In a Seattle PI article on Saturday, the focus was on Downtown Bellevue and it’s quickly growing nightlife scene! This is nothing new for residents who live in the area, but the word is just starting to spread to those who live outside of Bellevue.
Recently new venues such as Vertigo Lounge & Grill and Lucky Strike Lanes, which are both open until 2am have given Downtown Bellevue a boost of people staying out later. Kemper Freeman Jr. talks about how previously “jokes flew about Bellevue rolling up the sidewalks at 5 p.m.” have now come to a stop.
One of the main reasons that the nightlife scene is beginning to take flight is due to the 35,000 downtown workers, which is projected to increase to 63,000 in 2020. In addition to the downtown workers, the downtown residents are also projected to increase from 5,000 to 14,000 in the same time frame.
The majority of the article explains to Seattleites that something meaningful is happening on the Eastside. This hasn’t been something easy for those uninvolved with Bellevue to digest. Just take a look at the comments section. The majority of this Seattle-dominated reader base, takes stabs at Bellevue’s “snobbery” and “lack of culture.” Also, the higher than average bowling prices at Lucky Strike Lanes seem to be a very enjoyable discussion for many to take part in. Having visited Lucky Strike more times than I have fingers, I can say with certainty, they have priced the bowling appropriately. The sometimes more than two hour wait to bowl proves that there is a strong market of consumers who are willing to pay these Lucky Strike prices.
We in Bellevue might be “snobs” and not have any “culture,” but I challenge those Seattleites to have some class when it comes to talking about Bellevue; instead of just sitting on the outside and making comments, come check out what is happening in Downtown Bellevue. Let the good times roll!
