Arnies Left The Landing Years Before The Rebuild Was Supposed To Start

"After 45 years of service, Arnies Restaurant will close effective September 21, 2026. Unfortunately, the current business climate does not allow us to continue."

That is the sign that went up on the door at 300 Admiral Way. It goes on to thank guests for "first dates, holidays, birthdays, proposals, and Anniversaries." My Edmonds News reported the closure on September 22. When the paper asked, no one from management was available or willing to comment.

A restaurant closing after 45 years is a story on its own. What matters for the Edmonds waterfront is the timing. Every public plan for The Landing building assumed Arnies would keep serving dinner until the building came down for a hotel, and that teardown was estimated for 2029. The dining room has gone dark years ahead of the plan meant to replace it, and as of October 4, nobody has publicly said what goes into the space in the meantime.

The plan counted on Arnies staying open

In June 2025, the Port of Edmonds signed off on 1010 Development as the new owner of The Landing. That building held Arnies and 13 other tenants. The deal came with a 50-year ground lease, because the land under the building belongs to the Port. Ryan Appleby, president of 1010 Development, laid out a boutique hotel with a wellness spa. The building will be fully torn down, and the new one will sit on the same footprint.

That reporting set out the order of events plainly. Construction was estimated to begin sometime in 2029, and "Arnie's Restaurant and other tenants will remain in place and open until construction begins." In November 2025, the Edmonds Beacon ran the headline "Arnies confirms: We're open, serving Edmonds through at least 2029."

So the plan had two phases. Arnies would keep the lights on and the views in use while the hotel went through permits, and then the hotel would take over. The first phase ended on September 21. The second phase still has no rendering, no published permit timeline, and no construction date newer than that 2029 estimate. In June 2025, 1010 Development said it faced a long permitting process and would release a hotel rendering later.

What the Port has and hasn't said since

The Port of Edmonds Commission met on September 14, a week before the closure, and held a master-planning workshop on the waterfront and Harbor Square. The minutes list the constraints commissioners want any future plan to handle: shoreline and environmental rules, height limits, parking, railroad and roadway barriers, existing leases, and infrastructure. Commissioners generally agreed to hold more conversations with City officials before putting out a request for proposals for master planning.

The commission met again on September 29, eight days after Arnies closed. The posted agenda has no item about The Landing or the former restaurant space. In the reporting we reviewed, neither 1010 Development nor the Port has announced an interim tenant, a pop-up, or a change to the hotel schedule.

That is consistent with how the Port described the deal in 2025. Port economic development director Brittany Williams called the Appleby partnership "phase one of this master planning," and said private investment in The Landing would let the Port concentrate on the rest of the master plan and on projects like the seawall and the North Portwalk. The Landing was supposed to be the settled part of the waterfront. Arnies' early exit turns it back into an open question.

The building isn't empty

The Landing is still open for business. Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream, the new tenant Appleby announced in 2025, opened its Edmonds Marina scoop shop in March 2026 at 300 Admiral Way, Suite 102. The company's site still lists that location with Wednesday through Sunday hours.

That's a small detail, but it tells you the owner is still actively leasing the building. It also gives a hint of what the ground floor might look like later. The hotel concept includes a full-service restaurant, a sauna and spa, a social club, event space, and a first-floor café serving coffee, smoothies, and grab-and-go food. Appleby mentioned the Sunday morning cold-water plungers and said a ground-floor sauna would let them come right in. The plan includes a sit-down waterfront restaurant at this address again. It just won't arrive for a while.

If you're holding an Arnies gift card

Unused gift cards are the most immediate problem the closure left behind. My Edmonds News writer Deborah Binder followed up and reported these routes. They're shared here as reporting, not legal or financial advice.

1. Contact the company's attorney. Arnies controller Erin Faust told the paper that attorneys would reach out about outstanding gift card balances. The paper suggested cardholders email Eli Yim at Beresford Law.
2. Watch the dissolution notice. A letter from the company's lawyers gives notice of the pending dissolution of Arnie's Restaurants Northwest, Inc. and asks anyone with a claim to send a final invoice to the company controller, who will reply with filing instructions.
3. Use the Mukilteo offer before Thanksgiving. Hook & Cleaver in Mukilteo, which sits in a former Arnies location, takes Arnies gift cards for $25 off a $100 purchase or $10 off a $50 purchase through Thanksgiving 2026.

Mukilteo already went through this. The Beacon noted that Arnies in Mukilteo closed in 2023 and that the site is now owned by Hook and Cleaver.

Where a water-view meal happens now

With the Arnies dining room closed, sit-down dining on the marina side now centers on a single address next door. The waterfront options with current hours or menus posted by the businesses themselves are below. Hours come from each business's own site, so check before you go.

The two Anthony's restaurants share 456 Admiral Way, so for a weeknight dinner with the Port in view, Anthony's HomePort and the Beach Café downstairs are the closest neighbors to the old Arnies dining room. Demetris Woodstone Taverna sits at the foot of Main Street, near the ferry side. The Salish Sea Boathouse Taproom in Harbor Square is a beer-forward option, though not every table is guaranteed a view of the water. CommonGrounds covers daytime coffee and lunch at the Waterfront Center.

The morning side of downtown just got busier

Arnies left the waterfront as a new café opened a few blocks uphill. Rooster Bagel Café opened at 515 Main St. on Saturday, October 3, in the renovated space the Loft used to occupy. It's open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily to start. Director of Operations Hilary Ness told My Edmonds News the longer-term plan is "a day-to-night neighborhood café, kitchen and bar, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening service."

Down on 5th Avenue South, Girardi's Osteria reworked its menu for rising costs. Most dishes now come in a standard, smaller portion, and you can add meat to get the larger size. Owner Fred Milani says the family-owned restaurant has served Edmonds since 1999. Arnies blamed "the current business climate," and Girardi's is changing its menu in response to the same pressures. Both stories ran in the same restaurant column.

What to watch at 300 Admiral Way

Three public signals will show what happens to the space before any hotel rises. The first is a hotel rendering, which 1010 Development said it would release later. The second is the design review the project will need, which will include chances for public comment. The third is whether the Port, once it finishes its talks with the City, moves ahead with the master-planning request for proposals discussed on September 14. The Port's commission page posts agendas and minutes, and My Edmonds News has covered every step of The Landing so far.

Our team at Angie Holmstrom Homes follows waterfront projects like The Landing because they affect how Edmonds feels to live in from one year to the next. If you'd like to talk through what the Port's master planning could mean for your part of town, or simply want a local point of contact who is watching 300 Admiral Way as closely as you are, let's connect.