There are just a few 24-hour diners left in Seattle. Will they survive? Mar 29, 2019 at 9:29 am

Remember the cocktail lounge Sorry Charlie’s? How about Sit and Spin—the downtown laundromat where you could listen to music in between loads?

Seattle has lost these and other late night hang-out places to development. Now there are only a handful of 24-hour restaurants left in the city. And just last month, the property where Beth’s Café sits was put up for sale. Where would people go for 12-egg omelets and other hangover cures? But while Beth’s Café fans worry about the Seattle institution’s future, some of the city’s 24-hour diners have managed to reinvent themselves – and perhaps offer a blueprint for other restaurants’ survival.

Credit: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer



Beth’s Café is known for its oversized breakfast dishes, but when it opened in 1954 it was a nickel slots gambling parlor. The restaurant was later added to keep customers. These days, people come in when they have a hankering for eggs and bacon or when they’re trying to curb the effects of late-night partying.

Sacha Gogeshvili, or “Cha” as she’s known, remembers the time before the city’s smoking ban passed. “You could only see four feet in front of you, kind of thing,” Gogeshvili, a server at Beth’s. “There was one non-smoking table and it was the non-smoking table because it didn’t have an ashtray on it — that was it.”

Credit: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer



Gogeshvili says part of what makes Beth’s special is that it feels like home; her coworkers are like family. “I could come here at 4 in the morning and like, I’m having a bad day, everything’s terrible,” Gogeshvili said. “You could come here and there’s friends working. There’s always someone here.”

Gogeshvili’s coworker Ben Joyal may not be a long timer, but like Gogeshvili, he’s become friends with coworkers and regulars. He says Seattle is changing so fast. With the property being listed, they’ve lost count of people asking what’s going to happen to Beth’s. So far, no one knows. Joyal says he can’t imagine the beloved café going anywhere. “If it were ever to go, I love this place way too much, I think it would be a sign that Seattle has lost everything that made it Seattle,” Joyal said.

Credit: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer

13 Coins' story Some 24-hour restaurants manage to reinvent themselves. Here's how 13 Coins did it.



Two years ago, however, another beloved 24-hour restaurant was forced to move from its original location. Contrary to the worst fears of its longtime clientele, it’s doing well.

13 Coins first opened in 1967 on Boren Avenue long before South Lake Union was a tech and research hub that it is today. It was the place for prom night, or to get drinks after work, or to get breakfast any time of the day. In 2017 it moved to a bigger space on South King Street in Pioneer Square. Michael Hursh, Director of Sales for 13 Coins, says when the restaurant moved, the owners were careful to preserve the features that made 13 Coins an icon. “It’s wonderful how they transported the look,” Jean Godden, a former Seattle City Council member and newspaper columnist who used to meet sources at the old 13 Coins, said. The new location replicated its old booths, swiveling captain chairs and menu.

Credit: KUOW Photo/Ruby de Luna



“You’ve got the high, padded booths which are kind of nice because that means you’re not necessarily talking to the people in the next booth,” Godden said. “It’s kind of private and secluded.” Still, the new location became an opportunity for updates and expansion. And after it reopened last year, it’s been busy. “Far busier,” Hursh said. “We’ve had the best year in 13 Coins history.”

Credit: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer





Hursh says the new space is the equivalent of two restaurants that can accommodate the large crowds from game days or events at the nearby sports stadiums. “There’s so many folks in Seattle who don’t know a history of a 50-plus-year-old restaurant who are coming into the area and we’re introducing them to a Seattle that was and continues to live on,” Hursh said. That said, he added: “But then there’s a lot of folks who really miss the original location; we hear about every single day.” Maybe the nostalgia isn’t entirely about the original location, but for old Seattle, a reminder of what Seattle used to be before all the new development. Some places like Bush Garden in the Chinatown International District are in limbo. Old time hangouts like Shanty Café, Twin Tepees, and Dog House are long gone. Jean Godden, the former Seattle City Council member, looks at it in a different light.

Credit: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer