Landing’s Restaurant: R.I.P.

After twenty-three years, Landing’s Restaurant has been forced to close. It didn’t close because of a lack of customers. It closed because of a rent dispute with the owner of Landing Mall.

Port Angeles seems to be in the middle of a wacky combination of recession and gentrification. Stores are going out of business, and the owner of the Landing Mall is jacking everybody’s rent waaay up and trying to bring in upscale businesses. Maybe it’s fun to pretend this is Bainbridge Island or Queen Anne Hill instead of the Olympic Peninsula. But will it work?

The owner of Landing’s Restaurant, Sandi Hartman, said she was in the middle of remodeling and moving items from the restaurant’s 2nd floor to the 1st floor. The landlord had the restaurant padlocked last Wednesday, while she was in the midst of making these changes.

The owner of the Landing Mall, Paul Cronauer, is conveniently “out of the country and unavailable for comment.” His wife Sarah claims that when they saw her moving things downstairs from the 2nd floor, they were afraid she was getting ready to run off without paying her rent, and that was why they locked the restaurant.

With the closing of Landing’s Restaurant, Port Angeles is losing a $350,000 annual payroll — 34 employees during the summer; eleven in the off season.

Port of Port Angeles: “Keep Out. No Trespassing”

A few months ago, that dock along the Port Angeles waterfront — between the estuary and the place where those pilings and cormorant sculptures used to be — was closed off with a cyclone fence. And the nearest parking places were all blocked off. A few weeks later the cyclone fence was gone and the parking spaces were reopened, but the dock had several “Keep Out” and “No Trespassing” signs which hadn’t been there before.

A friend of mine walked out onto the dock the other day and was accosted by some sort of security guard (presumably from the Port of Port Angeles). He was warned that he’d be fined if he was caught “trespassing” on the dock again.

He was told that the Port of Port Angeles has now “taken over” that dock and they don’t want anybody walking around out there. WTF? What’s the purpose of this?

Undoubtedly it’s easier and more convenient to just close off formerly-public property and keep the lowly public out. I hope this approach doesn’t get too common, or the next thing you know they’ll be closing the estuary so that the “riffraff” won’t be hanging out there. And think how much easier it would be to maintain the City Pier if it was closed most of the time, and only opened for specific events. And that public (for now) walkway that goes around the Landing Mall…

Christmas in Downtown Port Angeles

Downtown Port Angeles is all done up for the Holiday Season. The trees are all strung up with those winter lights, the wreaths are up and most downtown merchants have their stores decorated.

And don’t forget the Christmas Tree Lighting will be this Saturday.

When you're in town, check out the Landing Mall. Their open air market is up and running, and more vendors will be setting up their booths. (It’s on the first floor of the Landing.)

As one local advertisement keeps saying: Who needs the shopping mall when you have Downtown Port Angeles? Come on down.

Changes/Improvements at Landing Mall

The Landing Mall is already one of the main attractions along the downtown waterfront. With excellent restaurants, shops and views of the harbor, it's a great place for tourists and local residents. And don't forget the Olympic Coast Discovery Center.

And soon there will be some new attractions. A bookstore, French bakery, wine & cheese shop and a florist will be added to the mix. The interior of the building is being remodeled, and when the remodeling is done (late August?) the new businesses should start moving in. There will also be a new viewing tower.

The Port Angeles waterfront just keeps getting better and better.