In January the First Hill Streetcar brought even more foot traffic along Garage’s stretch of Broadway. More recently the pool hall and bowling alley has become a popular hangout spot for packs of tech company workers visiting Seattle on business. “I always felt like Garage was a good melting pot.” “I always feel like the clientele has never changed,” he said. While the venue has undergone major transformations, Bitondo said that has not been the case for its customers. In addition to its pool hall and two bowling areas, Garage also has seven bars and two kitchens. That allowed for a major expansion in 2003, another expansion in 2008, and the patio buildout in 2013. Sandwiched between Seattle University and Seattle Central College and located on the same block as Capitol Hill’s only hotel at the Silver Cloud Inn, the Garage has never struggled to find customers. “I always felt like were are restaurant and a bar, we just happen to have bowling alley and pool.” We wanted it to be nice, not stuffy … tasteful,” Bitondo said. “We had always talked about that this not your grandfather’s pool hall. The two shared a love of old buildings and a common vision of a pool hall with an elevated game. Fresh out of college and with no management experience, Bitondo was brought on to run Garage. Garage opened in 1996 as a follow up to Rosenast’s first pool hall Temple Billiards, which he opened a few years earlier. While an OfficeMax on Broadway would come and go, the Garage will be celebrating 20 years on the street in July with all day $2.50 beers and live music on the patio throughout the month. “Alex and I have always joked that if we hadn’t bought that building, there might be an OfficeMax there now,” Bitondo said. Later that week, the Garage owners bought it, cleared out the fish tanks, and added their first bowling lanes. The three started chatting and the owner mentioned his preference to keep the building locally owned. Rumor had it the owner was preparing to sell the auto-row era building - then home to a fish tank wholesaler - to an office supply chain store.

It was 2002 when Bitondo and Rosenast were sitting down at a Mariners game and realized the man sitting directly in front of them was the property owner of the building adjacent to the Garage, then just a restaurant and pool hall. The second came eight years later with a pair fortunate seats at SafeCo Field.

Rosenast, already a successful Seattle club owner, would later ask the inexperienced, recent college graduate to manage the new pool hall he was opening on Capitol Hill. The first was a 1994 charity softball game where Alex Rosenast met Mike Bitondo. (Images: Garage)Įven before the first rounds of pool and bowling were played at Garage, ball games were essential to start of the Broadway bar and restaurant celebrating its 20th anniversary this month on Capitol Hill. Garage’s original pool hall and 2003 bowling addition on the left.

Temple billiards