Lecōsho

Lecōsho may be the next new thing, but underneath it's just a place where people can enjoy some good food, wine and talk.

Partners Matt Janke and Jill Buchanan have both spent years in the restaurant industry and worked together on Pier 57 and at Il Bistro in the early 90s. "We always worked well together and have been good friends," says Jill. She and her business/life partner moved to Sun Valley in the 90s, liked it and opened a restaurant called Il Naso. They sold it after 10 years and returned to Seattle.

Jill Buchanan

Matt started his career washing dishes while attending the University of Washington, majoring in Medieval Studies, an obvious prerequisite for cooking. He worked his way up to bussing, waiting and then got a chance in the kitchen. He loved the action, fun and interaction with people. In 1979, he began working at Horatio's, a Restaurants Unlimited (RUI) shop. He stayed with RUI for five years. Deciding to take a break, he headed to San Leandro, stayed less than a year and returned to work at Horatio's in the kitchen. He moved to Billy McHale's at the time owner John Hale was looking at national expansion. When that didn't happen, he moved to Schwartz Brothers, a job he "thoroughly loved." He worked at Benjamin's in Bellevue and helped launch Cucina! Cucina! "I created my own job by training the sauté cooks at each Cucina location," recalls Matt. After that, he went into consulting, opening 4-5 restaurants over the next five years.

In 1996, a friend called Matt's attention to an open restaurant space in Pike Place Market. "It was almost a whim," says Matt. "I wasn't looking to open a restaurant myself." But he did and it became very popular—Matt's at the Market. In 2008, his partners funded an expansion and he decided to opt out. "I had a child, the hours were long and I was ready for a change," he explains. He worked at Bastille, Wild Ginger, re:public and did some consulting.

Matt Janke

At a party in November 2009, he and Jill literally ran into each other and immediately decided to open a business together. "The day after we ran into each other, we had decided," says Matt. "We both knew how to operate a restaurant. She designed the look and runs the front of the house and I designed and manage the kitchen. We're both working owners." They didn't have a set notion of where they wanted to be, so they looked at several areas. "We had a spot we liked in Ballard, but it just became too difficult," says Jill. "We saw this tiny little ad on Craig's List for this space." It had been a Japanese restaurant, but had been gutted. What was left was a hood, a walk-in and bathrooms that didn't work. "It was a good location size-wise for us (seats 80), plus my old clientele was here," says Matt. After negotiating the lease, they started construction on June 5 and opened September 21, 2010. One thing Matt insisted on was an open kitchen. "The people who work in the kitchen need it—it's more for them than for the customers." A friend in Sun Valley had a bar back they could have, so Matt packed it in his truck and drove it to Seattle.

"I don't do concepts," he says. "I do food and wine that I like. If you were to come to my house, this is what I'd serve. My opinion about wine is that it should come easy. It should be affordable and accessible. We don't charge a lot for wines here. We serve Italian, French Spanish and some Washington and Oregon." Menu items range from a burger to steak, soup to sandwiches, house hand-made pasta to wild salmon, and their house-made sausage.

Lecōsho's open kitchen

From the beginning, Matt and Jill have planned to open other concepts in other neighborhoods. There won't be a second Lecōsho location; Matt feels strongly about not wanting people to make comparisons. "Lecōsho isn't another Matt's in the Market and we won't try to replicate Lecōsho elsewhere. But we are two people who need to make a living. We have great people working with us and they're looking at what they'll be doing in the future. If we grow, we can offer more opportunity to move up. It's a family business." For right now, they're catching their breath from a busy opening and simply want people to come in and enjoy themselves.

Lecōsho 89 University Street Harbor Steps Seattle, WA 98101 206-623-2101 www.lecosho.com

Connie Adams/March 2011