Our story

Those of us old enough to remember the 1990s in Seattle can agree that the explosion of grunge music, the rise of The Glove and Reign Man’s Sonic Boom Supersonics, and the Friday Soup of the Day at Charlestown Street Café were the defining moments of that era (those of you not old enough to remember the ‘90s will have to take our word for it).

Our story began in that small West Seattle kitchen where founder Larry Mellum and his head chef Mike Hillyer spent their days doing what they loved: cooking, tasting, and tinkering to curate a menu full of vibrant flavors to serve the neighborhood. They believed great food comes from curiosity, patience, and a refusal to cut corners. So, when New England clam chowder appeared on the menu as the Soup of the Day, they set out to perfect every spoonful. 

Batch by batch, they invested in quality, from sourcing premium ingredients through trusted local vendors to ensuring each bowl delivered soul-healing balance, richness, and consistency. Every. Single. Time. A dish rooted in comfort quickly became the dish that made the neighborhood proud.

With the encouragement of the community, Mike and Larry (along with their incredible families and friends) brought their chowder to national competitions where they swept the opposition, a sign that their dedication to craftsmanship resonated with chowderheads from the California coast to the shores of New England alike. Then, in 2003, Pike Place Chowder opened its doors in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. 

The rest is history.

Through the years, it was you, our faithful chowder fans from coast to coast, who turned a tiny cafe into a national treasure. Whether you stood in line at the Market waiting patiently for a warm bread bowl on a chilly, wet Seattle day or ordered a quart to your front door in Florida, your loyalty and support are what kept our pots simmering and the craft alive.

Today, the Hillyer family—Mike, Casey, Emily, and Jake—proudly carries this legacy forward. As Larry moves into a well-deserved retirement to pursue his passion for protecting the whales of our Salish Sea, he knows the recipes are safe with the family that helped build them. We’ve grown from one neighborhood kitchen to a national award-winner (17x and counting), but we still make every bowl with the same love we did on day one.

From our first pot to your first bite, where it started is still in every spoonful.