[mhays]

Seattle isn't getting a lot of national chains. One reason is that City labor laws tend to be much tougher on them...the "secure scheduling" law in particular.

Semi-related...my office on the edge of Downtown has an odd situation for lunch. In one direction the Pike Place Market is a mob scene at lunch (office workers plus tourists) but aside from some of the sit-down restaurants and bars it's a 7x9 hour weekly schedule, with much of the takeout closing around 5:00 or 6:00. In the other direction, Belltown is full of restaurants but quite a few only open for dinner and drinks.

Why? The Market is built around one-person operations for much of the retail, and the takeout places follow suit even if they have street frontage. I really wish this would change. As for Belltown, I think that between the $15/hour wages, family leave, and other well-meaning measures it's expensive to run at marginal times. Belltown's growth tends to be residential (despite bordering south Amazonia, where everything has long lines for lunch) which doesn't help much during weekday lunches. The neighborhood has a fair amount of daytime use but just not enough. Speaking as a Belltown resident as well, I'd like to see more hotels and offices mixed in.