When Kent Station opened in 2006, I was really excited about all the new restaurants, the theater and new shops. I've often thought, "Where was a cool place like this when I was in high school? We needed a Kent Station back then!"
I am a self-described foodie and I enjoy trying new foods... as long as there's no seafood or mushrooms involved. Kent Station soon became one of my husband's and my favorite places to eat. For a while we settled on Duke's Chowder House because of the buy-one-get-one-free email coupons. Then, we were on a Burger No. 12 kick at Johnny Rockets. There was a while when all I wanted was the delicious green tea at Panera Bread Company. We also enjoyed the Icon Grill's Kent branch: Zephyr Grill & Bar before they closed their Kent location. We even tried Mama Stortini's, which filled the vacated space. My husband loves appetizers at The Ram, and we often dine at Chipotle, but our two favorite restaurants vanished overnight!
Do you remember Pizzeria Fondi? The owner was around my age and this was his first restaurant. I believe he opened another location in Puyallup and Seattle later one, but Kent was his first. Until I started making my own pizzas at home, we ate at Fondi all the time. I even bought a whole pizza and delivered it to a lady at the dry-cleaners - she was from Texas, trying to get her dry-cleaning business off to a good start. I bought her a Fondi pizza because I told her she just HAD to try this amazing pizza pie. Everyone we took to Fondi loved the pizza, but our complaint was the atmosphere. There were no booths - just a cafeteria-style sea of chairs and tables. The salads were awesome, the pizzas were amazing... I LOVED this place.
Then there was Zao Noodle Bar. This was another favorite - I became addicted to the King Pao Chicken dish and ordered it every time I went there. I loved the lettuce cups they used to have, and their pho soups were delicious. I now make a very tasty pho soup at home, patterned after one of the Zao soups I had when I was sick. Everyone I took to Zao also loved their dish, and it was always a pleasant experience to dine there.
I was shocked when I received an email from my parents Sunday night, June 13th. Dad was trying to take Mom out to Fondi or Zao when they noticed the windows were all papered over and they were GONE! Closed! Sayanora! Buh-bye!
Who knows when they closed - perhaps June 1st? - but I am very sad that these two favorites are gone. I checked their respective web sites and they both have one store left in Washington, in Seattle. Kent Station has already updated their information directories and website to show no signs of these two places.
RIP Zao Noodle Bar and Pizzeria Fondi. You will be missed.
In other news, the old Safeway on 240th & Benson that became a dollar store is now going out of business. Can you believe it: a dollar store is going out of business? Here are some photos I took on June 16th, 2010 of these closed Kent landmarks:
