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Two and a half years after Bellevue’s first nightclub opened, Vertigo Lounge & Grill has been evicted from its location at the 989 Elements building.

The Asian fusion restaurant Zen Asian Bistro, downstairs from Vertigo, has also been evicted. Zen Asian Bistro’s location was subleased from the owner of Vertigo Lounge & Grill. White butcher paper and King County legal paperwork cover the doors of both restaurants.

This is not the first retail location to go out of business at 989 Elements in the few years that retail space has been available for lease there. Deyss Salon & Spa went out of business last year and still has an empty space available.

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28 Comments

  1. This is happening a few days after Twisted Cork closure. A sad week for Bellevue restaurant scene no doubt.

  2. Very curious that two places owned by the same entity closed down at the same time.

  3. Vertigo was unlawfully evicted by the landlord. The landlord is being sued, and Vertigo will be back open soon.

  4. concerned resident

    I did see people unloading rotten food from the freight elevator into the dumpster the other day.
    I’m not sure Vertigo should be back. Way too much fighting, cops, blood spatter and gun shots!
    Zen, wouldn’t mind to see their sushi and salad dressing again.

  5. Zen’s service always seemed very bad. It was also very cold inside the restaurant. It will be interesting to see what goes into these spaces next.

  6. Sad, Vertigo was such a beautiful space.
    Hope to see it reopen again soon.
    Zen could use a new concept. It could have been a cool space with the outdoor patio.

  7. Bellevue wants to be a big city but cant deal with the problems that come with it. Bellevue PD needs to grow some balls and realize that shit will happen in a big city. This is only the beginning of nightclubs coming to Bellevue. The Parlor with their incompetent management and security staff or Lucky Strike’s bowing ally/nightclub concept will not meet the demands of Bellevue residents. Bellevue wants and needs a true nightclub which is what Vertigo was. You can’t stop progress. Deal with it. Just wait until the hookers are on the corners, homeless people are scattered all over the sidewalks and the downtown park is where to get your supply of crack! Its all coming soon!

  8. Sad day for Bill but one has to wonder why he would sublease? At least he still has Chutneys. As a landlord, I would be livid if one of my tenants subleased their space (especially without permission). Interesting. As far as Vertigo goes, I’ve been there a few times but unfortunately, when you allow thug and druggies such as those brought in by TPD productions, more than likely, the cops are going to crawl all over it and put pressure on to shut it down. As far as everything else in Bellevue? The economy and greedy landlords will make it very difficult for restaurants/clubs to survive. Agree about Parlor…the owner needs to realize that the strict garbage he pulls (with both patrons and employees) has driven MANY people out of there. I am female and couldn’t enter in a really cute hat so guess what? Told them I wouldn’t be back. Yeah, I’m a Bellevue gang-banger is my military style hat and Versace top. LOL

  9. The best thing about Vertigo was its beautiful interior design. It started going way downhill when they added the flat-screens displaying trance images, starting bringing in terrible DJ’s, and let a whole bunch of trashy people use it as their second home.

    I used to love going dancing at that place. It was fun to take my out-of-town friends there. Then it just got GHETTO. Let’s work to keep it classy in Bellevue.

    I’m sick of seeing Renton hoochies (yes, I did just use the word hoochie) at Lincoln Square!

  10. This is great. No more overflow parking at the Bellevue Regional Library when 400 people decide to visit Vertigo. Put a nightclub east of 405 to share to excess of restaurants and poor-attempts-at-nightclubs Downtown Bellevue has, so that more Bellevue residents can visit these locations with a shorter walk. Not everything can be crammed into a one square mile downtown and be expected to work.

  11. Now where am I going to wear my affliction t-shirt?

  12. How are they unlawfully evicted when the law (Sheriff) is the one posting? They should of payed their rent!

  13. The above poster “sushisnob” needs to get their facts straight. 1st off TPD has probably done a grand total of 5 events since the opening of Vertigo. The responsbility for this perdicament lies solely on the management and ownership. Why don’t you go look at the last few events and you’ll have your culprit, if in fact you would like to blame a promoter. In the mean time, stop taking ignorant shots at legitimate businesses.

  14. I’ll miss Zen Sushi. There’s not a lot of places to walk to for lunch from Overlake Hospital.

  15. I used to got there for happy hour when they first opened. I went there a few times for dancing but after awhile LaLa is right, it got ghetto. I haven’t been back in over a year.

  16. Thank the Fashion Gods for finally putting a end to this fashion mishap venue. I’m happy their gone. I’m sick of seeing Ed Hardy on the streets.

  17. I’ll miss Zen’s Signature Roll and the great people that worked there. I hope all these closures aren’t a preview of what’s to come.

  18. Elements resident

    I for one am VERY glad that Vertigo is gone. I live in the Elements building and I was getting pretty tired of the classless caliber of person that this nightclub forced me to deal with every weekend.

    I’m not going to miss having to dodge drunk, testosterone-addled Frat trash and their pathetic female counterparts just to enjoy my place of residence.

    Good riddance to bad rubbish. Lets hope a business more in line with our city’s level of sophistication and class fills the void that this joke of nightclub leaves.

  19. Vertigo went down hill when it became a russian play ground. Or the nights when i see the streets surrounding vertigo filled with blacks from tacoma.. Odd to see in downtown bellevue. Vertigo was over priced with drinks and cover for being too small. Poor promotion groups and managers. Owners should just reopen with a strip club!!

  20. another bellevue local

    sushisnob, please refrain from absurdly sweeping remarks without thinking them through first. greedy landlords? please explain this comment and tell me who isn’t greedy in this current culture. do you have any idea how difficult it is to make any commercial real estate project pencil in this market? even when the market was hot, the returns weren’t high enough to justify the risk of developing real estate. its the landlords who are taking the brunt of this economy right now with no relief on the horizon.

  21. yet another bellevue local

    I like the username… LOL!

  22. What goes around comes around! I had to call the cops every weekend when I lived there. I think if I’m spending $1500 for a one bedroom apartment with no view, I should be able to sleep at night. Every weekend, there would be people loitering around the patio area under my bedroom window, smoking, fighting, screaming, drunk, driving drunk, spilling drinks and carrying on. I’m all for a good time, but not in my home.
    I tried many times to work with the building management to get them to settle down. They did NOT listen. I had to go as far as a meeting with the mayor of Bellevue!

  23. here, here!

  24. To “The Owner” – don’t see Vertigo back open yet! Remember, what goes around comes around. That nightclub owner didn’t care about disturbing residents of the apartment building. I hoped every day this would happen!!!

  25. Bellevue Socialite

    Vertigo was the place when it first opened. I was very exited for it and thought it would do very well. It was just that type of place where you wanted to really dress up for to feel great, mingle with peeps and get a little dance in. You know?! I had fun the last time I went in ’08 and was planning on going there tonight for a Bday.. So sad

  26. soooo glad this place is closed!!! keep the trash out of Bellevue!!!! I didnt feel safe walking dog anymore..

  27. Good riddance to that place, not because of the type of place it was but because of the type of people it attracted. Did Vertigo advertise exclusively in Renton and Tacoma? It sure seemed that way. I live in that neighborhood and having to listen to drunk frat boys and their even drunker hoochies yell under my window every weekend got old really fast. I witnessed probably 3 or 4 fights (cops were called each time) in the span of a year.

    Sure, have a nightclub in Bellevue, by all means, but as owner you might want to advertise to a better clientelle if you want to avoid having your place shutdown by authorities. Keep the riff-raff out and all will be good.