Salty’s on Alki

An eternal sense of optimism, a staff that considers each other family and the urge to continually improve are hallmarks of Salty’s Seafood Grills. As the Alki location has evolved, these things haven’t changed. These are people who consider going to work fun.

Photo: Salty's owners Kathy and Gerry Kingen

Every company needs a leader’s vision that trickles throughout the organization. Strong leaders are often controversial, and owner Gerry Kingen is no exception. But one thing no one can argue is that in an industry with rampant turnover, his employees stay and are loyal. When asked why, he says "Well, I guess they like the environment or they’d leave. We give them the chance to change and grow. We strive to stay contemporary and make money. I think I’m tough but fair and have high expectations. Continuity is critical and that’s what we’ve provided. But you should ask them."

Operations Manager Mary Davis* opened Alki as banquet manager and was promoted to her current position in 2004. "I have been with Gerry since 1983 at the Lake Union Café," she says. "Gerry is our coach, sometimes our dad, always our friend and visionary. He leads us with absolute passion for our guests; that’s why we’re here! His heart is as big as this building. We are a family of creative, diverse, energetic, passionate people who love what we do. When you come in the front doors of Salty’s, you are entering our home and we welcome you with open arms!"

Front Desk Controller Cuca Cosette has been at Alki since opening. "I love it here because we’re a family. Staff is respectful of each other; we look out for and take care of each other. This isn’t a job to me. I look forward to coming in each day and, after 25 years, I’m still not tired of this view! That and the people who come in every day keep me grounded. You really appreciate the good things in life. The owners take care of the staff and have made it easy to stay 25 years. We always feel there’s room to grow and over the years, we’ve become more successful in taking care of guests. We’ve had good chefs, but I hear as many comments now about Chef Jeremy’s food as the view and that’s a big change!"

Photo: Cuca Cosette at Salty's on Alki's front desk 1995

What brings people into a restaurant is a moving target. Gerry’s 47 years in the business (not counting following his dad around the family restaurant business from ages 8-20) allows him to take the long view and incorporate his experience. "Peoples’ preferences change all the time. We took menus from our Portland and Redondo stores and stretched the envelope a bit at Alki. We’d take a crab preparation and give the customer the option of picking the side dishes. Instead of feeling empowered, people would say ‘Why don’t you just figure it out and tell me?," so we did. We found out that what worked at the other two restaurants worked at Alki, too. The reality today is that with all that’s going on in the world, customers are back to wanting more control because their world feels out of control. We constantly remix our offerings so people can come in and spend $15, $50 or $100—whatever works for them. From the beginning, we’ve worked to get the food and service to match the view. Alki has a remarkable view; I think it’s one of the best in the world."

When the Kingens purchased the Beach Broiler from Joyce Entus, it was a smaller, functional restaurant space. They turned the downstairs living quarters into banquet space and over the years have expanded the dining room, café and bar (total increase about 150 seats) and morphed the kitchen several times. "When you increase your volume, you have to have systems in place to handle that volume with grace. When we enlarged the kitchen the first time, we didn’t have the business to support it. When we remodeled last time, we had a sense of confidence in what we were doing and remodeled in under nine days. Now the kitchen is open, appealing and part of the adventure. People are stimulated by what’s coming next. We handle amazing volume. On Mother’s Day, we feed 2,300 people. Weekend brunch is over 600 people." In their first year, sales were about $3 million; now it’s up to $10 and they are one of the highest-grossing restaurants in the nation.

Photo: Operations Manager Mary Davis* with Nutcracker December 2009

Gerry’s a firm believer in the value of trial and error, failure and success. "You have to have the courage to fail. If you fall on your face, at least you’re moving forward. Most people want to get comfortable and not rock the boat. My job is to, as gracefully as possible, get them to change. We’ve got a great crew and they’re willing to give new ideas a chance." Another change over the years has been their chef structure. In the beginning, a chef at each location controlled the menu (menus are about 80% similar and 20% local through Market Sheets). Guest comments indicated they wanted the same dish when they went to another location. Gerry put a corporate executive chef in place to control consistency. They’ve now gone back to having the chefs at each location run the menu, with the 80/20 split, and Alki’s Chef Jeremy McLachlan as the lead. "Increased communication is the answer," explains Gerry. "We meet frequently and work together to do the right thing."

Photo: Alki Chef Jeremy McLachlan

As the next 25 years begins to unfold, Alki will continue their work of staying fresh and inviting. Coming back is the Fabulous Feast—something Gerry created at his Great American Food and Beverage Co. on Eastlake years ago. It’s a prix fixe, family-style meal where guests pick their feast based on what they want to eat and how much they want to spend. Then the food starts rolling out of the kitchen. It’s just one more reason to love Salty’s.

Salty’s on Alki 1936 Harbor Ave SW Seattle, WA 98126 206-937-1600 www.saltys.com

Click here to read part 1 of this story.

* Mary Davis left Salty's in July 2011

Connie Adams/February 2011

  Return to the HOME PAGE       This online magazine is a production of Mixed Media.