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The aftermath of Friday’s demolition
The restaurant on 423 Airport Way as it looked a month before demolition. It had been in Renton School District possession for many months. The District paid six million dollars for it right before it was scheduled to open as a freshly-remodeled Asian restaurant.
Many Renton residents on social media yesterday were asking about the restaurant getting demolished on Airport Way. This is just the latest in a string of demolition projects– up to as many as 32 homes and 8 businesses– to make way for expanded athletic fields at Renton High School.
Even though the demolition is happening today, the replacement ballfields won’t be open for use for about five more years (the school has four other ballfields onsite they are using now). In addition to the heavy human toll of destroying homes and businesses, the high prices of these downtown Renton properties likely makes this the most expensive high school baseball field in our nation’s history. I covered the controversial timing of these demolition projects more extensively in a previous blog entry here and in another entry here.
I fondly remember dining on this once-inviting dining patio with Boeing colleagues in the summertime. The patio and building became neglected under Renton School District ownership
Like many long-time Renton residents, I have warm memories of this restaurant at 423 Airport Way. I first knew it as Schumsky’s All City Diner, a popular choice for those of us working in nearby Boeing Renton facilities. In addition to satisfying and fast lunch service, the All City Diner offered us a large bright upstairs banquet facility that we used for retirements and other celebrations. And during summer days we enjoyed dining on their outdoor patio. This was one of five restaurants owned by well-known Renton restaurateur and active community leader Don Schumsky.
Around 2006 the restaurant switched from a diner to a sports bar format, and was known first as Home Run, and then later as Touchdowns. I was working at Boeing Field at that time, so I visited less, but I heard it remained popular with Boeing employees.
Most recently the restaurant was purchased by partners that were preparing to run it as an Asian restaurant called Kirin. The new owners had completed years of expensive remodeling and upgrades on the building to get it ready, and were just weeks away from opening. As they made final preparations for opening day, the School District lawyers informed the owners the property would be purchased under threat of eminent domain.
The School District paid the owners six million dollars for the property. They then neglected the building for months as they prepared to demolish the neighborhood.
Following are Zillow photos from the last market listing, before the most recent partners bought the building for an Asian restaurant. I don’t have photos of the inside after the Kirin partners extensive remodel, but I’m sure it was very nice based on the time and money they put into it.
The large upstairs room could be configured as a banquet dining room, or as a meeting room.
So much potential for that street lost, the restaurant, the Dreamliner development, the Chihuly Glass Studio, all had so much potential for us here in Renton, but now that is destroyed for a field.
It will never be “Ballfields” for the school… Just a landgrab. amazing how the school district ALWAYS can come up with money to buy up dozens of properties but always begging for more levy money.
In 1973, this building was Kingen’s Chicken and Steak House; a nice establishment. The owners’ son Gerry must have been paying attention to learning the business, because he later developed the Red Robin and the Salty’s chains.
Dear Anon, this is one of the more interesting comments I’ve received! I didn’t move here until 1984, and was unaware that Red Robin and Salty’s founder Gerry Kingen was from Renton. It’s wonderful that that he learned the restaurant business right here in Renton, and sad if Renton School District tore down the restaurant that was his inspiration without knowledge of this history. (Renton has had a real struggle preserving our history recently after the Historical Society was pushed out of our History Museum for no clear reason.) Can you tell us anything else about Kingen’s Chicken and Steak House? Do you know whether it in the same building, or whether the building replaced after Don Schumsky purchased it? Thanks again for your fascinating comment.
Ironically, as I was looking for information on him I realized Gerry Kingen and his wife were awarded the biggest court-ordered property judgement in our state’s history in 2003, 18.3 million dollars, after the City of SeaTac essentially committed a land-grab on one of their property holdings.
Thanks again Anon for your interesting comment. I was able to confirm the building history with an internet search. While I had heard that the Red Robin founder came from Renton, I had not realized that this was his family’s restaurant. I thought the history was so interesting that I posted this new blog entry about it.