When Amazon established a new headquarters in the previously rundown South Lake Union neighborhood earlier in the decade, many restaurateurs flocked to the downtown district to take advantage of the new crowds. Now, though, many of theses restaurants claim to be struggling. Though Amazon employees flock to eateries and bars for lunch and happy hour, evenings and weekends are slow. Many once optimistic entrepreneurs have had to close locations in August. Amazon itself owns much of the restaurant real estate in the area, playing landlord to these businesses. Amazon’s head of real estate John Schoettler has expressed the desire for the district to become an “18 hour” area where offices, residential complexes and entertainment ventures are all packed into a condensed area. For now, it remains to be seen if this neighborhood’s restaurants can survive on daytime traffic from Amazonians alone, or will eventually become a destination neighborhood for the city.
Image credit: Joe Mabel (CC by 3.0)
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