2 longtime Seattle restaurants, Marrakesh and Copine, will close

Two longtime Seattle restaurants are closing their doors for good.

After 23 years, Marrakesh restaurant shuttered its doors Wednesday. The Moroccan restaurant was known as much for its pageantry as its five-course tasting menu, as belly dancers shimmied into a Belltown dining room that was reimagined as a sultan tent decked out in North African tapestries.

In a goodbye note posted on Instagram on Friday, management thanked "all the curious foodies, inspired travelers, loyal locals and visitors from near and far. It has been a joy to be part of the countless milestones, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, weddings, film shoots and more. Being entrusted with your most meaningful celebrations is something we will always cherish."

Management told The Seattle Times that factors like the city's rising minimum wage and high costs, including food supplies, have hurt the restaurant industry at a time when diners still aren't eating out as much as they did before the coronavirus pandemic.

Other factors hurt the restaurant, too, according to Marrakesh management, like a lack of parking in Belltown and safety concerns in the neighborhood keeping customers away.

And in Ballard, French American fine-dining restaurant Copine will close its doors after 10 years following its final service Saturday.

Even after being named national finalists for Outstanding Restaurant in the prestigious James Beard Awards three years ago, co-owners Shaun McCrain and Jill Kinney told The Times that their restaurant was not immune to the many challenges that the industry has faced since the pandemic.

In an interview with The Times at the end of last summer, Kinney said the couple had even tried to balance rising costs by taking pay cuts instead of raising menu prices, which can repel customers. Kinney also referenced unexpected expenses, including multiple break-ins when Copine reopened for regular service in 2021.

For those who miss out on the last seating Saturday, the couple said they might run pop-ups this summer.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM.