Skillet Diner

Skillet owner Josh Henderson has taken the pan by the handle and done what Skillet Nationeers will swoon over—a neighborhood, almost-always-open physical location. The Airstream trailer will still be stirring excitement during the lunch hour, but Skillet on Capitol Hill will be the place to drop in for breakfast, lunch and dinner any day of the week.

Photo: the sign of the times

Skillet Street Food came out of Josh’s photo shoot catering work in LA cooking out of an RV for 10-20 people. He had graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, put in his 10 years of hotel/restaurant work and even done catering for Boeing for a few years. After LA, he returned to Seattle, his home town. He had recently married, was tired of traveling and didn’t want to do the restaurant thing of 12 hours every day. He knew from his photo shoot catering that a lot can be done with a little. "You get good at figuring things out, like you’re in the middle of the desert and the power goes out. How will you feed these people?" he laughs. "In 2007, I was looking for ways to do something unique. I looked at Washington’s regulations and they were debilitating to street food. You had to have a full kitchen. I knew of an Airstream trailer that was partially outfitted, so I bought it and it became Skillet. And here we are 3-1/2 years later."

While Skillet is still going strong, it’s an inconsistent business. "It’s a pretty bleak business about six months of the year," explains Josh. "One flat tire kills your sales for the day." They offer lunch because it’s the one meal during the day that people are committed to at a certain time. Skillet’s trailer clientele is loyal and growing, plus Skillet offers catering. "We do catering differently: we actually cook on site," says Josh. "Sometimes we cater from the trailer, sometimes not, but we don’t like hot box catering. Our food goes from the grill to the plate to the stomach." In addition, he has one food product, Bacon Jam, distributed in the US and Canada, and more in the planning stages. It went big when Martha Stewart found it; this June it will appear at Costco and on QVC. It’s labeled "Skillet Bacon Spread" because the USDA won’t let a product without pectin be called "jam." With all the food issues going on in the US, we’re grateful they’re on the case.

Photo: the Skillet burger

Wanting a consistent outlet for his food, Josh decided to open a physical Skillet location. He has hired Brian O’Connor, formerly chef de cuisine at Blueacre Seafood, to be the chef and general manager. They met when both did gypsy dinners and hit it off. Brian worked in the trailer before moving to Blueacre. "I liked his food," says Brian. "We got along well and shot ideas back and forth. He told me if he got the diner up and it worked out, he’d like to work with me again. The timing just worked. The diner is a natural evolution of what’s happened with Skillet—building a clientele and then creating a space where they can find the food all the time." Brian will be onsite every day and Josh will be on site frequently. Their food styles are similar. "The collaboration means it will be awesome food," says Josh. "Waffles with pork belly, burgers, fried chicken, pies. It’s modern American food with a diner twist. We say American, but we may put goulash on the menu. We’ll have salads and lighter fare as well and the menu will move with the seasons and regions."

Brian attended the Baltimore International Culinary College and has worked in Baltimore, New York, Daytona Beach, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. He has a wide-ranging interest in food having been a pastry chef and worked at French, Mediterranean, Basque and southern American restaurants. Prior to Blueacre, he worked at The Cliff House in San Francisco.

Skillet’s location focus was always on Capitol Hill. "It’s a good neighborhood, a corner space with lots of windows and natural light," explains Josh. "It will be a classic diner with a pie case and shakes in an atmosphere with multiple experiences. Someone can be having coffee and pie, a family will be in at 2 p.m. with kids having pancakes and someone else will be having a beer at the bar and watching the game. This is a niche that’s hopefully gaining momentum. It’s chef-driven, mid-range price, artisan ingredients and open over a long time period. A lot of places in Seattle are either high- or low-end. We want to be an American diner in the middle." As Brian says, "Diners are America’s bistros. They’re in integral part of American culture." Brunch will be available on weekends. The diner will seat about 90 with the 20 outdoor seats. The full bar will be managed by Jeff Greer formerly of the Park Pub on Phinney. "We are really excited to be in the neighborhood," says Brian. "We want to be the community center of Capitol Hill."

Photo: Josh Henderson (l), Brian O'Connor (r)

Josh sees Skillet evolving and growing as a company. There may be other spaces coming—more Skillets or new concepts. "The brand is sustainable and makes sense for us," he says. Skillet heads won’t be the only ones waiting in anticipation.

Connie Adams/April 2011

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