Historic bar and restaurant “Paragon” lives on with support of RMD Group
If you’ve ever visited Seattle, you may have passed through the quintessential hometown neighborhood of Queen Anne. Referred to as “The Hill”, and nestled above the Space Needle with picturesque views of Mt. Rainer, is one of Seattle’s most cozy downtowns. Paragon Bar & Kitchen, described as an “institution” by the locals, is one of Seattle’s oldest bars and restaurants residing there for almost 30 years. In the summer of 2019, Paragon was sold to a well-traveled and tactful husband and wife duo; set on preserving the history of the city and offering new and innovative food and beverage concepts to Seattle.
With a coast-to-coast passion for food and drink, and a family history of restaurant ownership, the owners closed down Paragon and set out to remodel the space and design a locally-sourced, Pacific Northwest Bistro-style food menu. Additionally, a complimentary craft cocktail, local wine, and beer program would be forged with a focus to set a new standard for the neighborhood of Queen Anne with homemade infusions and tinctures. All with one central goal: maintain the history and charm of Paragon with long time offerings including the famous Paragon Burger, and showcase local bands and acoustic performers who add life and vibrancy to the Seattle music scene.
As design, remodeling, and the restructuring of the venue operations began, so did unforeseen challenges. The new owners knew they would need a strong and experienced team to meet the three month milestone of re-opening Paragon. With forethought and proper planning, the owners had a team prepped and ready. Two years prior, RMD Consulting had been selected as the Bar, Restaurant, and Hospitality Consultant to help vet potential bar and restaurant concepts and locations. Additionally RMD Consulting had been providing professional coaching and training to the owners for developing and operating their potential venues. With significant hospitality industry experience and knowledge in developing, building, and operating their own hospitality venues like Rustic Root, Lumi, and Huntress, the RMD Group team was ready to execute and start SMART planning the project.
The bar and restaurant space plan, remodel plan, and SMART plan were the first areas to organize. Using a project management system, all related tasks and milestones were coded by Front of House (FOH) and Back of House (BOH). As operators of multiple venues in San Diego, RMD Consulting employed several RMD Group corporate departments like Bar Operations and Restaurant Operations to execute the project scope of work. This included:
- Financial Modeling
- Space Planning
- Construction Planning
- Marketing and Promotions
- Beverage Program Development (Craft Cocktail, Beer and Wine Menus, Recipes, Programming)
- Food Program Development (Menu, Recipes, Programming)
- Systems Selection and Roll-out (POS, Inventory, Accounting, HR)
- Hiring and Staff Training
- Friends and Family and Opening Programming
Paragon is currently open to the public, and the residents of Queen Anne are excited to have their favorite bar and restaurant back. In the first two weeks of opening, one of the signature cocktails is already being featured in a James Beard cocktail contest. Off to a great start! If you find yourself in the lovely neighborhood of Queen Anne, most certainly stop by for a craft cocktail and a plate. We recommend trying the famous Paragon Burger!
Check back on our work and visit us at www.rmdgroupsd.com. RMD Consulting is a bar, restaurant, nightlife, and hospitality consulting firm in San Diego, California. Are you’re a bar or restaurant owner? Do you want to be? Receive your complimentary strategy session today.
Find out how you can improve your existing venue, or to turn your bar, restaurant, or nightclub dream into a reality with RMD Consulting.