By MEG VAN HUYGEN

After almost two years of planning and renovations, Woven Seafood and Chophouse has at last opened at 3017 Ruston Way in mid-July. The project is a collab between the Puyallup Tribe, who purchased the 1.5 acre site for $12.8 million in September 2021 and ‘90s celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi, whose Japanese-Hawaiian restaurant chain spans the US, Guam and Japan. The tribe’s purchase includes both the Woven site—formerly the locally beloved C.I Shenanigans, which closed in June 2020 after 37 business—as well as the RAM Restaurant and Brewery next door, whose parent company formerly owned C.I. Shenanigan’s.

After renovation the space’s interior is barely recognizable. with tropical rattan accents and paintings by Native artists, a glittering modern bar, and seating for 250. The smell of fresh cedar permeates the air when you walk in thanks to the restaurant’s central wood-fired grill.

From the expansive deck overlooking Commencement Bay, Puyallup Tribe Chairman Bill Sterud addressed a crown on the restaurant’s opening night. “This is an original village site,” he said, pointing north along the shore. “These were all longhouses. These [boats] were all canoes. This is our place… and this was stolen from us.”

“I don’t want it to sound like I’m getting angry,” Sterud laughed, “I’m not at all. It happened 130 years ago! But today, we’re all working together to make this a better community. The City of Tacoma, Pierce County, Metro Parks Tacoma—the whole community down here is striving to create places to make us a better community, and this is one of those places that we just opened, right here.”

Yamaguchi explained the name choice for the new restaurant. “As I told Bill a couple years ago, I didn’t really want to do just another restaurant. What I want to do is start something that is culturally woven together. Here, we want to thread the cultures together to come up with something very, very special.”

“This is more than a restaurant opening,” Sterud added. “This is a major move toward us getting our land back. It’s more than a restaurant, and the person who’s helping us out here, Roy Yamaguchi, he understands what culture is, what woven means. Japanese cuisine, Native American, Hawaiian, seafood… He will take you guys on a journey of food, in a beautiful area. So, we are all so lucky. The guy’s good, and you will notice that when you eat.”

Born in Tokyo to a Hawaiian dad and a Japanese mom, Yamaguchi made his name in Honolulu, and Polynesian influences are evident on all Woven’s menus. Executive Chef Dexter Mina has worked closely with Yamaguchi at his restaurants for years and was hand-picked for the project. For Woven’s debut, Mina’s got a summery, seafood-laden menu of sushi, crudi, and ceviche, with a selection of steaks for the meat and potatoes crowd. Standouts from the curated menu are the pho-spiced baby back ribs, the miso-glazed black cod with wasabi beurre blanc, and the elevated poke bowl with tuna, salmon, hamachi, roasted garlic, red ginger and cucumber namasu. Japanese themes come through in the sushi list and dot the other menus too, like the bruleed yama sweet potato with yuzu custard and brownie crumble on the dessert section. Native cuisine is found in the cedar-plank king salmon and fry bread pizza as well as in some of the sides, like three sisters (that’s squash, beans and corn) succotash, wild rice, and local mushrooms. And that’s to say nothing of the spectacular PNW shellfish that the menu’s loaded with, of course.

Tiki elements are easily spotted in the cocktail menu as well, as in the Yamaguchi Mai Tai, with Koloa silver AND dark rum, orange curacao , orgeat and lime as well and the Signature Hawaiian Martini, made with Stoli Vanilla and Koloa coconut rum that’s been infused with Maui Gold Pineapple. Views of the Commencement Bay are even more stunning wiwth a craft cocktail in hand.

Although the departure of C.I. Shenanigan’s is still emotional for some, Woven is an absolute win for Tacoma and Ruston specifically, not to mention a huge victory for the Puyallup Tribe. The destination restaurant (desto-resto?) does a great job at harmoniously orchestrating four or five different cultures and cuisines in a single space. It’s a beautiful byproduct of the partnership between the Tribe, a world-class chef team, and Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality, which manages hotels and resorts and brings that level of care to Woven. I’ll speak for Tacoma when I say we’re all thrilled that the tribe has their spot back—for selfish and unselfish reasons both.