Death of a Sizzler: Pierce County’s only location closes. There’s just 1 left in WA

If the slow waning of the American Dream took a physical form, it would probably look a lot like the scene in Lakewood on Thursday night.

There, with a line stretching out into the cold, the witnesses stood huddled, anxious and hungry, waiting to pay their final respects.

The Sizzler on South Tacoma Way — a touchstone of casual steak and buffet dining in Lakewood since 1978 — was closing. By the time it locked its doors on Friday, it would be gone forever.

The closure — which was announced to Sizzler’s staff Jan. 14, according to co-owner Joel Starr — marked a final blow for the chain in Pierce County and across most of the state. There’s only one Sizzler left in Washington now — in Longview, near the Oregon border, according to a spokesperson for Sizzler USA, Inc.

“I’ve been coming here for probably 20 years,” said Joe Hibbard, a Lakewood resident and retired fire department chaplain who was making his third pilgrimage to the chain steakhouse since hearing the news. “They’ve got good food and good prices. And I love their salad bar.”

To a person — and there were many, some who waited nearly an hour before finding a seat — everyone I spoke to agreed: the Sizzler salad bar was the big attraction. But there’s also the cheese toast, the rolls and the affordable steak and shrimp. Perhaps equally important, there’s the nostalgia and familiarity. In hardscrabble Pierce County, for many, Sizzler has been a spot for birthday dinners, straight-A report card celebrations and aspirational payday dining. As they say in “White Men Can’t Jump” when things appear to be going their way, “We goin’ Sizzler.”

“It’s a staple. We’ve always come here,” said David Bambaloff, who made the trip from Graham on Thursday with his wife Robin. “It’s a good salad bar. The bread, the chicken; the chicken is great. Their clam chowder’s really good, too.”

According to Starr, who along with a partner purchased the Lakewood Sizzler from its original owners in 2018, Sizzler’s reasonable prices, simple comfort and quality service have always been hallmarks of the experience. The first Sizzler opened in California in 1958, during Eisenhower’s second term. The brand, which spread across the West and the country, was born in an age of Brylcreem and limitless possibilities — including a steak dinner for the whole family. At its height, there were hundreds of Sizzlers across the country.

But according to Starr, who previously worked for a restaurant management company and has guided Sizzlers in Washington for decades, business has been challenging recently. The restaurant lost some of its luster and direction over the years trying to fend off competitors like Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster and eventually Applebee’s and TGI Friday’s. Then COVID crushed the restaurant industry. In 2020, Sizzler USA — which at the time owned only 14 restaurants of its own (the other 90 or so were franchise locations) — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In 2018, when Starr and his partner purchased the Lakewood Sizzler, they bought two others: one in Tukwila and one in Reno. Today, all three locations are closed, he said. In Lakewood, the restaurant was able to weather the pandemic storm with assistance from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, but staffing difficulties, supply-chain issues, increased food prices and mounting labor costs finally delivered the death knell, he told The News Tribune.

“At the end of the day, what you saw — a line out the door — we haven’t seen for five, six years at Sizzler,” said Starr, underscoring that the average guest check has risen from $18 to $22 over the last four years to cover mounting costs. “We just ran out of money. … This is the one that hurt my heart, because that Sizzler’s been there for better than 45 years.”

Still, Starr continues to believe in the restaurant’s lasting brand. When done right, there’s nothing like a Sizzler, he said.

On Thursday night, it sure seemed like he was onto something. From far and wide, people came to get one last meal — and one last taste of the dream.

“It’s one of the last family restaurants, you know? Maybe people don’t come as much,” said Debi Elder, who said she’s been visiting the Sizzler on South Tacoma Way “probably since it existed.”

“I was very sad when I heard they were closing. I just found out yesterday,” Elder added.

“At Sizzler, you can get whatever you want.”