Herbfarm Plans To Uproot -- Fall City Restaurant Moving To Woodinville; Farm To Be Sold

WOODINVILLE

The owners of The Herbfarm are planning to sell the famous restaurant's nursery and retail shop in Fall City now that plans to move to Woodinville are solidifying.

The Herbfarm, a four-star restaurant that attracted diners from around the world, was destroyed by fire in early 1997. Owners Ron Zimmerman and Carrie Van Dyck have been using the barrel room of Hedges Cellars in Issaquah as the temporary home for The Herbfarm restaurant, but the deal to move to Woodinville is almost complete, and the restaurant is scheduled to open next summer.

Although Herbfarm owners had hoped to maintain a presence in Fall City, where the business has been based since 1974, the property will probably be put up for sale within two months, Van Dyck said.

"We're very much hoping there's someone who wants to run a business of a similar nature, where they can take advantage of the gardens," Van Dyck said.

The Herbfarm restaurant would be next to Willows Lodge, an 88-room hotel being developed by Philip Sherburne near the Sammamish River in Woodinville's tourist district. According to building plans, the restaurant will have 80 seats, well above the 36-seat capacity of the old one.

The Herbfarm owners hope to sign a 10-year lease, with an option for another 10 years, "as soon as possible," Van Dyck added.

Van Dyck and Zimmerman said they'll sell their Fall City property, about 12 acres that includes the 17-garden herbal nursery, retail shop and school.

Some classes will follow the restaurant's move to Woodinville, and 5 acres of the Willows Lodge property will be landscaped with edible plants for use in The Herbfarm's kitchen.

Zimmerman and Van Dyck first hoped to rebuild and expand the restaurant at the Fall City site, but they said the building-permit process - and trying to solve drainage problems - led to lengthy delays.

For the owners of an operation that grew from a herb-filled wheelbarrow parked by the side of the road, the decision to move has been hard.

"It's been extremely painful; the business has been here for 25 years," Van Dyck said.

The Herbfarm restaurant, billed by Zagat's restaurant surveys as one of America's top places to dine, garnered fame for its nine-course meals with dishes such as king salmon in squash blossoms with begonia confetti, at a cost of $140 per person. Getting a seat in the restaurant meant a reservation made months in advance. The Herbfarm hasn't had an unbooked table since 1986.

Brian Kelly's phone message number is 206-515-5629. His e-mail address is bkelly@seattletimes.com