Kathy Casey leaving Ballard, building for sale

Geeky Swedes Ballard

Ballard foodie Kathy Casey is reportedly leaving her prime Old Ballard location for a smaller space across the Ship Canal.

The Puget Sound Business Journal is reporting that the nearly 9,000 square foot property with the large brick building that houses “Kathy Casey Studios” and “Dish D’Lish” will be put up for sale, without the use of a broker. The building at 5130 Ballard Ave. has been appraised at just over $1 million. “I want to focus on what I love to do,” Casey told the PSBJ, “which is consulting and the creative side of the business.”(Thanks Ross and Jeff for emailing us!)

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

62 thoughts to “Kathy Casey leaving Ballard, building for sale”

  4. Not sure this is a loss…never heard much about her other after the big flap when it looked like she might be kicking out some businesses…lets hope for something cool to fill that space

  5. I only went into Dish D'lish twice, but didn't buy anything because of the high prices. Although I admired the outside of the building, those gilt-edged chairs were kinda scary looking.

    But I'd never heard that she tried to get rid of the Lockspot and Conor Byrne! Did she want the Lockspot for her own company? I can't really picture a business like hers, in a building like that.

    A Burger, onion rings and a microwbrew – YES!
    French Yuppie Salt, and a Amarula Espresso Ecstacy cocktail- NO!

  6. I was never aware of her trying to boot other businesses out, can someone explain that to me?
    And can someone explian to me the her appeal? I never thought she deserved any of the attention she got…, really, never understood why people thought she was so great

  8. An overly agressive personality like hers, we DON”T need in Ballard. I'm so glad she didn't push her way down Ballard Ave and take over Conner Byrne. By “the other side of the ship canal, does she mean Belltown???

  9. She doesn't own the Conor Byrne building anymore. She sold that one over a year ago and the new owners support the bar. I've interacted with her a few times over the years, and my experience has always been pleasant. Her building on the corner of Ballard and Ione is a real gem. My wife and I got married in that space. I wish her all the best.

  10. http://www.seattleweekly.com/2006-05-24/arts/a-…

    Here's the story from the Seattle Weekly from quite a while ago.

    The rumor associated with this was that Kathy and husband would constantly call the police about the noise until at one point an officer determined they were living in their workplace in an “illegal apartment” and at that point SPD didn't bother responding to the noise complaints anymore – rumor; just saying….

  11. She was going to use more of the building for her business and residence than she ended up using. She was originally planning to use the Conor Byrne space when there lease expired and the space she is using now. It was pretty big news a few years ago. Lots of Seattle Weekly coverage.

    I like the Lock & Keel and Conor Byrne and I am VERY happy they are going to be around. However, I think all the “Kathy Casey is an evil” talk then, and now, is a total load of B.S. She is the building owner. As long as she is operating within zoning requirements, honoring existing lease agreements, etc. then she has the right to do with her property as she pleases. Whether we agree with her or not is not the point.

    Like many I found her to be pretty arrogant when this all went down. At the same time the response of many of the ballad folk showed our worst side IMO.

  13. The other side of the ship canal is A. Magnolia and B. Lower Queen Anne. Bellotown is much further south; please consult a map.

    Also, it wasn't the Lockspot, it was Lock and Keel she was trying to get rid of, along with Conor Byrnes. Well, you move next door to a bar or two, don't expect peace and tranquility!

  14. She's not “nice”, because the new owner hopefully “will be nicer,” she's “overly aggressive” and “vindictive.” Meow! Y'all have got your claws out today, hmmmm?

    It's interesting to me that when other businesses in Ballard have closed or moved, the discussion is about the bad economy, or the horrible condo owners driving everyone out, etc etc. When a woman business owner leaves, though, it's all she's not “nice” this and “overly aggressive that” and “good riddance” the other. Verrrrrry interesting.

  16. Ahhh, don't read to much into that one Sara, this has very little to do with being female and a lot to do with business practices and public behavior. I for one didn't care for her personality or her food – emphasis on the food. Uncreative, overly seasoned (salty or sweet), and overpriced. That to me shows that she was a bit out of touch in her approach. Her concepts would probably work very well in L.A.

  17. Regardless of whether you liked kathy casey or not, she created a great space and maintained it well. The food studios space is amazing and anyone who appreciates a well kept kitchen should appreciate what she created.

    I will certainly miss admiring her establishment

  18. Does this mean D'd'lish closes too and that godawful sign comes down. Overpriced tourist food in a tourist shop. No wonder she's doing so well at the Airport, tacky, tacky, tacky. After hearing what other businesses go through to get a sign up- per the Historic Ballard Board Process, it is obvious that they bent a little on the design of that sign.
    Historic? No
    Fits in with the look of established Historic Ballard? No
    Good riddance of that obnoxious, boorish hussy. Go back to Bellevue with your cheap life.
    Hooray for the Conor Byrne!

    Everybody should keep an eye out on the new “french” restaurant up in the Obermaier Machine building. One of the owners is the owner of the biggest scourge in Fremont, the Ballroom. The meatmarket bar for the “high heels and testosterone set”.
    Out and out street brawls by frat boys and their like regularly at closing time. Police are called constantly. The amped out Pioneer Square and Belltown weekend cocaine culture has migrated north. The bar that ruined Fremont and led to a exodus of folks moving out of Fremont.
    The Fremont Council would love to shut that bar down.
    Hope you are getting rich enough to go ruin another neighborhood with your low-class bars.
    Fremont's a little Beirut on the weekends. The Bridge and Tunnel crowd. Constant street brawls. The shootings aren't occurring yet like P-Square and Belltown, but the crowd is staring to get rowdy, as more and more of the crowd from those nightspot neighborhoods migrates north of the Ship Canal.
    Don't let it happen in Ballard. The high-livin' lowlifes Neanderthals that trek into Ballard on the weekends to the Matador and Kings are frightening enough.
    I just want to feel safe on the weekends.

  20. Yeah – I gotta call bullsh*t on your comment Sara – sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. From one girl to another let me tell you that Kathy's reputation is well deserved and has nothing to do with ovaries.

  22. Ah, the Lock & Keel, not the Lockspot, as was previously stated. I was having a tough time wondering why she'd want to move into the Lockspot, as much as I love it!

  23. Bella's was owned by a woman, as was Annabelles's, as was Patty Pan, so this comment is not valid. One of the 3 owners of Olsen's Furniture, was a woman as well. (they retired, didn't go out of business.) Being a woman has nothing to do with it. Two of the 4 owners of Jacobsen's Boats are women.
    That said, I am not sorry to see Casey go. Her reputation preceded her, and what she tried to do to Conor Byrnes and the Lock & Keel was plain nasty.

  25. sara:
    my statement about her was not at all bc she is a woman! just so you know, i used to have a roommate that bartends at conor byrne and we were all very interested in the “deal” back when she was trying to “scoot out” those 2 bars right by her. my comments are based on exactly how she treated me, my friends, and alot of patrons to C.B. and The Lock & Keel. Sorry to offend friends of hers, she just was a very nasty person to deal with and personally, i think all the nasty people in the city should all go live, bitch & moan elsewhere.

    boardbrown: i bet your wedding in her building was gorgeous and i hope my comment did not irritate you!

  26. To Marcy, I've never met Kathy Casey but your slashing comments toward her are downright mean — try taking the high road when leaving comments about others. You remind me of Chicken Little with your “sky is falling”, doomsday comments about the French restaurant before it's even open. Few people are going to take you seriously when all you can do is complain and rip other people apart.

  27. the ballroom BLOWS! but i think thats because of its patrons. the venue is beutiful. i personally feel sorry for the owner of the ballroom. he tried to make it classy and the fratboys took it over. i think the french place will be a good addition. i hear it was insipred by cafe presse. i freekin love that place and would love to have somthing like that close by.

  28. also…..i have always wondered how she got that obnoxious sign approved by the historic board. good point. how did that happed???

  29. ok, I agree that the Ballroom had great potential, but, here's the deal. Owners don't just let patrons 'take over', if they don't allow it, it won't happen. And as far as a beautiful place, I was thoroughly disgusted with the state of the bathroom, also, something that should have been dealt with before it became a 'taggers mural', and then left in that state. If the French place is allowed to become that disgusting, I hope it fails. We can't afford such an irresponsible business here. (at least not anymore than we have currently)

  30. The former Chef Owner of Veil is merely just the Chef. No ownership. The owners are Deming of Caffe Fiore Coffee and James of The Ballroom. Hopefully Galusha doesn't run their business into the ground like he did with Veil.

  31. Thanks Jules, and it was. It was a perfect venue for a small gunshot wedding!

    And for those of you still worried about the Conor Byrne issue, as I said before she doesn't own that building any more. So her vacating the food studio has nothing to do with the bar. The bar's in a good spot w/ the current owner. Just wanted to clarify.

  33. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to do so. Especially since most of you have crucified her on this comment board.

    Hey, I just made a Good Friday joke!

  35. Kathy Casey had her business on Ballard Avenue long before it was a fashionable place to be. I thought it was great for Ballard to have such a successful business woman in the neighborhood. She's always been very nice to me when I've been to Dish D'lish and she's even shared a few recipes that I requested from her. I wish her the best of luck in her new venue and hope that someone equally as fabulous moves into her building. It's a beautiful space. I wish that I could afford to buy it.

  37. I will agree that her food is expensive but when I travel through SeaTac I always get food at her place…it's better than most. That being said I never went to her place in Ballard and I work very close by. So I guess I understand why she is packing up and leaving…I never heard of any of my co-workers going there either.

  38. Kathy has been very successful, given alot of her time for great causes and is an incredible cook. I am also fond of her ability to create awesome cocktail concoctions for bars. She has authored several cookbooks, and has an eye for deisgn and creativity. I will be sorry to see her leave, but wish her well in her new space, and adventures. If you have not had her Blue Cheese and Rosemary Scalloped Potatoes, they are amazing, and have been a family favorite!

    The recipie is here:
    http://recipes.chef2chef.net/foodservice-recipe…

  39. Thanks for the recipe. I just decided today to make scalloped potatoes with Easter dinner and hadn't sorted out a recipe yet. This will be the one I make! :)

  42. Okay, just to be clear, she arrived on Ballard Avenue long after it was becoming the “fashionable place to be”, so to speak. And hey, call me crazy, but if she was really that “successful”, she wouldn't be selling that space right now…duh.

  44. Two different points here – success vs. being an unpleasant person. No one is knocking her success, they are knocking her attitude and actions. Don't confuse the two.

  45. I'm sorry to see her leave. I found Dish D'Lish to be a refreshing option for lunch on Ballard Avenue. Food, service, and decor were exceptional, as was the location. I also find her spots at SeaTac Airport to be a vast improvement over other airport offerings.

    As to as personalities, Kathy has always seemed to me to be courteous and professional. Her husband, John, is an absolute gentleman.

  47. ENOUGH ALREADY…all ths personal bashing of a Ballard businessperson, and a well known chef and author is getting tiresome and petty…please put a stop to this and close out comments..it just encourages immature behavior that is embarassing if not to the people who write the drivel, but to those of us who end up reading it! So much unproductive critism and personal attacks based on hearsay and inaccurate information is unbelieveable!

  48. Yea, this is getting absurd. I am surprised it's even legal. I can see bashing a meth head or a criminal who is breaking into shops, but someone trying to announce they are changing business locations? I hope I am never a “news story” on here, that's for sure. No way.

  49. Oh and Peachy. The fact that she is selling the place, does not mean she is unsuccessful. Selling anything right now is smart. The economy is about to tank and everything will be worth far less a year from now. Selling houses, businesses etc, is what the smart person does right now. You don't wait to sell it for half a year from now.

  50. To all of you who think it's your right to sling shit at someone over the internet…
    Who are you???? You are know better than the bitch your calling her! I see ads on TV about this cyber crap talking telling kids “if you wouldn't say it to their face then don't say it on the internet”. YOur all grown adults (who seem to have some time on your hands)
    I'm the last to get all moral but this is stomach churning. You people are MEAN! It's just so sad that people ( who are so proud of their neighborhood, and so scared of the yuppy front moving in) would even take the time out of their day to be so hurtful for no other reason than to just be mean.
    The Conor Byrne issue is dead and gone….the business is moving to a different location not going out of business, and obviously your life will not be impacted the slightest… so stick your head back in the whole and take your hate to somewhere worth bitching about.

  52. Yea, people are quick to attack a business owner, but if you say one negative word about the meth dealers or transients, you get accused of attacking the homeless ,who are just all a bunch of

    “sweet old ladies who are down on their luck”.

    These people are left wing extremists on here.

  54. She is successful for a reason, and I doubt all the negative comments people are making can diminish that. We all have differnt opinions in the food we like or don't like…but the fact remain she has a great business plan and is obvioulsy creative and therefore successful…

  55. Congratulations to Kathy Casey on her success and eventual move to Salmon Bay. Those of you commenting :the Ballard building is not up for sale (yet ) and the Caseys appear to be in no hurry to sell it. They're cruisin' along as always for the time. Other news stories on this confirm that fact.

  56. Kathy Casey is the most obnoxious person I have ever met. Her ego presumes that she is the second coming of Thomas Keller, when in fact, her food is not much better than what you would find at Anthony's. Kathy Casey occupies a niche market for people who fashion themselves “foodies” however, are not very knowledgeable about food. They just want people to think that they are. So they purchase from people who cater to this group, people like Kathy Casey. Everyone in the food industry has know for some time that Kathy Casey has very little talent as a cook, but is a ceaseless self-promoter. By feasting on the naive, she had carved out a nice niche for herself. But let's not pretend she knows her way around a kitchen. She does not.

  57. Omg, I can't believe how catty and nasty people are out there! Kathy is an awesome business woman who has built an amazing brand with her husband, John. Personally,, I'm obsessed with her products and shop, and especially the one in the airport—the only GREAT place to eat if you're stuck at SeaTac.

    They've both been excellent contributors to the Ballardian experience, making things happen and improving the character of Ballard Ave. I have taken a cooking class with her that was a BLAST and I own 3 of her cookbooks and use them quite a bit. She's fun, creative, inventive and her recipes WORK!

    Once you bring up the gender card everyone gets so defensive but, you know, too bad. Let's get real people. If Kathy was a man, she'd be totally respected by the same people who are bashing her and she'd probably have her own show on the Food Network, but as a woman, people can't see her as anything but a B*tch. Whatever. Sounds like a lot of sour grapes to me.

  58. Kathy is an unqualified selfpromoting hack with minimal passion about food, but a great deal for money. She likes to claim classic cocktails as her own invention and the ones she does make up are vile. Her food is mediocre at best.
    As far as the legalities of her business, someone should poke around her and her husbands shenanigans at the Edmonds Community College. There is a tale…

  59. Yeah, Do tell about ECC!

    As far as Kathy Casey's food prowess goes. We, in the food industry, know for a fact of her poor skill set in the kitchen, her lack of flavor pairing understanding, and her obvious plagiarism in the realms of both food and drink recipes. Posters like Mitten are a prime example of why people like Kathy Casey can thrive by preying on weak minded individuals whose limited knowledge allow them to be lead to mediocre products.

  60. Um, what's up with the personal attack, Gastro? I'm a weak-minded individual for having an opinion? Wow. In my defense, I happen to think I'm a pretty excellent home cook and I have great taste, if I do say so myself. I've worked in—and supported—the Seattle wine/food industry for more than two decades and, to boot, I would never stoop to judge someone simply for LIKING something. Last I checked, that was a *positive* thing!

    Trolls are people who are too weak-minded, to use your phrase, to have the courage to say what they write on blogs to real humans in real life. I try and only write in the blogosphere what I would never be ashamed to say in real life. I hope you can feel good about doing the same.

  61. “Everyone in the food industry”? It seems your ego presumes that you get to speak for all of us. Being a chef myself and having had an opportunity to see Kathy in action I can tell you she most definitely knows her way around the kitchen. You don't stay in business as a chef consultant if you can't cook, yet her company is thriving. Furthermore, I would hardly call companies like Applebee's, Holland America, and Fairmont Hotels “niche market.” Maybe you don't like her food, but obviously the rest of the world disagrees.

  62. The naysayers are jelous. They probably never did anything more in life than learn to drink on some bar stool on Ballard Ave. Ballard Ave in-breeds, I call em. They have been moaning and groaning for generations over there, and will 100 years from now, over something else.

    Now it's condo's and Kathy Casey, but will probably be because they don't like the space craft flying around the neighborhood a hundred years from now.

    “Oh, I am from Old Ballard and live in a hundred year old condo. I can't stand these new Ballard People flying their UFO's up and down Ballard Ave all night drunk… And that guy with the flying leaf blower! I hate that guy!!!”

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