The Brothers Behind Seattle’s Canlis Restaurant Are Splitting Up
One of the country’s longest-standing fine-dining restaurants is about to undergo a major shakeup.
The brothers behind Seattle’s Canlis are parting ways, and the restaurant’s executive chef and sous-chef are leaving, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Mark Canlis will remain to run the restaurant that his grandfather opened in 1950, while Brian Canlis will move with his family to Nashville. Meanwhile, chef Aisha Ibrahim and her wife, sous-chef Samantha Beaird, are departing with plans of opening their own spot in a bigger market.
“What we did early on was establish sort of the stuff that was really important to us, taking the way we were raised as kids and the way we saw the restaurant moving through the world. And sort of codify that,” Mark told the Times. “And that worked for 20 years together, and now we’re asking the question, ‘If this is true about Brian and his life, then what? If this is true that flourishing for him looks like not being in the restaurant, then what?’”
The Canlis brothers took over the restaurant from their parents in 2005, The New York Times noted. It was already a beloved institution in the Pacific Northwest by then, and the two turned it into a big deal across the country. Former chef Jason Franey received three consecutive James Beard Award nominations for his work there, while his successor Brady Williams was named Best Chef: Northwest by the same organization in 2019.
Ibrahim took over the kitchen in 2021, and since then she’s won numerous accolades, including a spot on our own list of the rising power players in American fine dining. She and Beaird are thinking of opening their own spot in New York or Los Angeles, where Ibrahim will focus on regional Filipino cooking, the Times wrote.
“The dream has always been to open my own restaurant and have my own stars,” Ibrahim told the newspaper.
As for Brian, along with his family’s relocation to Nashville, he’s working on a project with Will Guidara, The New York Times reported. Guidara is best known for changing the face of fine-dining hospitality with his work at Eleven Madison Park, and more recently he’s received renown for his work on The Bear. He and Brian have been best friends since college.
Brian and Mark are now looking for a new chef to head up Canlis, and Mark knows that the massive changes may not be easy.
“One key piece of this whole story for me is: Maybe the way through a tenuous time for our industry is exactly this: If we stopped putting the need for the business to make it first, maybe if we let go of that need,” he told the Times. “Maybe Canlis makes it to 75 years, which will be December, and that’s it.”
Brian, though, has faith in his brother and his ability to carry on the family legacy at the Seattle institution.
Authors
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Tori Latham
