Seattle Hard Rock Cafe to close, costing 66 workers their jobs

SEATTLE — Downtown Seattle’s Hard Rock Cafe will close later this year, laying off 66 workers, according to a notice released Monday by state officials.

The chain restaurant and bar opened in 2010 near Pike Place Market in the Liberty Building, located at 116 Pike St. The 14,000-square-foot multistory venue, renovated for Hard Rock ahead of its opening, includes a 425-seat restaurant, live-music space, a rooftop deck and, of course, a “Rock Shop” selling T-shirts, pins and other items emblazoned with “Hard Rock Seattle.”

The Hard Rock will close its doors permanently by Dec. 1, according to a state Employment Security Department notice.

“Since the opening of the Hard Rock Cafe Seattle in 2010, Hard Rock International has enjoyed serving the Seattle community and playing a role in the city’s celebrated dining culture,” the company wrote in a statement to KING 5. A Hard Rock spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The chain’s arrival in Seattle more than a decade ago was celebrated as a positive sign for the city’s downtown.

When the opening became public knowledge in 2008, Jeff Schoenfeld, a principal with the building’s owner, said the Hard Rock “should bring some energy and vitality to that corridor.” Kate Joncas, then-president of the Downtown Seattle Association, said the restaurant would help transform a somewhat seedy stretch of Pike Street between the market and the downtown retail core.

It was not immediately clear what would be done with the collection of music memorabilia displayed at the Hard Rock. The restaurant features a guitar played by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and the doorway from Robert Lang Studios, an iconic Shoreline recording studio, signed by many iconic Seattle bands.