Late July we woke up to ¾ inch water on the floor of Skillet restaurant in Ballard. It was literally raining in the back section of the resturant. Drops of water bounced off puddles and we attempted make a new plan fo rthe day.

The overflow from two floors up created a long flood remediation process. Our euiptment, drywall, seating, banquettes, back office, paper goods and food were soaking wet. It took more than a week to dry out the area with industrial air flow fans. All of our kitchen equiptment was scrubbed cleaned and professionally serviced. The floors were cleaned and repolished. The construction crew replaced drywall and repainted the walls. Electricialns checked all our wireing. Fire supression systems were rechecked. All the food has been reorded to refill our fridge and freezer. New stools are ordered and on their way as well as an new patio furnitue that will magically appear once the summer season comes back to us in the spring.

For us it’s a whole new shiny resturant. A lot of our staff started working second jobs or new jobs, so we hired a lot of new faces. We had a new sign made for us for the patio railing. We brought JFK in our airstream from our Capitol Hill diner to fill in space above the host stand. We planted fresh flowers. Best of all we have a new Chef de Cusine, Rachel Hall! Her food is the best new item on this whole list.

It might look similar, but it’s all new to us! Happy to have our Ballard home back open!