E3 Co.

Tacoma's Lobster Shop joins the E3 family

The Lobster Shop has been Tacoma's go-to for fine dining since June of 1977 at Dash Point with the lure of the lobster. They opened the Commencement Bay location in 1981 with its incredible view. The Dash Point location closed in 2015. Owners Denny and Katie Driscoll had begun to plan an exit strategy several years ago, but things hadn't fallen into place.

The Lobster Shop deck and view

E3 Co., formerly Consolidated Restaurants, formerly Barb Enterprises, remains independently owned despite the name changes. Barb Enterprises was founded in 1951 by David Cohn who built it into the largest single-owner-operated restaurant group in the Pacific Northwest. It became Consolidated in the '70s, and David turned operations over to son Ron in 1983. Jim Rowe was recruited by Consolidated to manage finances in 2001. By 2018, Ron was ready to give up the reins and Jim was ready to take over. He purchased the company on January 1, 2018. E3 operates The Metropolitan Grill, Elliott's Oyster House, Wing Dome, and cravE3.

A mutual industry friend of Denny, Katie, and Jim introduced them four or five years ago. He had been telling Jim that "this could be a good one for you." A few years ago, before the beginning of the pandemic, they began talking in earnest. "We had Steamers Seafood Café at Titlow Beach with a view of the Narrows Bridge. For some time, we've had a level of desire to expand our footprint in Tacoma," explains Jim. "We'd looked, but nothing made sense. We closed Steamers during the pandemic, and then we lost the lease and closed it permanently in April of 2021. That elevated our looking and by this time, Katie and Denny were ready. The pandemic has been exhausting for everyone, and they had already been thinking about their exit."

Although the parties were ready, the pandemic made it difficult to get a deal done. "There were valuation issues, concern over where the restaurant industry was going, how we would need to deal with PPP - it made the transaction complicated. I've done enough deals to know that time kills. The longer things go on, the less likely it is to happen. We needed to get the deal done. Things have become a little less uncertain, so we made it happen."

Both parties agree that their business philosophies and values are similar and that's made it easier to transition. E3 took over on December 13, 2021, and the entire team was given the opportunity to stay. "We are so aligned with the Driscolls that we feel employee transition should work. Our goal is to keep everyone employed and our job is to support employees and communicate how we operate. We want to give the chef a bigger backyard, a little more creative freedom, while staying focused on Pacific Northwest seafood, with lobster being no stronger part of the menu than it already is.

Owner Jim Rowe

"The Lobster Shop has been very successful; the Driscolls built a strong foundation. The space needs physical investment and we're working with the landlord. When it's time, we'll close for a remodel and reopen with any necessary changes to best serve the Tacoma market."

E3 hired Amanda Reed as their Director of Beverage in September of 2021; she's been spending time in Tacoma getting the feel of things. "Like our other restaurants, the Lobster Shop is an iconic, classic fine dining, celebratory restaurant," says Jim. "We feel there's lots of opportunity there in terms of the beverage program. Amanda will keep in mind that classic cocktails fit with this type of restaurant. However, we still have to stay relevant and want to bring in a new generation of guests, and Amanda is really great at putting twists on classics as well as creating new cocktails. We haven't gone in with any preconceived notions, we're finding out what it is and what it will be. As an example, with The Met, it's always been a good whiskey bar; bourbon is huge. We're taking the opportunity to take our bourbon program and make it better, more approachable, and moving it into the dining room as well as the bar."

Director of Beverage Amanda Reed

Connie Adams/January 2022

Watch for Part 2 in next month's issue.

E3 Co.

The Lobster Shop
4015 Ruston Way
Tacoma, WA 98402
253-759-2165

wp.lobstershop.com

The Metropolitan Grill
820 Second Ave at Marion
Seattle, WA 98104
206-624-3287

www.themetropolitangrill.com

Elliott's Oyster House
1201 Alaskan Way, Pier 56
Seattle, WA 98101
206-623-4340

www.elliottsoysterhouse.com

Wing Dome
Greenwood, Kirkland, Pier 56, Seattle Armory

thewingdome.com

crave3