MorningSheetSeattle restaurant openings, August 2026
What opened, what filed, and how the month compares. One entry in a monthly ledger.
- 8Opened in Seattle
- 1Opened in Tacoma
- 2Opened in Everett
- 10Seattle permit applicationsvs August 2025: 15
- 5Seattle liquor applications
8 Seattle food businesses reached the operating record in August 2026, and 3 more across Tacoma and Everett. Another 10 filed for a build-out permit, which is the first public step of a project that opens six to twelve months later.
Seattle permit applications, 24 months
Permit applications are the earliest count on this page and the only one comparable back to January 2024. August 2026 came in at 10, against 15 in August 2025.
What kind of places
The concepts behind Seattle's August 2026 license opens and permit filings:
- Mobile food vendor7
- Limited-service restaurant6
- Café / coffee shop5
- Full-service restaurant4
- Bar / tavern2
- Caterer1
- Food service1
- Nonprofit / institutional food service1
Liquor applications in August 2026 broke down as B/W Restaurant - Beer/Wine (3), Factory Sealed Containers Takeout (1), Premixed Cocktails/ Wine To-Go (1).
Who opened
Brand-new spots often soft-open first, so check hours before you cross town.
Seattle
Tacoma
Everett
Editor's note
August was a small month on paper and a busy one on the street. Eight Seattle food businesses reached the operating record, and three of them are trucks or carts. Only one new bar. The coffee side keeps growing: two espresso operators opened in the same fortnight, one of them mobile.
Ten Seattle businesses filed for a build-out permit, against fifteen in August last year. Read that gently. The newest month is always the lightest when we first publish it, because permit records keep posting for a few weeks after they're filed. We'll restate August in the September ledger, and the number usually rises.
The bigger news sits just outside the month. Death & Co, the New York cocktail bar, opened its Pioneer Square room on September 4 after telling everyone "summer" since spring. Ruby's at Pike Place Market says early September on its own channels. The country bar taking over the old Shingletown space in Ballard says fall. And Dutch Bros filed in July to turn a closed SoDo Starbucks into its first store inside the city limits, aiming for the fourth quarter. All four have a dated page in the opening-soon list.
How we count
Counts come from the public record we track across King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Permit counts are comparable back to January 2024; license counts widened in coverage in early 2026, so we do not compare them year over year yet. Figures as of September 5, 2026.