Born on Capitol Hill as a lounge powered, in part, by Summit Ave doughnut cash, Sun Liquor appears poised to make a final break with its home neighborhood.

Owner Michael Klebeck has confirmed details of the listing on Craigslist advertising the bar now available at the NEW PRICE of $195,000. “Desirable Capitol Hill neighborhood location on a synergistic block with active co-tenants including Single Shot, Top Pot Donuts and Summit Public House,” the sales pitch reads. Sorry: “Business name not included in sale.”

Hrm. Not often you see business clearly iD'd in sales listings. But, as the saying goes, everything is for sale https://t.co/ykxH1tSaEp pic.twitter.com/pHXVjea3Lx — jseattle (@jseattle) March 2, 2018

Klebeck tells CHS the search for a buyer is part of the transition for Sun to focus on its wholesale liquor business.

In 2017, CHS reported on the exit of Sun Liquor’s E Pike microdistillery from Capitol Hill after logistics became too much to handle in the densely packed neighborhood. The bar portion of the former distillery is lined up to reopen as East Trading Company from Oasis Bubble Tea owner I-Miun Liu, the most deliberate, moderately paced Capitol Hill business owner CHS has ever covered. Klebeck, who founded Top Pot Doughnuts on Summit with his brother Mark in 2002, is also making plans for something called “516 East Pike Donuts” in a portion of the old space.

As we frequently remind when bars and restaurants are revealed to be for sale, it doesn’t always need to be cause for alarm for patrons — in food+drink, pretty much everything can be for sale at the right price. Finding a buyer — especially in situations when the name isn’t for sale — is a major effort that can trip up even veteran ownership. In one recent example, even as they continue to expand with new concepts, Ethan Stowell Restaurants was forced to shutter 15th and Pine’s Anchovies and Olives after eight years of business when a new buyer did not emerge.

While many sales efforts end with no buyer and a shuttering, it’s not always the case. In January, CHS reported on the Hill newcomer owners taking over 15th Ave E’s Canterbury Ale and Eats from its veteran neighborhood ownership. Late last year, longtime staff took over Liberty for yet another injection of new ownership in 15th Ave’s food and drink economy. And in November, new owner Sean Sheffer told CHS he and his brother had always wanted to run a neighborhood bar and were happy to find their chance in acquiring Nagle Pl’s Cure. “A lot of people talk about their dreams of having their own place,” Sheffer said, “I wanted to do it right.”

Do you, too, want to own a neighborhood bar — and do it right? You’ve got your chance right now on Summit Ave.

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