Good news, barflys. The venerable Belltown bar Lava Lounge isn’t closing after all. Turns out the ownership merely changed hands last weekend.
“It’s staying the Lava Lounge,” said Marcus Johnson, who also owns nearby Rabbit Hole and Bathtub Gin with Jessica Gifford. “It’s divey. It’s gritty. It’s a really fun place to hang out.”
But just the possibility that Lava might close after 18 years was enough to send Belltown drinkers into a panic. It made us miss many things about Belltown, which has seen bars come and go and a restaurant scene grow and flee. Here’s our list:
And lest you think we’re drowning in nostalgia, here’s a bunch of things we love in Belltown, which still crackles with great food and bars.
This post is part of a series of historical Seattle, including:
Visit seattlepi.com’s home page for more Seattle news and follow us on Facebook. Vanessa Ho can be reached at vanessaho@seattlepi.com or 206-448-8003 and on Twitter as @vanessaho.
