The Matador celebrates 10 years in Ballard

Danielle Anthony-Goodwin Ballard

pics-ballard3The Matador (2221 NW Market St) is celebrating its 10th birthday tonight and the team are offering some phenomenal discounts from 5 p.m. until close. This evening house margaritas and Happy Hour tacos and Texas-size nachos cost only $1 each!

Owners Nate Opper and Zak Melang are celebrating the 10th birthday of the flagship that now has eight sister stores all over the country, the most recent opening two months ago in Denver.

According to a report in the Puget Sound Business Journal, the seven Matador restaurants then in operation grossed more than $30 million last year.

Opper and Melang told writer Glenn Drosendahl about their appreciation of the support they found here in Ballard. “We’re prepared to give the house away tonight. We didn’t even know we’d be around for 10 years. So we wanted to give back to our customers, to let them know how much we appreciate them, and we thought this would be a pretty cool way to do it.”

The PSBJ article also points to the fact that Opper and Melang continue to embrace the unique qualities of opening restaurants in neighborhood locations rather than shopping malls or developments. According to the article, they have been approached to open Matador restaurants in what Melang refers to as “soulless” settings, however, they instead choose options that reflect their flagship restaurant in Ballard.

Melang told Drosendahl that they will continue to strive to keep the restaurants in neighborhoods. “It worked in Ballard. We’re going to stay with it.”

Head down to the Matador tonight to celebrate this special milestone!

Photo courtesy of The Matador.

10 thoughts to “The Matador celebrates 10 years in Ballard”

  3. When they first opened up, if you could avoid the eastside frat crowd (Tues or Wed), the food was decent and the drinks were good.

    Then they started expanding. The first thing to go was food quality, since they have to make sure they can get the exact same ingredients and taste at all locations, which usually means quality takes a hit. The second thing to go was drink quality (along with prices going up), since they now have to make more money to pay for a corporate office, which doesn’t generate any money.

    I haven’t been back in 5 years and don’t miss it. There’s plenty of other locations in Ballard and close neighborhoods that are much better and don’t have the cold, chainy, overpriced, overcrowded, mediocre feeling of the Matador and their other restaurants (Kickin’ Boot, Ballard Annex Oyster House).

  4. The Matador? Eh.
    Their bland chain-food and vacuous trendiness belongs in a strip mall out in the wastelands of suburbia.
    Give me Carta de Oaxaca, Senior Moose or Michoacan any day.

  6. My Mom always told me to be quiet if I didn’t have anything kind to say. Matador has been there for 10-years, so someone clearly likes them.
    I also prefer other establishments but consider this – where are all the current Matador diners going to go if it goes away? That’s right, they will be crowding the other places, including your favorites. So just keep your smarmy-holier-than-thou yaps quiet and let the Matador folks enjoy their well-earned 10-year anniversary.

  9. I am going to make a pledge to never read comment sections again. Not just here, but almost any site. It brings out the negative in people. This is a celebratory blip of news where 7 of the 8 comments are negative. just let matador have their moment! 10 years, it’s a big deal for them. But seriously why do you feel the need to tear them down? (and I don’ t have a dog in the fight with this restaurants or the loss of the blissful golden age of Ballard).

  10. @JD Comments exist for a free speech area to either agree with or *gasp* disagree with the article. As long as the comments are relevant, what’s the big deal?

    If My Ballard had made a post for the Ballard McDonald’s 30th anniversary a couple years back, would you criticize people if they made similar posts on it?

Leave a Reply