New South End Businesses Bring Food and Purpose to Rainier Valley

As the year comes to a close, two new businesses that recently opened bring distinct concepts — and food — to the South End.

"The food that we have is a combination between the mainland of Honduras and the Honduran island of Roatán," said Nicolle Romero, the daughter of Dania Romero and niece of Fredis Romero, co-owners of El Sabor Katracho Honduras Restaurant. "Roatán has a lot of Garifuna influence, so the flavors like the rice and beans and the fried fish use coconut milk. It just tastes so different and so good."

In Hillman City, El Sabor Katracho opened its doors at the beginning of December in a shop along South Orcas Street near South Rainier Avenue to serve dishes with a Garifuna style. Nicolle says she grew up on Roatán, as have a number of other people in her family.

Garifuna are a mixed group of West African and Carib people who originally lived in Saint Vincent of the Lesser Antilles Islands. They strongly resisted the British and were forcibly removed to Roatán in the late 18th century as punishment. The Garifuna community has heavily influenced much of Honduran culture, especially on Roatán Island.

El Sabor Katracho's menu includes fried fish or coconut shrimp with island-style beans using coconut milk, as well as Honduran classics like baleadas, tortillas stuffed with beans and Honduran cheese; pastelitos, fried dough stuffed with meat; and pollo con tajadas, fried chicken served with green banana slices.

Fredis, Dania, and others in the family started discussing the idea in 2020, and by May of this year, they had registered the business and moved toward a space. Nicolle said the family did all the carpentry work of building the walls inside it, while Nicolle took care of the siblings and cousins. "All the savings, all the hard work — everything is poured into this place with heart and soul. Tears of joy, all the sleepless nights — It's here."

Gaspar Tzampop, from the Mount Baker neighborhood, visited El Sabor Katracho for a meal. He said he tried out the restaurant because a friend, who he met when they both went to Franklin High School, works there. "It's delicious, to be honest. This is my first time trying Honduran food," said Tzampop.

Andres Benavides, from Colombia, and his wife, who has roots in Honduras, ate dinner Dec. 14 with their children at El Sabor Katracho. They live in the Othello neighborhood. "We like to eat at the restaurants in Columbia City, and we're glad to have a Honduran restaurant near us," said Benavides.

A Women's Sports Bar Moves Into Former Columbia Ale House Space

"Before Rough & Tumble, if you had been watching a Seahawks game at a sports bar, you would have to leave to go home and watch a Reign game. I couldn't find a place that played the Reign. That was the impetus for coming up with [this]," said Jen Barnes, owner of Rough & Tumble. The sports bar opened its second location on Dec. 5 in the former Columbia City Alehouse location.

Rough & Tumble is a sports bar that focuses on gender equality for sports viewing, which, according to Barnes, means "prioritizing women's sports." Men's sports account for 85% of all sports programming, and Barnes is intentional about dedicating roughly 50% of the bar's sports programming to women's sports across its 11 screens every day. This means Barnes subscribes to add-ons to cable channels and live-streaming services, playing these platforms with special authorizations.

Barnes opened her first Rough & Tumble in Ballard in 2022. She said when she first opened, 5% of all sports programming was women's sports. Barnes said she's removing barriers. "Gender equality is the goal. And I think that needs to be across everything, whether you're a sports fan or not, we're all better for being on equal footing and equal pay and equal play."

In addition to featuring women's sports, Barnes said the space invites women fans of men's sports. "I would say, historically, women generally don't feel super welcomed in a traditional sports bar environment — don't feel safe, you know. We've created a wonderful space for women who are NFL fans or MLB fans to come in and really be the big fan that they want to be in space together."

Barnes said she's been mindful of the transition from the Columbia City Ale House, with its 25-year history, to Rough & Tumble. Passing the ownership of the space "from one woman to another, has been really neat," said Barnes. "[Moving in] felt like a huge mantle to carry, because this space has been beloved by so many for so long."

Barnes said she added one of the Alehouse's favorite dishes, the green chile tuna melt, to Rough & Tumble's menu. On opening night, the tuna melt sold out in the first hour. The space is known to host events, and it's announced regular Tuesday night Trivia games.

Melissa Breitstein, from Burien, says she's a huge basketball fan and women's sports advocate. Breitstein has been driving to the Ballard Rough & Tumble location for years. She said she liked how the sports bar hosts events, including the WNBA draft lottery where the Seattle Storm's mascot, Doppler, made an appearance. The annual event determines the order for professional sports teams to select players. Players from teams like the Seattle Reign attend other events. "It's really cool to have the fans closer to the players, which integrates them into the community. It makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than just coming to watch a game," said Breitstein.

Bailey Bruce is the operational manager of Rough & Tumble and oversees both Ballard and Columbia City locations. "What I find special is the way little girls are so excited to come and watch sports here. Girls' soccer groups come and watch the UW women's game or the Reign games," said Bruce. "It's fun to have a place where kids want to come, too, because a lot of times, sports bars are not really meant for kids to be there. Our coloring sheets have Sue Bird. Kids can come watch women in sports and see what they can achieve."

Tran Duong and Wyatt Schrepel live in Columbia City. Schrepel loved the tuna melt at Columbia City Ale House and was surprised to see it on the Rough & Tumble menu. Duong is looking forward to what Rough & Tumble brings. "As we were walking in, I saw this trivia sign. I feel like it's going to bring energy to this area," said Duong.

Yuko Kodama is the News editor for the South Seattle Emerald. She is passionate about the critical role community media plays in our information landscape and loves stories that connect us to each other and our humanity. Her weekly "South End Life" column spotlights the stories of neighbors and community members that weave through the South End.