This week's top hits from Eater Seattle, Curbed's sibling bar, restaurant, and nightlife blog.
CHEF SHUFFLES -- Monica Dimas is taking over the kitchen at Nacho Borracho. The chef, most recently of Ethan Stowell's .mkt and before that Spinasse, Monsoon, and Le Pichet, is launching a new concept in the space owned by Rachel Marshall (Rachel's Ginger Beer) and Kate Opatz. The name is TBD, and the menu will center around Mexican street food (homemade flautas, chicharrones, gorditas,) with carry-out and bar orders coming out of a takeout window inside Nacho Borracho. Borracho's beloved totchos will remain on the menu when Dimas officially takes over on February 1.
OPENING ALERT -- After a soft opening this week, Nue officially unlocks the doors Saturday in REO Flats on Capitol Hill's Auto Row. The project is from first-time restauranteur Chris Cvetkovich, who spent the past several years working in 3D animation for the food science industry and traveling. After visiting more than 50 countries, Cvetkovich framed a street-food inspired menu. Eater has photos of the space and the inaugural menu.
EXPANSIONS -- Olympia Coffee Roasting Co. is beefing up its downtown Olympia HQ. The company is growing into the space formerly shared with coffee equipment company Espresso Parts. The roaster will soon start moving into an additional 4,000-square-feet of real estate, complete with a "show stopper" cafe slated to open this spring. Getting wonderfully geekier, the new roastery includes a cupping and training space, a quality control lab, and a coveted, vintage German 23-kilo roaster from the now defunct manufacturer Gothot. Plus, a production area for bottling conventional and nitro cold brew. Owner Oliver Stormshak and crew snagged Roaster of the Year accolades in 2013 from Roast Magazine.