Despite weathering intense financial hardship, the Tom Douglas restaurant group is opening a new venture in Ballard: it’s called SeriousTakeOut, operating out of their Ballard Warehouse Kitchen (5118 14th Ave NW).

SeriousTakeOut, set to open April 8, will operate strictly on a no-contact basis, with drive-thru, walk-up, and delivery options.

The menu hasn’t been released yet, but the restaurant group tells My Ballard that they’ll be offering Serious Pies pizzas (think wild mushroom with truffle cheese, fennel sausage and peppers), oven-baked sandwiches (filled with smoked beef chuck roast, Draper Valley chicken, wood grilled eggplant, or garlic sausage on a rustic baguette), plus wine, beer, and signature cocktail kits so you can host Tom Douglas-style virtual happy hours at home.

Ordering will be available through Caviar, ChowNow and Door Dash, or by calling 206-838-7388. The full menu and more information will be on the Tom Douglas website next week.

Just this week, Tom Douglas spoke candidly about the reality of how the pandemic has devastated his Seattle restaurant group at a virtual Town Hall event, organized by the nonprofit Seattle CityClub. He said it will financially be very difficult to simply, “turn the lights back on” for many Seattle restaurants. SeriousTakeOut is the restaurant group’s, “attempt to feed people again, employee some of our staff, and get through this uncertainty,” Tom Douglas Company spokesperson Madeline Dow Pennington tells My Ballard.