Manning's Cafeterias was a chain of about 40

cafeteria-style restaurant A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

s in nine western U.S. states. The chain started in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott B ...

in 1908; that location became Lowell's in 1957 and is still in operation. Another one in Ballard, a suburb of Seattle, was constructed in 1964 in the futuristic

Googie Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the U ...

architectural style (of which the

Seattle Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center ...

is a famous example), reopened as a

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a coffee shop under th ...

in 1984 and was designated a City of Seattle Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Board on February 20, 2008. When the Ballard Manning's opened in November 1964, a ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington s ...

'' article appeared with the title: "Manning’s New Restaurant Called ‘Taj Mahal of Ballard.’" The new restaurant had an unconventional and distinctive appearance prompting the article’s writer to state: "The newest addition to the firm is the new Manning’s restaurant in Ballard. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Taj Mahal of Ballard,’ because of its delightful and colorful architecture...." Other articles described it as a "longhouse," referring to its resemblance to a particular type of Old Norse dwelling. This flamboyant mix of sources was calculated to attract attention. The building was declared a Seattle Historical Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Board in February, 2008. The status was appealed by the owner,

Benaroya Companies Jack A. Benaroya (July 11, 1921 – May 11, 2012) was a pioneering real estate developer who built what became the Northwest’s largest privately-held commercial real-estate empire which he sold in 1984 for $315 million. After selling his compa ...

, who wanted to demolish the historic structure. Just three months after it was declared an Historic Landmark, the Landmarks Preservations Board reversed it decision, the City of Seattle issued a demolition permit, and the building was demolished on June 24, 2008.Ballard's landmark restaurant demolished
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References

External links

Lowell's: Our Story
Cafeteria-style restaurants Defunct restaurants in Seattle Defunct restaurant chains in the United States Pike Place Market Restaurants established in 1908 1908 establishments in Washington (state) Central Waterfront, Seattle {{US-restaurant-stub