At Harvard And Pine, New Owners At Pelicana, Lines At Phê, And Indian At Cafe Ashiana

Capitol Hill’s restaurant sale season continues with a “business as usual” transition at the corner of Pine and Harvard. Recent filings show the corner’s Korean Fried Chicken joint Pelicana has changed hands.

The new owners Hye Ri Park and Taehwan Lee are bringing experience from the world of teriyaki to the fried chicken joint. Seattle food and drink entrepreneur J Hwang opened Pelicana — and helped usher in Capitol Hill’s new KFC era —  in the former home of Bill’s Off Broadway in 2021.

The bones of the old Bill’s make Pelicana a pretty decent hangout in addition to its Ban Ban chicken, cheese sticks, and Bburingkle fries.

Pelicana is beginning its sixth year on Capitol Hill with more passersby than usual. The corner has been busy with some long, viral video-stoked lines for neighboring Vietnamese coffee shop Phê.

Across the street, meanwhile, the latest cafe to hold down the northwest corner of Harvard and Pine nestled into Seattle Central’s big parking structure is Cafe Ashiana. The Indian cafe took over last year for the short-lived chicken tenders joint Chiqpa. Chiqpa, of course, replaced the also short-lived but well-loved Korean corndog spot Korn Dog.

Founded in 1982 in Daejeon, South Korea, Pelicana is one of the largest fried chicken chains in the world though its Seattle franchise is its only Pacific Northwest presence.

The E Pine Pelicana transaction is the latest sale involving one of the Hill’s smaller eateries and independent ownership outside the city’s growing “restaurant groups.” CHS reported here on cook Chuy Mendoza Gamillo taking over ownership of Broadway diner Americana and here on new owners at 2010-born Pinto Thai.

You can find Pelicana Chicken at 725 E Pine. Learn more at pelicanausa.com.

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