As Death & Co approaches 20 years at its original East Village location in New York City, the bar is spreading its wings to Seattle.
The new outpost opened Sept. 3 at Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square, marking Death & Co’s fifth location and its first in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle opening also serves as the debut of a broader Death & Co evolution that includes a smaller menu format and a refreshed visual identity.
The Seattle bar is 1,850 square feet and builds on the existing character of its historic home at RailSpur, a mixed-use cultural hub at Pioneer Square. The horseshoe-shaped bar anchors the room, with exposed brick and wood beams joined by deep reds and rich green accents. In a nod to the area’s creative community, Death & Co Seattle features a rotating collection of artwork and will participate in the neighborhood’s First Thursday Art Walk, a self-guided monthly event that brings people into local galleries and other businesses.
Since its earliest days in New York, the Death & Co beverage menu has been one of the concept’s defining creative platforms. The Seattle menu launches a more minimalist, art-inspired design and seven straightforward sections: seasonal, standards, zero proof, reserve, beer, wine, and spirits. It’s meant to make navigation easier for guests while allowing the drinks to take center stage.
The Seattle menu includes 12 new seasonal cocktails, like the Uwajima Gimlet (gin, ginger shochu, yuzu liqueur, red yuzu kosho, and lime) and the Violet Carpenter, which combines bourbon, stone fruit, Strega, local honey, orange bitters, and fennel pollen.
The Standards section features the bar’s interpretations of established classics, like the Highball and Martini. And Reserve includes longtime Death & Co favorites like the Naked and Famous and Oaxaca Old Fashioned crafted with premium spirits and made according to their original specifications.
The culinary program draws inspiration from the Pacific Northwest, with a menu of snacks and small plates including local oysters, a Dungeness crab salad, and tuna nduja with Calabrian chile.
The menu includes new signature cocktails, Death & Co classics, and Pacific Northwest-inspired food.
One trait seen across Death & Co locations is a solid balance between core brand identity and local individualism. Owner and founder Dave Kaplan, who has lived in Seattle for the past five years, explained that it starts with being very clear about the promise that Death & Co makes to every guest: “Exceptional hospitality, an obsessive approach to cocktails and ingredients, and an experience that feels thoughtful and transportive from the moment you walk through the door.”
The promise is consistent, but Kaplan said that nearly everything else should be unique to the specific bar.
“The people are what make Death & Co, and every door should reflect the city because it reflects the incredible local team bringing it to life,” Kaplan said. “Each bar has a different menu, interior, size, location, and energy. We give our teams the freedom to express our shared values through their own perspective and through the culture and community of their city.”
In many ways, Death & Co takes an intentionally anti-chain approach. They don’t want to replicate the same bar or impose a formula from one market onto another.
“Seattle should not feel like New York, Denver, Los Angeles or Washington, D.C.,” Kaplan said. “It should feel unmistakably like Death & Co and unmistakably like Seattle. The goal is to pursue the same aspirations at every property while allowing each one to have an identity entirely its own.”
Kaplan noted that the Seattle opening was a major undertaking, so right now the team is focused on making it and their other bars the best they can be. He said that they’re always paying attention to interesting markets and opportunities, but growth for the sake of growth has never been the goal.
“We’d rather be thoughtful about where and how Death & Co evolves and make sure that anything we do next feels right for the brand, the team, and the community we’re entering,” he said.
