership group of Linda’s Tavern, joining Linda Derschang herself, and three others.

Still the queen: Linda also operated the Queen City, in the storied Queen City Grill space, for a heartbeat from 2018–2020. More recently, the space was BOCA Restaurant at Queen City Grill. But now it seems the classic Seattle space might be set for a comeback from someone who knows the neighborhood and the industry well: Jessica Gifford of Bathtub Gin has registered a business license for the name and location.

Happy trails: Amid the upheavals in the national park system, Mt. Rainier National Park managed to hire a new executive chef, Rudolfo Martinez, for the park’s two lodges, Paradise Inn and National Park Inn.

Oh, BTW, here’s what you missed last week.