Renton is getting its very own Cheers Bar and Grill, but don’t expect everyone there to know your name just quite yet.
The southend chain, with locations in Tacoma, Lacey, Puyallup, Lakewood and University Place, is expanding north, with its first location at the former downtown site of A Terrible Beauty.
Although it is a sports bar and restaurant with billiards, the bar concept is not based on the popular 1980s TV series, said Owner Ali Kashi. He’s been in the restaurant business for 30 years and opened the first Cheers in 2009 in Puyallup.
Kashi is originally from Iran. He left his home country when he was 19 and got into the restaurant business because he found it challenging.
He has a goal of expanding his chain to 10 locations and Renton, which opens on Sept. 1, makes number six.
Kashi chose Renton “because Renton is a fast-growing city with a lot of population and I thought this was a really good location,” he said.
Cheers will have 20 flat-screened TVs and an upstairs restaurant area for families. Downstairs is the lounge.
Kashi is a huge football, Ultimate Fighting Championship and boxing fan. He plans to show all football, UFC and boxing matches and have Cheers Renton be an all-around sports bar.
Judging by the website, the Cheers menu is pretty extensive, with offerings beyond just bar food. There is a diverse mix of American comfort food, salads, wraps, sandwiches and burgers.
“During the football season we’ll open at 9 a.m.; we’ll be serving breakfast,” said Kashi.
The Renton location has been completely gutted to make way for brand new modern interiors. A private room has been constructed for patrons to reserve free of charge for banquets, meetings and private parties. There may be karaoke in the future, but live music events is not what Cheers is all about, said Kashi.
He plans to have a staff of about 25 workers and as of late July, he was still hiring.
When open, Cheers’ hours will be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. everyday. To check out the sports bar online, visit http://www.cheersdowntown.com/.
