What sank award-winning restaurant the Whale Wins? Gee and Ursula weigh in

Another Seattle restaurant is shutting its doors for good. Even though the Whale Wins in Fremont won a James Beard Award, it wasn’t enough to keep running, Eater Seattle reported Tuesday.

KIRO host Gee Scott said he was told that 50% of local restaurants will disappear and be replaced by national chains.

“Me and you, Ursula, we like food. Some folks don’t necessarily like food. They like the gram, they like the pictures. They like for places to be Instagrammable. So they go to these places. And so what are the fad places right now? It is cool to go out of town,” Gee shared on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

The Whale Wins loses continues to lose money

Competing with new restaurants is part of what led to the Whale Wins going out of business. Eater Seattle reported the restaurant has been losing money for a number of years.

The Whale Wins is part of the Sea Creatures restaurant group, and Sea Creatures co-owner Jeremy Price told the media outlet they have tried “just about everything” to turn the Whale Wins around.

“We just haven’t been able to make it work, unfortunately,” Price stated in an email to Seattle Eater. “It is a fantastic restaurant, but is older, and we find that many diners gravitate to what’s new, rather than becoming regulars at established, mature restaurants.”

KIRO host Ursula Reutin wasn’t fond of her latest restaurant experience.

“I was like, why am I paying close to $30 for this meal? I mean, it was in a cute location. But was the food stellar? No. Was the service amazing? No. It was basically things like fish and chips or a bowl of chowder and salad, and you’re talking about close to 30 bucks.”

However, Ursula noted she doesn’t want to see chain restaurants take over.

“I still want to support the locally owned businesses, because I don’t want us to become like strip mall USA, where those independent restaurant owners can’t survive,” she said.

Listen to the full conversation below.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.