"The economics of running a restaurant or bar have changed so significantly, from wages and other costs, that it didn't make sense anymore," Locust Cider co-owner Jason Spears told Gig Harbor Now this month. "That said, as a Gig Harbor resident, I wanted to keep this space alive for the community."
He was explaining why Locust sold its taproom on 57th Street Court rather than closing it. Three Gig Harbor operators went through some version of that decision between August and October. Each cut back somewhere and kept a Gig Harbor operation going. In Gig Harbor itself, the spaces that changed hands found new operators quickly, some from across the Narrows and some neighbors who had been waiting for a downtown address.
Three Cutbacks, One Address Kept Each Time
- Locust Cider. In December 2025, Gig Harbor Now reported that Locust would close four of its six taprooms, including Seattle, Spokane and Woodinville, and keep 3207 57th St. Ct. open. Spears listed the pressures: inflation, tariffs, property taxes passed through in rent, labor costs and changing drinking habits. He said making the numbers work would take a $16 pint. The Spears family opened the Gig Harbor taproom in 2021, tucked next to the Inn at Gig Harbor. In September they sold it to an operator who planned to keep it running.
- Fondi Pizza. Fondi closed its Tacoma Proctor District restaurant on Saturday, Oct. 3, about 18 months after it opened in April 2025. In its statement to Proctor customers, Fondi said its scratch-made ingredients were too expensive and labor-intensive for that location to turn a profit. The statement called the Gig Harbor flagship thriving. Owner Chris Olsen told The News Tribune that Proctor rent was probably near the high end of the market. The Gig Harbor restaurant now accepts Proctor gift certificates and rewards.
- Brimstone PNW Smokehouse. Brimstone served its last meal on Aug. 2. Owners Katie Doherty and Thad Lyman still run Netshed No. 9, Brix 25° and Iscreamery downtown. Doherty told Gig Harbor Now that selling was "simply a business decision that allows us to focus on the three restaurants we continue to operate in Gig Harbor."
Locust's owners still make the cider but handed the taproom to someone who would keep it open. Fondi kept its Gig Harbor flagship. Brimstone's owners kept their three other Gig Harbor restaurants.
Who Took Over the Gig Harbor Spaces
The table covers Gig Harbor addresses only. Several of the new operators come from the other side of the bridge.
Address | Previous tenant | New operator | Where they're from | Status as last reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|
3207 57th St. Ct. | Locust Cider taproom | Harbor Hideout, from Joysticks owner Arthur Rodenhauser | Auburn | Sale completed in September; rename planned |
7707 Pioneer Way | Brimstone PNW Smokehouse | M4S BBQ, a spinoff of My 4 Sons BBQ | Midland | Still preparing to open as of early October |
4901 Point Fosdick Drive | Lunchbox Laboratory | Ivar's Seafood Bar | Seattle | Opened April 3 |
3118 Harborview Drive | Heritage Distilling tasting room | The Midway | Gig Harbor | Opened July 2 |
At the former Locust taproom, Rodenhauser told Gig Harbor Now he wants to keep the neighborhood-hangout format, with the arcade, games and live music, and bring in food from his Joysticks restaurant at The Outlet Collection in Auburn. The News Tribune reported that staff, Locust Cider and hours would stay the same at first.
M4S BBQ is moving into the old Don's Drugs storefront, which the Sehmel family still owns. The space is more than twice the size of the Midland original. That leaves room for a 25-seat bar and 75 diners in total. Owners projected a soft opening in early September. The latest report found, from Oct. 2, still described the restaurant as preparing to open with no date announced.
Ivar's matters because of where it chose to go. The News Tribune described the Point Fosdick seafood bar as the chain's first location west of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in at least 25 years.
So Gig Harbor operators are pulling out of Tacoma rents, and operators from Auburn, Midland and Seattle are signing on here.
The Corner at Harborview and Pioneer
Much of this is happening within a block of one intersection.
The Midway took over the former Heritage Distilling tasting room at 3118 Harborview Drive. It's run by Trish Huff and her brother Nick Hosea, who started Morso Bistro in 2020. "When I heard that Heritage was leaving, I felt this was the best spot in the Harbor," Huff told Gig Harbor Now. "Either we do this here or never." According to The News Tribune, the deli and café serves about a dozen sandwiches, house-made focaccia alongside Macrina sourdough and baguettes, plus soups, salads, charcuterie, coffee, beer and wine.
Huff was not the only one who wanted that spot. Back in January, Gig Harbor Now reported that the landlord heard from multiple interested parties and reviewed about 10 business concepts before choosing The Midway.
A few doors down at 3126 Harborview, Mandy Minovi and her daughter Pouneh Kaufman opened gather Gig Harbor in June, after buying the property earlier in the year. The News Tribune called it the first local market downtown since the Harbor General Store closed in 2023. It sells grab-and-go snacks and supplies for boaters, and the owners plan a remodel and a Mediterranean café for 2027. Reports differ on when that remodel begins, so check before you walk over.
Next door, Gig Harbor Wine Co. is moving its wine bar from Kimball Drive to 3202 Harborview Drive, across the street from Dolly Mama. Co-owner Robin Egeland told Gig Harbor Now that the tasting room opened on Kimball in 2024 and that moving downtown "has always been a dream of ours." The move depends on city permits and plumbing work, and she hopes to open by year-end. The timeline is still to be determined.
Farther up Harborview at 8809, Devoted Kiss Café grew instead of moving. The News Tribune reported that it expanded into the neighboring former salon and nearly doubled its indoor and outdoor seating.
Scarce Enough That One Shop Bought a Building
B's Bagels outgrew its Uddenberg Lane shop about a month after opening in 2023. When its nine tables fill up, it offers customers a mat to sit on in the grass outside. Owner Brittany Erwin bought the former O'Looney's Pub on 56th Street, which closed in May, and plans to move there by spring 2027. The current shop stays open until then.
The new building is 3,556 square feet and permitted for 144 seats, with a kitchen large enough to supply wholesale bagels to nearby coffee shops and stores. Erwin told Gig Harbor Now why she went this route. "I wanted downtown, but there's so little space and what's available is to rent and the prices are outrageous."
The local reporting on downtown space comes from individual deals: about 10 concepts competing for one corner, a market owner who bought her building rather than lease, and a bagel shop that bought its own place a few blocks away. Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce CEO Miriam Battson told Gig Harbor Now that the Wine Co. move and its investment in the property showed the strength of the local business community.
Two more are in progress. In August, The News Tribune reported that Purpose Boutique was aiming for early October in the former Starbucks space at 4902 Point Fosdick Drive, and no opening has been confirmed since. Gig Harbor Now reported that Gig Harbor Meat Company has leased the former paint store at 6876 Kimball Drive for a standalone butcher shop, and its owners haven't given an opening date.
Dates Downtown Between Now and Mid-December
These come from the Harbor History Museum's events page and from Gig Harbor Now's 2026 calendar, which was published in February, so confirm details closer to each date.
- Oct. 18 and Oct. 25: Cromwell Cemetery tours with the Harbor History Museum
- Nov. 14: Shop the Harbor
- Dec. 4: St. Lucia Festival at the Harbor History Museum
- Dec. 5: Tree lighting at Skansie Brothers Park, with Tidefest running Dec. 5 and 6
- Dec. 12: Lighted boat parade
On Shop the Harbor day, the downtown stretch of Harborview should include The Midway, gather and Devoted Kiss, with Wine Co. joining at 3202 if its permits clear in time.
When a downtown address changes hands, it usually happens before most people hear about it. If you own a commercial or residential property near the Harborview waterfront and want to know what this year's turnover means for it, The Danna Team can walk you through it. Schedule a Private Consultation.
