The Hardware Store is the oldest commercial building on Vashon and has seen a lot of changes over the last 115 years. We are honored to be the current inhabitants of this historic building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We sit right in the middle of town, seeing everyone who travels by ~ feeling a bit like the heartbeat of the island.

Our Mission is to create a "great good place" where people in our community can gather. We began our journey three years ago by planning to open a restaurant and found ourselves mired in the restrictions and regulations of King County government. Thus our plan took some twists and turns as we realized we couldn't do exactly what we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it.

So now we call it the evolution of The Hardware Store and it's been an interesting journey. We opened as a retail store (not changing the original "use" of the building allowed us to open without government restrictions), and decided to carry art, wine, furniture and Italian scooters! Yes, we invented an entertaining use to carry us through the stages and hoops we needed to jump through in order to finally open as a restaurant.

As we plodded through the challenges to convert The Hardware Store into a restaurant, we found out what an important place this building and its history is to the Vashon community. People were drawn to us, so we opened our doors to them, their friends and other groups who needed a place to meet or celebrate. Even as we were evolving from Hardware Store into restaurant, these halls were filled with laughter, chatter, stories being told and stories being made.

We invite you to come on down for a great meal, the perfect martini, or a fantastic bottle of wine from our cellar. Experience our full service espresso bar and take a stroll back to the Art Gallery which showcases island artists. Meet your family, friends or business collegues at The Hardware Store Restaurant (we offer free wireless service). Most of all...enjoy your time here and soon you will see why we call this "the heartbeat of the Island."    Explore Vashon Island Here