Featured image: Chandler’s Crabhouse’s famous Dungeness crabcake (photo credit: Chandler’s Crabhouse)

Lake Union, north of downtown Seattle, has seen many changes in the surrounding landscape. When I lived in Seattle, warehouses and open lots were sprinkled along the lakeshore until the high-tech boom began another surge in Puget Sound. During the past decade, offices buildings, apartments, and condos rose from those empty lots and replaced many of those warehouses.

Many long-time businesses around Lake Union have been feeling the pressure to leave with rising rents and investors eager for redevelopment. And some have left, usually because they have no choice.

One of the latest casualties is Chandler’s Crabhouse, best known for its giant Dungeness crabcakes. On September 30, this popular restaurant on South Lake Union will close because of Vulcan’s plans to redevelop the property.

“Vulcan, the landlord, has been letting all the tenants know for several years that they intended to redevelop it,” Lindsey Schwartz, CEO of Schwartz Brothers Restaurants, which owns Chandler’s Crabhouse, said in an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on July 10. “We’ve been thinking about it for several years, just not knowing with uncertainty of knowing what’s going to happen there.

“As we’ve been exploring our options, we thought we had more options to expand the Daniel’s Broiler concept, and so we decided really focus our efforts on that direction of finding locations for Daniel’s.”

Daniel’s Broiler features prime steaks and fresh seafood in three locations:

• Bellevue, 10500 NE 8th on the 21st Floor, (425) 462-4662
• Leschi, 200 Lake Washington Blvd., (206) 329-4191
• Lake Union, 809 Fairview Place N, (206) 621-8262

Although the Daniel’s Broiler Lake Union location is near Chandler’s Crabhouse, it doesn’t seem to be affected by the development for now. Whether that will change is anyone’s guess. Stay tuned…

One thing’s for sure: Anyone who has treated themselves to those delicious Chandler’s crabcakes during the past 30 years will miss them. We sadly, reluctantly say farewell.