July 31, 2015 · Exit133

Old Spaghetti Factory is Moving

We've been hearing from little birds for a while now that the Old Spaghetti Factory on the UW Tacoma campus would be moving. Now it looks like it's official - the Italian-ish restaurant, which has been the site of family dinners and memories for much of Tacoma and the surrounding area for the last 44 years will be moving from its original home.

The first rumor that it would move to the Brewery District, near the Holiday Inn Express on South 21st Street didn't pan out.

Then we heard that the long-time Tacoma family dining restaurant would move to the Tacoma City Grocer space in Pacific Plaza at the corner of 13th and Pacific.

It looks like that's the move (although there's no ink on paper yet). According to an article in the The News Tribune today, the plan is for the OSF to fill all but the southern-most 4,000 square feet of the grocer space - that corner unit will be carved off for a bank. There's no timeline set for the move, but work is moving forward to ready the vacant grocery space, and UWT has plans (and now funding) for historic restoration and brand new uses the building that has been home to the OSF since 1971. Read more from the TNT.

Tacoma isn't the only place where new development is forcing a reloacation of an Old Spaghetti Factory - the building that houses Seattle's OSF was recently bought by a developer for $9 million. No word yet on any relocation plans for the Seattle location. The times, they are a-changing...

Filed under: Downtown Tacoma, Tacoma Business, Neighborhoods, Restaurants & Bars

13 comments

Support Dowtown Tacoma July 31, 2015

Thank you Pacific Plaza LLC and Dan Putnam for helping the Spaghetti Factory stay in Tacoma. Also Thank You Republic Parking for providing free parking in the Pacific Plaza Parking Garage for those who eat at the new Spaghetti Factory. Great teamwork to keep a great restaurant local!
altered chords July 31, 2015

I almost ate there once. Instead I went to 7/11 and bought a can of spaghetti o's.
- JDHasty August 1, 2015
  
  Well, aren't you special
joe-nate July 31, 2015

Fantastic development. But will they be able to fit that old railroad dining car that is an icon inside the Jefferson Avenue location into the Pacific Avenue location? The Old Spaghetti Factory's Jefferson Avenue decor and artifacts are part of the charm and tradition of the place. One hopes they are not casually discarded but rather that the space along Pacific Avenue is designed to put those timeless old treasures into a sleek modern setting. It is having places with those unique features (something old/something new)) that makes Tacoma a special place to stop along Interstate 5. Bottom line: urban Exit 133 is more interesting than suburban Exit 143. If the dining car is set for surplus sale, could the UW-T save it as a campus artifact--perhaps use it as coffee bar seating in a student study area?
JDHasty August 1, 2015

The energy of that room will be totally wrong for Old Spaghetti Factory. Part of the experience of OSF is that they have been in older large open rooms. Brick, high ceilings and open timbers. I don't know about some other restaurant, but this would not be the right room for OSF.
- Jesse August 2, 2015
  
  There's an OSF in Tukwila that's in a new strip mall building. They do a fine job with the decor. Go take a look at that location's Yelp page if you want to see pics.
  - JDHasty August 3, 2015
    
    I've been there. That is precisely what I am talking about. The Old Spaghetti Factories that are located in authentic rooms have a whole different energy to them. When we have a large number of family in places like Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, San Francisco etc and there are a lot of kids, OSF is a place that is always a fan favorite. When we gather at locations where the OSF is located in a strip mall it just isn't the same at all. The food is the same, but the energy in the room is different and OSF isn't as universally agreed on as where everyone wants to meet for dinner. I have serious doubts that this decision originated form within OSF, to me it has the appearance of something the City and stakeholders in the lower Pacific area pushed on OSF.
- Engineer August 4, 2015
  
  It beats some of the OSF's recent replacements. At least it is downtown in the urban core. One Ohio location relocated from a downtown warehouse building next to stadiums and waterfront to a car-centric non-pedestrian suburb 20 miles outside of the city near absolutely nothing but soccer moms, "white flight", and cheap mass-produced houses. The new Tacoma location certainly isn't perfect, but it beats some of the alternatives like Federal Way or South Hill Mall, which OSF's corporate structure has found to be appealing for some of their restaurants. I'm thrilled that they are staying downtown!!!
JDHasty August 4, 2015

Next time you want to take cheap shots at the OSF target demographic, here is something for you to consider. "soccer moms, white flight and cheap mass produced houses" is simply a slap at people you envy. Losers like you and your hipster pals see that as a perjorative to be applied to people who put God and family above all else. Ya know what, regardless of what ever you want to bring to the table in this discussion the demographic you have tried to put down has been found in peer reviewed study after peer reviewed study to be THE happiest and best adjusted subset of Americans. Members of this subset have the lowest incidence of clinical depression, drug and alcohol abuse and rank highest in life satisfaction. It impresses me that most of the enmity that comes at this demographic from losers like you is driven by envy, the families I know that trade with OSF and similar establishments are certainly drama free compared to the disasters that hipsters have decided to replace a traditional family with. You can pretend to look down your nose at families whose mother and father cares enough to make the kids priority #1. Families that are headed up by two parents who work their tail off to be able to afford to raise their kids in a single family detached residence away from high crime areas, but it is rather obvious to me that a world of jealousy and envy is where you live. You need to clean up your act, it is quite unbecoming.
- Engineer August 5, 2015
  
  JDHasty, I live in one of these suburban neighborhood, as an owner, and am currently seeking to sell my home and move to the city. I had to look up the word "hipster" to understand what it meant beyond people who dress unusually, and found that I only fit about 50% of the definition. My current experience living in suburbia is actually my first and only time living in suburbia. I grew up in a small town, and spent college and my early 20s in the inner city. I try to live my life with an attitude that respects life and the dignity of people who are less fortunate than me. I can't support the mass-exodus of families from the city in an effort of racial and/or economic segregation. I grew up in a trailer park and went to the same grade school and high school as peers whose parents were lawyers, doctors, and engineers, which afforded me the ability to work hard, go to college, and start a successful career. Excuse me if I am offended by others who destroy these opportunities for children from other poor families. These are world views that I've developed over time; my choice to purchase a suburban home was one that was done partially out of ignorance, partially out of economic necessity, and partially out of of our family situation. I didn't actually believe that in a state as progressive as Washington, that the 'burbs could be quite as segregate; I found that the segregation here is less racial than in Ohio, but definitely exists on an economic level. Oh, and my family is important, very important. We cook meals and eat together EVERY night and attend church together (often with extended family joining us) every Sunday. Going to restaurants is an experience. We don't waste time nor money on generic suburban restaurants in generic-looking buildings with no ambiance that serve food that I can cook better in my own kitchen. Something like the OSF, in an old warehouse in a quaint neighborhood with a streetcar - that's cool, and it's worth my time and money to eat there. That's why I am glad that they are at least staying downtown.
  - JDHasty August 5, 2015
    
    OSF is concerned about this. I got an phone call yesterday from out of the blue and it was their CEO. What was said was said to me, so I am not going to repeat any of it and risk misquoting him . One thing I will say is that OSF recognizes that the energy is wrong at the Tukwila location and they are going to be working to correct that. I wish them all the luck in the world, but I have my doubts that there is anything much that can be done. Going out to diner is an experience and that experience does not start when you open the door and cross the threshold into the establishment. It includes the actual location that the establishment is located in. That is what they are going to be up against in moving into the basement of a 1980's era parking garage that is surrounded by other architecture that does not add to the OSF "mood" as opposed to into a high ceiling, exposed timber vacant manufacturing plant or warehouse that is sited in a neighborhood that adds to the overall OSF ambiance. I honestly do wish them all the success with their future business, but cannot find any way to be optimistic about the 13th & Pacific location panning out for them.
  - JDHasty August 5, 2015
    
    If you want to live in downtown, then go for it. I support the choice of families who want to move from the city if that is what they wish to do. Really have never been a fan of Mao's China and the forcing of people out of the suburbs and rural areas and into urban areas. But that is just me.
altered chords August 5, 2015

You folks sure are getting whooped up over spaghetti. You do realize that you can get your carbs from beer right?