West Seattle restaurant news: Wing Dome says, “It’s official!”

Five months after we first reported that Wing Dome was in talks to lease a portion of what used to be part of CAPERS in The Junction, we just got the word from Colleen O’Leary at Consolidated Restaurants, Wing Dome’s parent company: “It’s official!” We have checked in with her often enough that she promised we’d be among the first to known when they signed the lease, and she just made good on that promise. As for when they’re likely to be open, she says they’ll have a better idea “as soon as we have a construction calendar.” This will be the fourth Wing Dome – joining Greenwood, Kirkland and Kent. (Their menus are linked here.)

Michael February 23, 2010 (1:42 pm)

Whatever happened to the University and Wallingford (original) Wing Dome locations?

WSB February 23, 2010 (1:44 pm)

This Times article we linked to on Valentine’s Day http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011059326_sundaybuzz14.html
mentions they closed unsuccessful locations in Bellingham and Capitol Hill after buying the chainlet in 2006 … doesn’t mention those locations, though.

Bob Loblaw February 23, 2010 (1:52 pm)

There is, literally, a tear making its way down my cheek. Thank you, Wing Dome!

mark February 23, 2010 (1:55 pm)

My only complaint is why couldn’t you have done this BEFORE the Super Bowl????

Kim Sharpe Jones February 23, 2010 (2:08 pm)

Yay! We drive up to the Greenwood one when we need a wing fix. This will be a great addition to the neighborhood!

CB February 23, 2010 (2:33 pm)

Excellent addition to the junction.

OP February 23, 2010 (2:38 pm)

Woo-hoo! West Seattle gets wings!

Julie February 23, 2010 (3:02 pm)

YES!!!!!

Chris February 23, 2010 (3:06 pm)

And now for the obligatory “I wish they put a Trader Joe’s there.”

mona February 23, 2010 (3:33 pm)

This is great! now I can finally practice the art of how to properly eat a chicken wing. http://www.buzzfeed.com/akdobbins/how-to-eat-a-chicken-wing

Smitty February 23, 2010 (3:34 pm)

I can’t wait to get my “7-alarm” wings!

Hot, hot, hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christy February 23, 2010 (4:03 pm)

Yuck. I never understood why people would want to eat chicken wings. And now another chain restaurant with unhealthy food taking up valuable space in downtown.

Chris February 23, 2010 (4:29 pm)

Lets hope they decide to pay their bills. Wing Dome has a history of credit hold and stiffing their vendors. I will never spend a penny at any of their locations.

fj February 23, 2010 (4:41 pm)

I’m in the minority here, and say a big YUCK that they are coming, especially in that space. I hate to see chains in the small “downtown” strip.

ABH February 23, 2010 (4:49 pm)

I’d also MUCH rather have had something local, but anything is better than another empty storefront.

Johnny Davies February 23, 2010 (4:50 pm)

“Chain”?? Come on. Is Easy Street a “chain”? Is Matador a “chain”? Is JaKs a “chain”? What is your criteria for a “chain”? That they have more than one location? Its not Walmart for crying out loud.

Be glad that in this poor economy a shuttered store-front in our community will be opened as a new business – and will hopefully employ locals in our area while serving DELICIOUS wings..

Don’t eat there if you don’t want to, but please re-calibrate your thoughts on what is a chain or not.

Smitty February 23, 2010 (5:13 pm)

Johnny,

Yes, Yes, and Yes. All very similar “chains” in size and scope to Wing Dome.

Apparently some people just wish it was 1958 and we could just run down to Cunningham’s hardware store and pay $50 for a hammer.

dawsonct February 23, 2010 (5:22 pm)

There are plenty of businesses in the Jct. I don’t ever patronize, but I don’t wish for their demise.
The Wing Dome is really more of a bar that specializes in chicken wings. I don’t doubt their is a significant portion of the population for whom that doesn’t hold much appeal. You won’t be forced to spend your money there.
—
Why do people, me included, like to eat chicken wings? I like them because the meat is easy to eat off the bone (YES! Meat! Bone!), the meat is flavorful (mmm, dark meat), they are a little bit greasy, and they go real well with beer. Plus, if you don’t have a deep-fryer at home, it’s fairly difficult to get the right texture. It is nice that there are places that are willing to specialize in fried food. It’s also a pretty gross job, so be sure to THANK your fry cook next time.
Wing Dome has some pretty tasty sauces, they were started locally, and they were sold to Consolidated Restaurants (which probably cured their credit problems, Chris. Hope you are as pure as you expect others to be). Consolidated is local and a long-time operator of restaurants in the Seattle area. They employ people like me (though they don’t employ me), and really, you don’t want a bunch of line-cook types running around on the streets with nothing to do.
—
So I guess I would like an answer to that question as well; what, in your people’s minds constitutes a chain?
Have you been in front of Petco, protesting their corporate facelessness lately? Save all your grocery shopping for Sunday so you don’t have to shop at the local (chain) grocers?
Or is it just the reflex of a Luddite?

dawsonct February 23, 2010 (5:24 pm)

That must have been one hell of a $50 hammer back in ’58 Smitty! Were you a purchaser for the US Air Force at one time?

dawsonct February 23, 2010 (5:28 pm)

Could you imagine Oregon if they suddenly allowed self-service gas stations all of a sudden?
Rampaging line-cooks wouldn’t be QUITE that bad, but you get the idea.

Lucky chick February 23, 2010 (5:30 pm)

Sorry to be a scrooge, but yuck. I don’t like seeing franchises at the junction.

Westie February 23, 2010 (5:36 pm)

I’m all for business that will bring people into WS from other parts of Seattle to spend money (and give us here in WS one more place to choose from). More poeple, more house value, more bus routes, more etc. Fewer would be nice, but I need their tax dollars.

frog baseball February 23, 2010 (5:42 pm)

wow some of you people whine about everything.
they aren’t putting in a bomb range, its a restaurant. don’t like it? don’t go there. want something different to open there? start your own business.

Bob Loblaw February 23, 2010 (6:59 pm)

Trader Joe’s is a chain.
.
Just sayin’ …

Meghan February 23, 2010 (7:24 pm)

Wingdome is a local company with a few locations around Seattle. Hardly a “chain”. And even if it were (gasp!!!) a “chain”, it’s a free market system. They will probably do quite well because they will be filling a niche. And you probably wouldn’t support the “Mom and Pop” business (if it cost you more) anyway!! Why some people spend so much time whining about these things is totally beyond me. Don’t like wings??? Don’t eat there! I don’t go to at least half the businesses in the Junction, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want others who do to have those resources.

sun*e February 23, 2010 (7:29 pm)

Obviously, you can’t please everyone so why try! I think it’s great to have choices and another restaurant to “choose” from. We love buffalo wings so we’ll definitely be checkin’ it out. Don’t like wings then don’t go… it’s that simple.

grr February 23, 2010 (7:35 pm)

sheeesh with the whining. Coulda been a Hooters, ya know.

damn..now that I think about it…damn….

V February 23, 2010 (9:36 pm)

I’ve been craving wings so I am excited!! Yum!

dawsonct February 23, 2010 (9:46 pm)

Technically, it isn’t a franchise, either. They are owned by a single entity.

You want to complain about homogeneity ruining towns and neighborhoods? Look about half a block north to Chase, or the other side of the block to Wells Fargo. Bank consolidation does more to ruin our country than do a few multi-unit restaurants. Your priorities are screwed up.

Elias February 23, 2010 (10:50 pm)

I have kids, Wingdome is great because it has something for everyone. Check out the menu, they have alot more than wings. This is going to be a great addition to west Seattle for that simple fact, not much family dining. Sun*e, you rock- this is your old bartender from JaK’s!

A February 23, 2010 (11:10 pm)

Wings may be good, but a cheap dive eatery that in my mind is synonymous with “drunk college kids” isn’t the kind of place I’d rather see in the neighborhood that would add a bit of class and character to the Junction. I am very disappointed to see this come in – and no, I won’t be eating there.

Thriftway Barista\'s February 24, 2010 (3:21 am)

We will miss the friendly barista’s at tully’s I am sure that Starbucks won’t loan us drink trays in a pinch…We do serve Caffe Vita at Thrifway and we make a mean americano!!

sos February 24, 2010 (5:24 am)

Not familiar with Wingdome…first thought..such an ugly name!It doesn’t really conjure up a classy place…Not a place i would really go to, but, hey if that’s your kind of food..that’s ok. Everyone likes something different. If it makes a lot of money, then the owners have met their goal.

Ex-Westwood Resident February 24, 2010 (8:02 am)

Although their prices are a few dollars more than Hooters and it is just about the same distance for me to go to. I doubt I’ll go there very often. I will try them, but so far I haven’t tasted anything that compares to Hooters “Cajun” seasoned wings
.
Why won’t I go there often. Unlike Hooters, in Southpark, which my 11 year-old and I frequent at least twice a month (he likes the Three Mile Island boneless wings)?
.
Because parking in the Junction is near impossible.
.
Ex-WR

austin February 24, 2010 (8:09 am)

Parking in the junction isn’t impossible. The junction has free parking lots as well as abundant street parking. While it may be true that you can’t park less than three meters from where you’re shopping every single time, it wouldn’t hurt you and your 11 year old to walk a block now and then.

Kayleigh February 24, 2010 (8:28 am)

Wow, what a weird response from some people. Not that it’s weird to have preferences…but seems weird to feel that way about a restaurant. I’m almost a vegetarian and I like the Wing Dome. Everything I’ve had has been extremely flavorful and spicy.

dawsonct February 24, 2010 (9:11 am)

Just want to let people know that I will be opening a place in the Jct. or somewhere along Cal. sometime in the next few years.
Some people will NOT like some of the things I will be preparing and serving. I will NOT be everything for everybody all the time. I don’t want to be. I want my place to have a niche; a place you go to when you want what I am cooking. You don’t like some of the ingredients I use; you don’t like the cuisine I am making? Feel free to not patronize my business, but don’t act like you are the arbiter of all that is good and if it doesn’t fall within your narrow parameters there is no reason for it’s existence.
—
Seriously. You sound extraordinarily provincial, at best.

WSB February 24, 2010 (9:36 am)

Good luck on whatever it eventually is, “Dawson”! Too soon for you to take over the soon-to-be-ex-Tully’s space?

Luckie February 24, 2010 (9:18 am)

Wings! Wings! Wings! As you can tell, I’m pretty excited about this.

KBear February 24, 2010 (10:19 am)

“Trader Joe’s is a chain.”

Right on, Bob. They carry plenty of unhealthful food, too. Ever read the fat content on some of those frozen dishes? And they’re certainly not local, while Wingdome is.

Alki Area February 24, 2010 (10:33 am)

NICE! Good menu (burgers & wings & salads) and a LOCAL business. Sorry, it’s NOT a chain, it’s a local business with multiple store fronts. Tru Value (my fav junction business) is a non-local chain. Safeway, non-local chain. Radio Shack, non-local chain. So there are PLENTY of non-local chains already…this is a LOCAL business. GOOD FOR THEM!

Paul in Gatewood February 24, 2010 (11:23 am)

Parking in the Junction is easier than almost any other commercial district in the whole city! You can park in one of the three free lots and walk a block or two to anywhere in the Junction. Try doing that in Capitol Hill, Ballard, Fremont, etc. I’m glad that they’re opening. I’ll be there to patronize them.

Lola February 24, 2010 (11:58 am)

I can’t wait for Wingdome to come to the junction. I think it will be a nice addition to all the other places we have up there. Their menu looks yummy. Licking my fingers now!!!!

yumpears February 24, 2010 (12:25 pm)

Love, love love Wingdome! My family treks up to Greenwood about once a month to meet another family for wings! Hah – now they have to come to our neighborhood!

bridge to somewhere February 24, 2010 (12:59 pm)

Weird. The February 12 WSB article on shots being fired at a car in Delridge/Westwood elicited only 6 comments, whereas this thread already has 44 . . .

dawsonct February 24, 2010 (1:23 pm)

Lordy yes, WSB, way too early, and at the outrageous rent they are charging, I’m not sure what can turn a profit in that space.
—
It is, however, the perfect size.
Any of you landlords out there have anything that can have a small kitchen installed and is in an area with decent foot traffic?

dawsonct February 24, 2010 (1:39 pm)

Shots fired in Delridge/Westwood!? Not to sound too jaded but, umm, yawn.
—
As long as handguns are as easy as anything to procure, legally and otherwise, and our society continues to glorify violence and physical superiority, some stupid punk is going to be randomly blasting “caps” off in just about every neighborhood around you. As long as someone doesn’t accidentally step in front of the projectile, it isn’t really news.
—
We could be teaching our children about safe sex and responsible parenting.
That would give young men something to do other than breed indiscriminately and run around shooting their pistols in the air.
And it would empower young women to do something other than “accidentally” having four kids and living on welfare and food stamps and processed food until her kids are old enough to be taken care of by the criminal justice system.

displacedcoastie February 24, 2010 (2:58 pm)

For all of you who are bitching about “chains” don’t eat or shop at Easy St, since they have multiple locations….as for not wanted beer and wings, you might as well say you don’t like puppies and sunsets also…just saying

Colleen February 24, 2010 (4:27 pm)

We are very excited to have a chance to become part of the West Seattle community. I’ll try to answer a few of the questions:
– The U District/Wallingford locations closed a few years ago because both properties were repurposed – one for condos and the other for a business development.
– Wing Dome is not a franchise. It’s locally owned and operated. The original owner sold to Consolidated Restaurants in 2006. The company name makes us sound bigger than we are.

We will work hard to be an asset to West Seattle.

dmc February 24, 2010 (5:20 pm)

Looking forward to yummy wings close by! Woot.

sun*e February 24, 2010 (11:27 pm)

I just had to add one more “comment” due to the Comment by bridge to somewhere. :-)

grr February 25, 2010 (2:32 am)

Hmm..wonder if there will be some vegetarian wings available…

–
:)

welcome to the hood, Colleen…can’t wait!!!

yum February 25, 2010 (12:13 pm)

excited!!!

S February 25, 2010 (1:16 pm)

Yuck. Can’t we get something a little more upscale than “Wing Dome”? Doesn’t seem to fit in our neighborhood.

Mollie February 25, 2010 (7:24 pm)

Thanks S for speaking for all of us in saying what does or doesn’t fit in our neighborhood. As a long time West Seattle resident, I am excited to hear about the Wing Dome moving into the junction. Just as excited as I was about Fresh, Table 35, and Shadowland. Sometimes you want fancy, sometimes you want beer and wings, sometimes you want a good burger, sometimes you just want corned beef and cabbage and thankfully you can get all of these things in West Seattle. That plus free parking makes this neighborhood rock.

Able Mable February 26, 2010 (9:14 am)

I ate at their Greenwood location just once, but was not impressed. The wings were not that great, just average. Wouldn’t you think that a restaurant who specializes in this one arena would be significantly better at what their namesake implies (or less expensive due to volume purchasing power)? To be fair, I will try them again now being part of our community and all. Let’s see how they plan to compete with our beloved happy hour’s near by…