December 17, 2025
Chefs and brothers Seth and Zach Pacleb have built their careers around pairing locally-sourced ingredients with community, sustainability, and the flavors of their Filipino heritage and summers spent with family in Hawaii. These influences have also helped shape their new worker-owned restaurant and bottle shop in the Port of Seattle Fishermen’s Terminal — Pidgin Cooperative and Bottle Shop.
The restaurant opened in September and now fills the space formerly occupied by the Highliner Public House, bringing new life and fresh flavors inspired by family and cultural influences to the working waterfront. The goal: build a cooperative restaurant that provides stable jobs and serves sustainable, locally-grown food.
The name “Pidgin Cooperative” was inspired by Zach and Seth’s father, who often slips back into his Hawaii pidgin accent while visiting family in Hawaii. Pidgin languages develop when people who speak different languages need a shared way to communicate. Seth saw how the concept of a shared, communal language could be a metaphor for the blending of culinary traditions and cooperative values that formed the menu and heart of the restaurant. From that concept, the name “Pidgin Cooperative” was born.
Today, staff serve up ramen, plate lunches, burgers, sandwiches, and more alongside a wide variety of local beer, cider, and wine on tap and in bottles — all in a bright, light-filled space with views of fishing boats moored at Fishermen’s Terminal.
Cultural inspiration
The menu is inspired by the Pacleb’s Filipino and Hawaiian heritage and features Pan-Asian, nostalgic, and home-style cooking. It contains some holdovers from their days running a popular farmers market stand, including house-made ramen (using an imported specialty Japanese noodle machine), along with Hawaiian-style plate lunches, Filipino grilled chicken, loco moco, and vegetarian tortalong — a smoky eggplant omelet. The dinner menu continues to evolve, incorporating more seafood and seasonal produce sourced from long-time market partners. Peruse the menu→
The beer and wine selection focuses on local producers and small, emerging, independent makers, aligning with the restaurant’s mission to support local food ecosystems.
Farmers market beginnings
Pidgin Cooperative originated from Brothers & Co., a catering company started by the Pacleb brothers around 2010. The company later evolved into a popular farmers market ramen and taco stand found in Phinney Ridge, Capitol Hill, the University District, Ballard, Queen Anne, Wallingford, and Columbia City markets. It was known for its veggie-forward ramen, hand-rolled flour tortillas, packed with seasonal, market-driven ingredients.
“Tacos and ramen were two of Seth's favorite foods that he loved to make and felt like were great vessels to showcase all the seasonal produce of the farmers market,” said Erica Reich, General Manager of Pidgin Cooperative.
Plans were in the works to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant, supported by team members Reich and beer and wine buyer Spencer Rossman. They envisioned a bottle shop with an amazing selection of beverages, served along with delicious food, but COVID-19 derailed those plans.
Farmers markets were shut down, creating major hardship for vendors. The Paclebs and their team pivoted to meal-kit deliveries, retail offerings, and running a temporary retail stand to stay afloat. The stress and burnout of that period led Seth to propose opening a restaurant that followed a worker-cooperative model in hopes of creating shared responsibility.
Embracing a cooperative model
To make their dream a reality the team started fundraising, gathering support from farmers market regulars, community investors, and a successful Kickstarter campaign. By coincidence Good Business Network of Washington assigned them a business coach who had experience running their own cooperative — Patty Pan Cooperative. They also consulted with other Seattle cooperatives like Jude’s Old Town, and found a cooperative-focused lawyer through a Seattle co-op Discord channel who helped them draft their bylaws and articles of incorporation.
Today Pidgin Cooperative is owned and operated by six worker-owners, including the Pacleb brothers, Reich, and Rossman. Additional employees have the option of becoming worker-owners after they have been with the restaurant for a year, contribute $1,000, and are approved by the co-op. The overarching goal of the cooperative structure is to help create long-lasting, engaging jobs that bring everyone in the neighborhood safer, tastier food, while protecting the environment.
Reich said she has found that the cooperative structure encourages shared responsibility and decision-making, and because everyone has their own, often differing opinions, requires stronger communication and intentional collaboration. It also results in a cultural shift from being “just an employee” to having ownership and initiative.
Inspiration from the working waterfront
The Fishermen’s Terminal location was only the second restaurant site the team toured — and they fell in love immediately. The restaurant opened in September starting with lunch service; they recently expanded to serving dinner.
The space and menu draw inspiration from the working waterfront, with décor that reflects maritime and fishing culture. The team has plans to incorporate more seafood onto the menu and a strong interest in building relationships with local fishermen and seafood suppliers.
“I think all of us came into this project knowing that wherever we landed, we wanted to meet that space. We want to feel integrated into whatever community we're plopping into,” Reich said. “We’re trying to reflect that in our decor and in our space. And we’re very excited about starting to work more with seafood.”
One example: garlic prawns on the dinner menu — an homage to the garlic shrimp that Zach and Seth ate every summer in Hawaii with their grandmother.
“I've always had a fascination and admiration of the working fishermen and fishing culture,” Reich added. “I like getting to chat with the fishermen who come in and just hear their stories and learn more about their world.”
Fishermen’s Terminal was built to support the local fishing community with amenities like a grocery store, barber shop, and mail center. The space Pidgin now occupies was originally intended to be a pub where fishermen could gather. Reich said she loves hearing regulars share stories about the history of the space, and she hopes to revive some of its community-focused traditions, including live music and dancing nights.
“I want to create a home away from home where people feel connected to Seattle and the working waterfront,” Reich said. “I want guests to feel cared for, to feel like they’re supporting this small ecosystem we’re part of — and to have a really good time connecting with their community.”
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Photos courtesy of Pidgin Cooperative
