Miró Tapas, the Spanish-inspired restaurant that took over a historic storefront at 1502 Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma, has closed after just nine months of operation. Owner Robert Stocker confirmed the shutdown on Monday, but declined to explain his reasons for closing the doors.
The closure was first reported by MyNorthwest.com, which cited the Tacoma News Tribune in detailing the restaurant's short run. Executive Chef Daniel Tschida and Chef de Cuisine Maria Hunt directed kitchen operations, while Stocker oversaw the concept and interior design, according to the same reporting. The menu featured tapas across three different price ranges, including hot plates like grilled octopus with rice and pork ribs, cold dishes such as ceviche and beef tenderloin, and larger main dishes including paella and surf and turf, per the Tribune's account.
Stocker got the idea for Miró Tapas after visiting a restaurant in Barcelona where tapas were served off of carts, an approach he initially replicated with staff dubbed “Bandoleros” circulating through the dining room with trays of small plates, according to a report from the South Sound Report. That cart-serving model didn't last. Customers reported that the method caused lengthy food wait times, and staff appeared overwhelmed by the process, according to the Tribune's reporting, prompting Miró Tapas to retire the carts and revert to standard menu ordering.
A Revolving Door Inside a 130-Year-Old Bank Building
The space itself carries plenty of history. Located in the bottom-floor unit connected to the Courtyard by Marriott downtown, the storefront sits inside the Waddell Building, a Romanesque Revival structure built between 1889 and 1890 that originally housed the Union Savings & Trust bank and was added to the City of Tacoma Register of Historic Places in May 2003. Property owner Hollander Hospitality, which owns several hotels across the Pacific Northwest including the Tacoma property housing the Courtyard by Marriott, preserved the building from potential demolition and folded its historic facade and brickwork into the hotel complex.
Before Miró Tapas, the address had a much steadier tenant. Pacific Grill, led by Food & Wine “Best New Chef” recipient Gordon Naccarato and Joseph Hardwick Jr., anchored the space for roughly 20 years before closing permanently in September 2020 amid pandemic-related financial pressures, according to KING 5 News. Bellevue-based Ascend Hospitality Group then brought in Stanford's Steak, which took over the space in 2021 and modernized it into a polished-casual steakhouse and lounge before closing in January 2024. Hollander Hospitality's president and CEO expected a quick replacement for the space after Stanford's shut down, per the Tribune's reporting.
Hollander Held Out for a Local Concept
That quick turnaround didn't happen right away. David Vis of Hollander Hospitality said there were numerous other suitors for the space but that the company waited for Stocker specifically, having found him to be a respected restaurateur with an artistic eye for food and drink. Vis said he loved the location's ambiance and history, according to the Tribune's account of the 2025 negotiations that eventually brought Miró Tapas to Pacific Avenue.
Stocker is a known quantity in Tacoma's dining and nightlife scene. He co-founded retro burger joint Shake Shake Shake in the Stadium District in 2012 and opened the 1960s-themed cocktail lounge The Boom Boom Room on Sixth Avenue in April 2021. Miró Tapas, named for Spanish surrealist artist Joan Miró, was meant to bring that same concept-driven sensibility to the historic Pacific Avenue storefront.
Location and a Tough Market Cloud the Picture
Some local commentary has pointed to geography as a possible headwind. A discussion on Reddit's r/Tacoma community noted that 1502 Pacific Avenue sits near a freeway offramp and a surface parking lot at 15th Street, placing it slightly south of downtown's primary dining strip between S. 7th and S. 9th Streets, an intersection that sees heavy vehicular pass-through traffic rather than steady pedestrian dining traffic.
The closure also lands amid a broader run of hospitality shutdowns across the city. Miró Tapas follows the March shuttering of Powder Room Champagne Bar and the June closure of 88-year-old Knapp's Diner, both previously covered by Hoodline. Statewide numbers help explain the pressure: the Washington Hospitality Association's 2025 Cost of Dining report found average restaurant profit margins in Washington had fallen to 1.5%, while dining prices ran 13.6% above the national average, according to Seattle Red. Rising minimum wages, vendor costs, and regulatory compliance have squeezed independent operators across the state.
What exactly tipped the scales for Miró Tapas remains unclear. Stocker has not said whether the early service problems with the cart concept, the location at 15th and Pacific, or the broader economic strain on Washington restaurants played the biggest role in the restaurant's nine-month run. For now, another storefront inside one of downtown Tacoma's most storied buildings sits empty, awaiting its next tenant.
