BY JACKIE FENDER for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 8/14/2026
Some restaurants deserve a little breathing room before you start singing their praises.
When Wooden City relocated from its beloved Pacific Avenue home to 1102 Broadway in April, it would have been easy to rush in with a first-look story. Instead, we wanted to let the dust settle, allow the team to find its rhythm, and let the space become what it was always meant to be. Several visits later, it’s safe to say: The magic made the move.
Having long admired what Wooden City accomplished in its former home, I wasn’t entirely surprised by how effortless this new chapter feels. The biggest surprise is that it somehow feels like it’s always been here.
The lobby immediately sets the tone. Think sophisticated living room meets swanky cocktail lounge, with Edison bulbs casting a warm glow alongside flickering candlelight. It’s polished without feeling pretentious. The dining room has room to breathe yet somehow maintains the intimacy that made the original location so beloved. And perhaps most importantly, the service remains every bit as exceptional as ever: thoughtful, attentive, and never stuffy.
That philosophy has been central to Wooden City since day one. “Everyone who walks in the door should feel comfortable,” co-owner Abe Fox says. “Whether you’re just coming in after work or celebrating something with your kids, you should feel like you’ve been there before. It feels familiar because of the hospitality.”
It’s a mission that feels genuine rather than rehearsed, especially knowing Fox and co-owner Jon Green came up through the industry themselves. Both started working in restaurants around age 13 alongside their mothers, Fox in Port Townsend and Green in Ohio. Hospitality wasn’t inherited through ownership. It was learned from waitresses and hostesses who understood that making people feel welcome was every bit as important as serving dinner.
Naturally, they eventually found each other in the business, and their later partner, Eddie Gulberg, joined them. “This might be an exaggeration,” Fox laughs, “but I’m pretty sure I only knew Jon about three months before asking if he wanted to open a restaurant together. Four months, max.”
As a longtime food and beverage veteran myself, there’s something especially satisfying about watching true industry people build restaurants. They understand not only what diners need but what the staff needs to thrive. There’s an unmistakable care poured into the team, and that culture shows up in every interaction.
The larger Broadway location finally gives Wooden City room to stretch. Fox says they’d been searching for a new home for at least three years. “The stairs weren’t even there,” he recalls of the building’s previous life, hinting at the vision needed to transform the space. Considering how much they accomplished while bursting at the seams in the old location, the expansion feels well-earned. One of the biggest game changers is the dedicated event space, opening new possibilities for private dining and community gatherings while allowing the restaurant to continue growing without sacrificing the experience on the main floor.
The menu remains intentional, a quality that’s become part of Wooden City’s identity. It’s not sprawling, but it’s carefully curated, offering something for nearly every craving without trying to be everything to everyone.
There are dishes I simply cannot skip. The wings remain mandatory, alongside the indulgent Salmon Toast. The Steak Frites is another standout, featuring an 8-ounce Pure Country flat iron with herbed fries, Café de Paris butter, and a decadent roasted garlic hollandaise. The Tavern Burger, a longtime favorite of mine, recently received a few tweaks that Fox admits made the team a little nervous. “You should try that next time you’re in,” he says. “It’s been getting rave reviews.”
Other menu superstars include the Spicy Lamb Rigatoni, layered with vodka sauce, house lamb sausage, Calabrian chili, preserved lemon, and Parmesan, as well as the restaurant’s signature wood-fired pizzas.
Then there’s dessert. On our most recent visit, our server assistant delivered the Blackberry-Blueberry Crisp with a grin and declared, “It tastes just like Froot Loops.”
Reader, it absolutely does, and somehow, that’s the highest compliment imaginable.
The warm berries beneath a buttery pecan crumble with melting vanilla ice cream capture that nostalgic cereal sweetness without becoming gimmicky. As someone who almost always orders chocolate over fruit desserts, I’ve been daydreaming about that sweet treat ever since.
As Wooden City settles comfortably into its new home, the restaurant group is already preparing for its next act. Later this year, the team plans to open The Loyal inside Wooden City’s former Pacific Avenue space at 714 Pacific Ave. The concept will offer an entirely different experience while complementing its sibling restaurant rather than competing with it.
“We want to show Tacoma we can do something else,” Fox says. “Tacoma has been amazing. Tacoma is our home, and it’s the home base for this restaurant group. Continuing to grow here and helping our people grow is the most exciting part.”
The Loyal will be a 21-and-over concept inspired by places Fox and Green have admired across the country, somewhere between a neighborhood dive and a polished cocktail bar.
“I don’t want to call it elevated,” he says, “but it may feel that way because it’ll be 21 and over.” The inspiration comes from destinations such as Leon’s in Charleston, housed in what was once an old gas station, and Manhattan’s Coqodaq, a high-end Korean fried chicken and oyster establishment. The Loyal will land comfortably in the middle. Think oysters, fried chicken, martinis, good bottles of bubbles, a few carefully selected beers, and a tighter food menu built around shareable small plates.
“We don’t want to pigeonhole it as an oyster bar,” Fox explains. “There will be fresh oysters, roasted oysters, and fried chicken. It’s nostalgic food that fills you up.”
By the sound of things, they already have the holy trinity of a team in place. Leading the kitchen will be acclaimed Vashon chef Dre Neeley of Gravy, while current Wooden City assistant general manager Brookelynn Hiatt steps into the general manager role. Cocktail lead Alex King will oversee both beverage programs, bringing fresh ideas to The Loyal’s martini-focused bar.
If Wooden City’s move to Broadway represents confidence, The Loyal feels like curiosity. Fox says it best: “The Loyal will allow us to test the waters for different things. We’re very intentional about not changing the menu very much at Wooden City. That’s always been the plan.”
Sometimes growth doesn’t mean reinventing what already works. Sometimes it simply means giving great ideas the room they deserve.
