The sign went up on the door at 300 Admiral Way on Monday, September 21. It thanked guests for 45 years of "first dates, holidays, birthdays, proposals, and Anniversaries." It said the restaurant would close that day because "the current business climate does not allow us to continue," and it was signed by Arnies Restaurant Partners, as My Edmonds News reported the next day.
Arnies was expected to stay open until the next project on the site broke ground, and that groundbreaking was estimated for 2029. The gap between those two dates will shape how the Edmonds waterfront feels in the evening for the next several years.
The Restaurant Was Supposed to Outlast the Wait
When the Port of Edmonds signed a new lease for the Landing building in June 2025, it presented the plan as a slow handoff. In the Port's announcement, the Landing would "remain a retail and office building for the foreseeable future, with Arnie's Restaurant as the flagship tenant." My Edmonds News reported the same week that construction was estimated to start "sometime in 2029," and that Arnies and the other tenants would stay open until then.
The restaurant instead closed about three years before that estimate. On September 29, a follow-up column in My Edmonds News published a lawyer's notice of the pending dissolution of Arnie's Restaurants Northwest, Inc.
Here is how the site got from there to here:
- Early 2024. Peter Challman of Catspaw LLC, the longtime owner of the building, told the Port that Catspaw would not extend its ground lease, which was set to expire at the end of 2029.
- November 12, 2024. A presentation at a Port commission meeting estimated 18 to 24 months of City permitting, followed by a 12- to 15-month build-out for the hotel.
- June 6, 2025. A new 50-year ground lease with 1010 Development took effect. The Port says the proposal was discussed in 11 public commission meetings during 2024 and 2025.
- September 21, 2026. Arnies closed.
- "Sometime in 2029." This is the most recent published estimate for the start of construction.
The City of Edmonds development-notice list covers SEPA and land-use notices. As of its October 16 update, it had no entry for 300 Admiral Way.
What Is Supposed to Rise There
The leaseholder is 1010 Development, a partnership between Mike Appleby and his son Ryan. The Port of Edmonds still owns the land under the building. "We have roots dating back five generations in Edmonds," Ryan Appleby said in the Port's announcement. "It's an important place to us."
The plan calls for a boutique hotel within the footprint of the current building. In the June 2025 report from My Edmonds News, Appleby confirmed it would be a complete teardown. The Port lists these proposed public amenities:
- A full-service restaurant
- A first-floor café offering coffee, smoothies and grab-and-go items
- A sauna and spa
- A social club
- Event space
The same report says Appleby noticed the Sunday-morning cold-water plungers and thought ground-floor sauna service would let them "come right in." It also put the project among the few waterfront hotels on Puget Sound, alongside Mukilteo's Silver Cloud Hotel and Seattle's Edgewater Hotel. The design is still preliminary and will go through City design review, which includes opportunities for public comment. A rendering is expected later.
The Port's Brandon Baker explained why the review took so long: "There is only so much commercial waterfront property in Edmonds." That shortage is also why the gap matters for dinner plans. A sunset dinner on Admiral Way can't move to another waterfront building, because there aren't any to move to.
The Waterfront Table, Recounted
When Arnies closed, the evening options along the water changed shape. Anthony's HomePort & Beach Café at 456 Admiral Way is now the full-service, two-level seafood room on the marina. Most of the other spots near the water are counters, cafés and a taproom. Here is how they compare, using each business's posted hours:
| Where | Address | What it is | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony's HomePort & Beach Café | 456 Admiral Way | Two-level waterfront seafood and Pacific Northwest dining | Mon–Thu 4–8:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 4–9 p.m., Sun 10 a.m.–8:30 p.m. |
| CommonGrounds | Edmonds Waterfront Center | Coffee, pastries, breakfast, sandwiches, ice cream | Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–4 p.m., Sat–Sun 9 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| SPUD Fish & Chips | 174 Sunset Ave, Salish Crossing | Wild-caught Alaskan cod, halibut and rockfish | Daily 10 a.m.–8 p.m. |
| Salish Sea Boathouse Taproom | Harbor Square, 180 W Dayton St | Brewery taproom with food | Wed–Thu 3–10 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–10 p.m., Sun noon–9 p.m. |
| Niles Peacock Kitchen & Bar | 178 Sunset Ave S | Stone-fired pizza and craft cocktails | Check its website |
Kitchen hours on the water tend to change with the season, so check before you head down. Anthony's lists Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a weekday happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. CommonGrounds notes that weekend hours can be affected when the Waterfront Center is booked as a rental venue. The Boathouse is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. On those two nights, Anthony's and SPUD are the waterfront spots in the table that post evening hours.
Among the posted hours, most of the remaining options wind down by 8 or 9 p.m. CommonGrounds closes at 4. Only the taproom stays open to 10 on Fridays and Saturdays. A long, view-facing dinner for a birthday or out-of-town guests along Admiral Way now has fewer places to happen, and nothing in the City's development notices or the Port's announcements points to another dining room arriving on that stretch before the hotel does.
The Operator Building in Stages
The other notable restaurant news in Edmonds this fall is a slower buildout a few blocks uphill. Niles Peacock, whose kitchen and bar is on Sunset Avenue near the ferry, opened Rooster Bagel Café at 515 Main St. on Saturday, October 3, in the renovated space the Loft used to occupy, according to the Edmonds Beacon.
Rooster opened with daytime hours only. Director of Operations Hilary Ness told My Edmonds News that the café would start at 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily and add hours as the team settles in, with a "longer-term vision" of becoming "a day-to-night neighborhood café, kitchen and bar, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening service."
Downtown restaurateurs are describing costs in much the same terms as the sign at Arnies. Owner Fred Milani of Girardi's Osteria on 5th Avenue told My Edmonds News he redesigned the menu "to combat rising costs." Most dishes now come in a standard, economical portion, and diners can add extra meat to get the larger size. In the same statement, Milani described Girardi's as a single family-owned restaurant since 1999. One new café is adding hours in stages, and one established osteria has redesigned its menu around price. Both are responding to the same costs the sign at Arnies named.
One Deadline Before the Holidays
Anyone still holding an Arnies gift card has a deadline coming up. Hook & Cleaver in Mukilteo, which used to be an Arnies location, is honoring the cards as a discount: $25 off a $100 purchase or $10 off a $50 purchase, according to My Edmonds News. The offer runs until Thanksgiving 2026, which is Thursday, November 26. The same column reports that people with larger balances can submit claims through the dissolution notice process, and the notice explains how to file.
When the design review for 300 Admiral Way begins, the public comment period will be the main chance for residents to weigh in on the next restaurant at the Landing. Until then, Anthony's is the full-service dinner option on that stretch of Admiral Way.
At The Agency Bainbridge Island, we follow changes along the Sound's waterfronts, from new ground leases to restaurant openings and closings, because they shape the places our clients live. If you'd like to talk through what the plans for the Edmonds waterfront could mean for you, we'd be glad to schedule a private consultation.
