Many customers want to know why Meridian Restaurant closed

Meridian Restaurant (1900 N. Northlake Way) closed after New Year's Eve, unexpectedly leaving a dining void on North Lake Union. Within days of its last hurrah my phone started ringing and my e-mail started dinging and the hue and cry from disappointed customers hasn't abated. What gives? I haven't seen this much hand-wringing since Saleh al Lago and Adriatica bid the city farewell. But unlike those long-lived and much beloved dining destinations, Meridian was gone at only three years young.

Known for its quiet comfortable dining room, Sunday buffet brunch, two-fer coupons and Lake Union view, its closure garnered reactions such as these:

"I just realized that Meridian closed at the end of the year. Do you know why? It was one of my favorites and I always thought they did a good business."

"I was shocked to read about the closing of Meridian. A dear friend of mine proposed to his wife there, and it's where they celebrated every special holiday. Do you know if it will reopen?"

"My band was playing once a month at the Meridian Restaurant. I just found out that it's padlocked. Do you know anything about that?"

"Do you have any information about Meridian? The last time I dialed their number it rang continuously but there was no answer. I know they are closed, but what happened? Are they going to reopen? A lot of former customers want to know."

I'll say.

Among the disappointed is Rosemary Forkey, a spunky octogenarian who says she doesn't get out much anymore but when she does, Meridian was always her restaurant of choice. "I loved the place, and was terribly disappointed when they closed." Worse, she had bought Meridian gift certificates at Christmas for several family members — gifts that were now worthless. "I was embarrassed," she says. So embarrassed she called the Better Business Bureau and the attorney general's office with her complaint. Jim Rost says he will miss the kind, attentive service, the wonderful view and the opportunity to dine there with friends and family. But he, too, balked at being skunked by a place he'd often supported: His son had given him a Meridian gift certificate dated Dec. 23 — a week before its closure.

When an angry reader wrote to The Times' Rant and Rave department, chiding Meridian for having sold a "worthless gift certificate" to a church group at Christmas, Ivar's offered to resolve the problem. In a generous effort to keep things "clam," Ivar's Salmon House will honor all Meridian gift certificates bearing December sold dates through March 31.

"Our 'flounder' Ivar Haglund would have been 98 in March," says marketing director Kirsten Wlaschin. "I know he would have welcomed the folks who were disappointed to learn that their gift certificates were useless. Consider it a birthday present from him." Thanks, Ivar! Ivar's Salmon House, open daily, is on North Lake Union at 401 N.E. Northlake Way, Seattle; 206-632-0767. And yes, they serve buffet brunch on Sunday.

After tracking these rants, raves and reminiscences I feel compelled to respond to readers' requests for answers, although so far I can only provide answers from a second-hand point of view. Here's what I've found out: Meridian, formerly an Arnie's restaurant, was sold in 1999 to Mike Jallits, former general manager of the North Lake Union Arnie's. I couldn't find Jallits, but I did find a knowledgeable source: Peter Challman, president and co-owner of Arnie's Restaurants Northwest, operated the North Lake Union Arnie's for nearly 12 years. He says Jallits, under growing financial pressures, "Fought the fight all the way through New Year's Eve," and made a tough decision before locking his doors at year's end.

In so doing, says Challman, Jallits defaulted on the sale contract of the restaurant as well as the assigned lease. Arnie's has repossessed the restaurant equipment and reassumed the lease. Meridian is on the market.

"The place has everything in it, and it's ready to rock and roll," says Challman. "To date we've had several parties expressing interest (in leasing the property), for uses ranging from a restaurant, to a club, to catering." An offer is under negotiation.

With the unexpected news of last week's closure of McGrath's (8037 15th Ave. N.W., Seattle), I'm expecting another torrent of mail and phone calls, given that many of McGrath's regular customers had been hanging out drinking coffee, munching bacon and eggs or catching an early dinner since the Eisenhower era.

Originally owned by the McGrath brothers, the restaurant moved from Phinney Ridge to its Crown Hill location in 1956. It, too, has closed due to financial pressures in the slowing economy. McGrath's owner, however, had the courtesy to show customers a kindness by posting a "farewell" letter on the restaurant's door.

Nancy Leson can be reached at 206-464-8838 or nleson@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.