Because sometimes conversation runs dry, and because there’s always somebody at the table who eats up industry intel, tidbits to dish out the next time you find yourself at the following places.

Even though it exudes decades-old charm, Le Pichet opened in 2000 in a space that was formerly a carpeted Russian tea house and piroshky bakery. (Along those same lines, the Issaquah Tutta Bella is a rehabbed Chili’s that was abandoned.)

Like Melrose Market, the building that houses Cafe Presse and neighboring Stumptown is a garage hailing from Capitol Hill’s early-1900s auto boom. The original flooring can be spotted in the ceiling and doors of Rudy’s in Ballard and platform and gate at the Cha Cha Lounge.

Speaking of the Cha, the glass applique festooning the masonry wall is a collection of bottles the owners and friends stockpiled from many nights out at local watering holes.

And speaking of cool walls, that mural of matadors adjacent to the bar in the Saint is a compilation of images culled from antique bull fighting magazines. Seattle branding and design agency 51 Eggs found and transformed the black-and-white posters into a wallpaper of the historic figures.

Unlike at most restaurants, where the bar is but a fraction of the real estate, downtown’s forthcoming RN74 will dedicate a hefty chunk to the sipping area—sixty percent, in fact. Chef and restaurateur Michael Mina had spent nine years shopping a Seattle restaurant (his team currently oversees 18 across the country) before deciding to open a Seattle satellite of the San Fran RN74 in the Joshua Green Building.

Know of other fun facts?