Salty's on Alki has long been known as a restaurant with the best view of Seattle. How do you top that? Gerry Kingen, co-owner Kathryn Kingen, daughter and partner Kate Kingen, Gen. Mgr Chris Darst and the Salty's leadership team may have found a way.

Now open at the airport is Salty's at the SEA.

It's a blend of all the other Salty's locations, Seattle, Redondo (temporarily closed), and Portland with clever features everywhere. 

The Kingen family who owns Salty's and the Russell family who own Concessions International (C.I.) an Atlanta based corporation who operate 39 other restaurants in major airports teamed up to make Salty's at the SEA possible.

C.I. actually does the staffing and operation of the restaurant and have licensed Salty's as the brand and the Salty's team directs the menu, and design of the space. The training of a team like this was left in the capable hands of Stacy Near. The processes and procedures Salty's uses have been honed by years of practice.

That kind of attention to guest comfort makes for good partnerships.

"We are very much in alignment with C.I. and the owners the Russell family," said Kathryn, noting that both companies agree on the goal of providing an elevated experience for guests.

Alain Zemmour - Vice President - Airport Operations for C.I. said, "Salty's is a big name in Seattle and actually, on my way here on the plane I sat next to a gentleman who just wanted to know my whole life in 5 minutes. I told him what I was doing and he stopped me and said, 'This is the restaurant? Wow, I've been going there for 20 years and on and on. He couldn't stop raving about Salty's and the family.''

The team that makes it work daily has a long history in the hospitality industry. Charlie Hill, the General Manager for Salty's at the SEA brings 40 years of experience to the job and has a clear view of what the new business means to the airport. 

"It's the bright shining star that's been missing from the airport for the last four years. There hasn't been a restaurant of this caliber ever in the airport... so having this now is is truly the piece that's been missing from the Seatac puzzle for quite a while."

Chef James Somerville is also a 30 year veteran and seafood expert. In cooperation with the Kingen family, and Alki Head Chef Paolo Carey-DiGregorio they chose some of the best loved items from the existing Salty's menu like the Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad, Coconut Crusted Prawns and White Chocolate Mousse Cake not to mention their famous chowder and he brought them a long list of ideas for breakfast since unlike the other Salty's locations Salty's at the Sea will start serving at 6am. Somerville understands the challenges noting that "In a street side restaurant the turnaround time is around 90 minutes but at the airport, it's 30 minutes. That means while we never compromise on the quality of the ingredients or the preparation, some choices are made to ensure guests are served promptly. That means for eggs they are scrambled for a dish like:

Pacific Northwest Seafood Scramble

Dungeness crab, Oregon bay shrimp, asparagus, roasted peppers, whipped herb cream cheese on three eggs scrambled, sourdough toast.

Somerville, like others actually took a job with the post office during the pandemic (which delayed the opening of Salty's too) and found himself, "dreaming about numbers." But now that his Chef's hat is back in place he often "dreams about new dishes and not just what goes in them, but the whole preparation process. I'm a very vivid dreamer," he said. That ability to dream led him to choices for the To-Go section of Salty's where guests will again find something more than standard airport fare such as: 

Popcorn Shrimp Nachos

House made tri color tortilla chips, smothered in house made queso fresco cheese sauce, pico de gallo, black olives and cilantro. Topped with beer battered popcorn shrimp

Many items there will be family friendly too. So far, people are loving breakfast there. They served more than 200 breakfasts alone on their third day in operation.

For a look at the full menus see the links at the bottom of the story.

The look and feel of the interior were directed by Kate with an emphasis on what else? The views. The floor to ceiling windows offer an unparalleled view of takeoffs and landings (somewhat surprisingly quieter than you'd imagine) but also sunsets over the Olympic Mountains. Beyond that the Salty's team worked with noted northwest videographer Scott Kranz for two years to capture dawn to dusk video of all the views from all three Salty's locations. Those are displayed on a massive video wall near the Oyster and Raw Bar called the "Window to Salty's World Famous Waterfronts"

Kate noted that, "Every seat in our restaurant is a view seat."

The walls are done in Salty's signature grey shake shingle and even the light fixtures there echo crab pots. Other lights seem to suggest by reflection, candles suspended in mid-air, another nod to elevation. The colors are light, the seating generous and designed for travelers to be able to stow their carry-on luggage under their chairs. Red accents provide colorful contrast.

There are hooks for purses, outlets and USB ports for charging devices.

The seating in fact took some time to get right. While there is a long sweeping bench through the middle the chairs got extra attention. "Kathy spent over a month sitting in different seats. It took a long time to make it just right for our guests," said Kate. In another nod to the well loved deck seating at Salty's there is even "Patio seating" that while still indoors is in the southwest section of the restaurant and is close to the giant window wall.

The bar is well stocked with northwest favorites too and was designed, said Kate in a way inspired by bars in New York City. It will have a fish themed artwork added around it in the next few weeks. The wine list and cocktails were all curated by Salty's at Alki's Tim O'Brien. There is a list of alcohol free cocktails too.

Gerry Kingen, who founded Red Robin, and created Salty's in the 1980's named his company (Happy Guests Inc) based on his deeply held philosophy.

"The team and our partners practice the astonishing Powers of Nice ... That's what we do. It's the astonishing power of nice that maximizes the joys of our shareable success. I coined that and trademarked it."

What that means in the running of a restaurant is that they seek and train people who understand and can treat people well. It sounds like a basic idea but, "You'd be surprised at how many restaurant owners don't understand it." 

Hence it's the food, the ambience, and above all the way people are made to feel when they visit that they work toward. Kingen gave credit to daughter and partner Kate for the development of the entire space marveling that the shared vision of he, his wife Kathryn and Kate has resulted in something better than even they had imagined. 

Kathryn said, "A guest told us yesterday that they were excited that they found an oasis, which is exactly what we're striving for. That's what we want this place to be for guests and travelers."

Gerry concluded, "The food's great, hospitality is great. You can watch gigantic airplanes lift off right here in front of your face and you're defying gravity with power. Here at the airport there's so much hustle and bustle here every day and most people have their eyes down and going forward. 

Our goal is to get their eyes up and come patronize us for a while and we'll set the stage for great."

Salty's at the SEA Breakfast Menu

Salty's at the SEA Lunch and Dinner Menu

Salty's at the SEA Oyster and Raw Bar Menu

Salty's at the SEA Wine List

And in case you have children traveling with you there IS a kids menu too.

Salty's at the SEA Kids Menu

One more thing you probably would not have thought about was the SEA Guest Pass program which allows around 100 visitors per day to enter the airport by filling out a simple form online and then going through normal security check. It means you can join friends or family prior to their flight for a meal or a cocktail and welcome them or send them off in a better way than at the gate. SEA is only one of two airports with this kind of program now. Here's the link.

SEA Guest pass link