Signs have gone up in the windows of the former Strega Pizzeria at 5465 Leary Ave NW, announcing that a new Egyptian restaurant called Cairo is moving in. One sign reads simply, “Egypt is coming to Ballard,” and the incoming spot plans to serve Egyptian food and cocktails, with a promise to stay open late and hand out a free hawawshi to the first 100 guests at its opening celebration.
An exact opening date remains unclear, according to My Ballard, which first reported the signage and the sign-up form Cairo has posted for those hoping to attend its launch events. The outlet's report, based on a tip and photo from Geri Silver, notes that hawawshi is pita or flatbread stuffed with spiced minced beef or lamb — a dish with roots that stretch back decades. Per background from Curious Cuisiniere, hawawshi originated in Cairo in 1971, when a butcher named Ahmed al-Hawawsh began stuffing seasoned minced beef into baladi flatbread and baking it until crispy. Egyptian menus often build out from there, with regional twists like Alexandrian hawawshi — which encases spiced meat between raw dough circles before baking — alongside staples such as koshary and sautéed beef liver, per Wikipedia.
A Storefront With A Layered History
The Leary Avenue space has changed hands before. Mexican restaurant and bar El Borracho ran the location for nearly nine years, from February 2014 until it closed permanently in October 2022, before Strega Pizzeria took over and operated there for two years. Strega closed in May 2026, with co-owner Sam Lucchese citing escalating operational expenses and the departure of the restaurant's head chef as key reasons for shutting the doors, according to the same My Ballard report from that month. Lucchese told the outlet that running a brick-and-mortar storefront while also working 18-hour summer days across regional farmers markets had become unsustainable.
Sam and Sara Lucchese are well known in the local farmers market scene. The couple runs Pasteria Lucchese, a staple at the Ballard Farmers Market, along with two other food concepts, Vespucci Pizza and La Crespella. Sam Lucchese, originally from Genoa, Italy, and Sara Lucchese have operated as Seattle-area food vendors for nearly 20 years, per KIRO 7.
A Fire, A Fundraiser, And A Fresh Start
Weeks after closing Strega, the Lucchese family suffered another setback. An accidental fire ignited by hot embers spreading to a wood pile caused an estimated $500,000 in damage to their Ballard home on June 9, 2026, destroying the home-based commercial kitchen they relied on for their food businesses, according to KING 5. The community responded quickly. A GoFundMe campaign started by Queen Anne Farmers Market manager Matt Kelly raised $71,256 from 533 donors to help the couple replace specialized commercial equipment and repair their property, according to the fundraiser's page.
Cairo's arrival also lands at a notable moment for Egyptian food in the neighborhood. Ballard's existing Egyptian and Lebanese vegetarian restaurant, Koshari, which had operated inside the Salt & Sugar space at 5615 24th Ave NW, announced it would temporarily close on August 15 to search for a standalone home, per a My Ballard report from July. That leaves a brief gap in neighborhood Egyptian dining options right as Cairo prepares to open just blocks away.
Part Of A Broader Wave Of Turnover North Of The Ship Canal
Cairo's debut fits into a larger pattern of change in North Seattle's food scene. Thirteen new cafes, slice shops, and independent eateries opened across Ballard, Fremont, Greenwood, and the U-District during spring 2026, as Hoodline previously reported. But the same period has also brought closures tied to rising costs. Ballard's Shingletown Saloon, an 11-year fixture on 15th Ave NW, shut down in April 2026 due to mounting financial pressures, underscoring the operating challenges that pushed Strega out of the Leary Avenue space in the first place.
For now, Cairo's exact opening date is still unclear, but the sign-up form for its opening celebrations and the free hawawshi giveaway for the first 100 guests suggest the new arrival won't wait long to introduce Ballard to Egyptian street food and late-night cocktails.
