If you've driven down Seaview Ave recently, you may have seen a couple oddities by the Ballard Bridge: an old 1903 steam crane, the framework of what looks like a ranch and a sign that says, simply, "PONO" and "PonoRanchBallard.com."

What is it? It's a new restaurant and cafe: Pono Ranch Restaurant and Le Ponte Cafe (Shilshole Ave NW and NW 46th St), owned by Jon Burgett and set to open the summer of 2013. While there's still some time until completion, the people behind the restaurant say they plan to have a "variety of organic omnivore and herbivore menu offerings, including cafe sandwiches, salads and pastries, plus a take-n-grill selection of meats and veggies for our self-serve BBQ deck."

Additionally, Pono can serve as a pit stop for bicyclists on the Missing Link section of the Burke-Gilman trail -- in case they need respite from all of the trucks on Seaview Ave.

And what's that crane thing, anyway? It's a truly vintage 1903 45-foot steam crane delivered direct from the NW Railway Museum. It was brought over back in December by crews from Imhoff Crane Service and Ballard Transfer Co. Historically, it was used at a lumber mill in Everett, according to the museum. At its new home, it will be the restaurant's centerpiece, so to speak, and a makeshift support beam for a canopy to offer shelter during Washington's wet months.

Photo courtesy of Jon Burgett

You can follow the progress on the restaurant at http://ponoranchballard.com or http://www.facebook.com/PonoRanch

Zachariah Bryan can be reached at zachb@robinsonnews.com

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