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GROWTH CHAINS
Seattle chef seizes opportunities to expand multiconcept empire
Chef-restaurateur Tom Douglas didn't plan to double his restaurant holdings or open five new downtown Seattle operations in the span of two months.
But being presented with two opportunities from developer Vulcan Real Estate, potentially acquiring Amazon.com as a neighbor and needing a larger bakery sparked the ambitious expansion, which will take Tom Douglas Restaurants, or TDR, from six to 11 operations.
In February, Douglas, one of Seattle's best-known chefs and the operator of the highly rated Dahlia Lounge, opened two new restaurants - a 66-seat pizzeria, Serious Pie, and the 30-seat Biscuit Bar - and the Dahlia Workshop bakery, all in one building.
Another downtown Seattle building located just a block away is set to open more concepts from TDR in late March, including Cuoco, which offers Italian food; the Brave Horse Tavern; and Ting Momo, a 25seat Tibetan dumpling house.
"We never had a sit-down discussion about opening five new restaurants," said TDR's chief executive Pamela Hinckley. "It was more of a confluence of the business opportunities available because of the real estate."
"And it didn't hurt...