Back in the day, the streets of Seattle were paved with absurdly good happy hour bargains. In 2012, more than a dozen local upscale establishments practically paid you to eat oysters on the half-shell, with prices starting at 50 cents apiece. (Longtime happy hour aficionados will recall the even cheaper turn-of-the-century deal at Flying Fish: all-you-could-engulf happy hour oysters for just a quarter each.
) Posh Belltown spot Cascadia served extremely tasty, high-quality mini-burgers for $1 each; at the other end of the spectrum, a questionably beef cheeseburger could be had in the dingy yet charming backroom of Charlie’s on Broadway for just a few bucks. There were sushi happy hours and Italian ones and more, all across town. And all of it got washed down by drinks at now inconceivable prices .
.. $4.
50 martini, anyone? More The availability of happy hours fluctuated with broader economic highs and downturns over the years, but they were always there and always notably cheap. Just prior to the pandemic, however, happy hours got fewer and further between. As the city got richer and restaurants didn’t necessarily require the extra income from discounted drinks and snacks, happy hours dried up.
Those to be found often offered minimal value — maybe a dollar off snacks and drinks, hardly worth early-birding for. And then there were none: COVID extinguished happy hours altogether, and the pandemic left restaurants in such a struggling state that they’ve been slow to bring .
