After more than four decades behind the bar and the broiler, Derek Cockbain is openly wondering how much longer he wants to keep going. The longtime owner of Wedgwood Broiler has ridden out the pandemic years on a month-to-month lease while developers circled the small shopping center, and his next move now depends on a mix of personal timing and the hard math of running an old-school neighborhood steakhouse. For Wedgwood regulars, the Broiler still feels like a time capsule that never quite got the memo about changing trends, in the best possible way.
In a Pacific NW Magazine feature, reporter Clay Eals notes that Cockbain is 64, started at the Broiler as a 19-year-old dishwasher, and bought the restaurant in 1996. According to The Seattle Times, Cockbain said that "we try to stay consistent" and that he "doesn't want to close the doors" even as he thinks through what the next chapter might be.
Redevelopment Deal Goes Cold
For years, the big question hanging over the Broiler has not just been the menu, it has been the land under it. Security Properties had floated a six-story mixed-use project that would have wiped out the Wedgwood Center and replaced it with new housing over a grocery store anchor. That plan is now off the table. The developer terminated its purchase agreement in early January, the Wedgwood Community Council reports.
The council notes that the proposal had already cleared early design review before financing talks fell apart. City design documents filed with the Seattle Department of Planning and Development show the project centered on the 8400 35th Ave NE parcel. With that deal collapsed, longtime tenants are back in limbo while the property owner quietly shops the site to new buyers.
Why Wedgwood Broiler Still Matters
Wedgwood Broiler sits at 8230 35th Ave NE, anchoring a midcentury strip of shops that has pulled in neighbors since the 1960s. The restaurant’s own history traces the business to a tiny eatery that opened in 1965 and confirms that Cockbain took over ownership in 1996, details that help explain why so many regulars are rooting for him to keep the doors open. Wedgwood Broiler
What Happens Next For The Broiler
With Security Properties out of the picture, the property owner has put the site back on the market, according to the Wedgwood Community Council, stretching out the uncertainty for the Broiler and its neighboring businesses. Cockbain told The Seattle Times he does not want to shutter the place and will try to keep the restaurant going while he sorts out his options.
For now, the Broiler is very much open, and Wedgwood regulars are still sliding into booths and pulling up barstools. How long that remains the case will likely depend on a post-pandemic property market that has been anything but predictable. We will keep an eye on new listings or a potential buyer and update readers as credible public information becomes available.
