Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Thanks to Milton and Mike, who e-mailed tonight to report activity in the former Table 35/Ama Ama/etc. space at California/Edmunds. There, we found Jenna Shannon Garvey O’Brien (right), who, with husband Paddy O’Brien, just finalized the lease on the space, and have already started remodeling. They plan to open May 1st, introducing West Seattle to the official second location of their popular Irish pub and restaurant A Terrible Beauty (the first one is in Renton).
“West Seattle is our stomping grounds!” Jenna told WSB. She and her husband have long enjoyed the community and the restaurants in West Seattle. Jenna explained that when they have some time off, or have a “date night,” they just head to West Seattle without even having a definite place in mind because of the myriad good options here. Having kept an eye on this specific space, once it became available, they went for it. They’re thrilled to have the chance to create and share what she says will be a warm, welcoming authentic Irish pub and restaurant as an affordable destination for this community.
They plan to have 30 beers on tap and will be doing in-house baking and cooking just like at their original location.
The menu will be the same as the original pub, and A Terrible Beauty will be family-friendly in West Seattle as well. The outside will have a custom stone facing to give it that pub look.
The orange wall behind the counter in the photo above is being renovated will have a custom-built wooden shelved bar, and she’s hoping to get some stylish old wooden doors for the front entrance.
Jenna came to America from Ireland when she was 10. She and Paddy have 6 kids; one of her adult sons was there helping with the remodeling.
What about what some consider the curse of the California/Edmunds location? Their flagship pub in Renton is 7,500 square feet, and was in a space that she says previously had a terrible reputation for 10 years. But she says that with their commitment to authenticity, quality and affordability, A Terrible Beauty built up a strong reputation quickly, growing from 6 employees to 34 in their first year there. Sometimes they’re having to turn patrons away on a Wednesday night!
What will the food be like? Look to their menu online for a preview … Jenna is a vegetarian and ensures that there are appealing choices for vegetarians (she’s excited to hear Chaco Canyon Organic Café is opening in West Seattle too).
So the southeast end of the heart of The Junction won’t be semi-empty for long after all – with A Terrible Beauty moving into ex-Table 35, Bang Bar Thai Restaurant moving into ex-Tom Yum Koong next door, and The Sneakery taking over ex-Liberty Bell.
P.S. You can find A Terrible Beauty on Facebook here, and on Twitter (@terriblebeauty_ ).
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