"Dad, any other buyer that's gonna come in is gonna change the name, but if you sell the store to me, I contractually will commit to keeping it Walt's as long as I live." Tyler Hannon told the Bainbridge Island Review that this is what he said to his father. Walt Hannon had been weighing a sale to someone outside the family.
Similar promises come with other changes around the island this fall. Since September, several familiar businesses have changed owners, closed, or added a store, and the new owners keep saying the same thing: the place you know will still be there. The changes they do plan are small, and they're happening behind the counter. The one long-running restaurant in this group that didn't change hands has closed, and no new tenant has been announced for its space.
This Fall's Changes at a Glance
| Business | Where | What's happening | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walt's Lynwood Market | 4759 Lynwood Center Road NE | Moving from Walt and Jan Hannon to Tyler and Alexandra Hannon | Expected to finalize within a few months, with a grand reopening next spring |
| Bene Pizza | 937 Hildebrand Ln #104 | Maureen Gilbert took over from Drew and Jillian Bateman and brought back dine-in | Since Sept. 1 |
| Thuy's Phó House | 120 Madrone Ln N | Closed after almost two decades | Sept. 8 |
| Pickleball Life | Downtown Winslow, next door to Island Life | A new shop growing out of an existing one | Opens Thursday, Oct. 29 |
At Lynwood Center, the Name Is Part of the Deal
Walt Hannon has owned the market since 1992, which makes 34 years this fall. Before that he worked there for 15 years under the previous owner, starting in 1977 as a high school student. In the Review's account, Lynwood Center's history goes back further than his. Edne and Emanuel Olson, who lived on the south end, founded Lynwood Center in the 1930s, and a market has been at the historic location since the 1950s, if not earlier. The store's name has changed several times over the years.
That history is why Tyler's offer carried weight. The market had already been renamed more than once, and a buyer from outside the family would likely have renamed it again. Tyler told the Review he couldn't picture "what Lynwood Center would look like if Walt's wasn't there," so he wrote the name into the deal.
The changes he describes are mostly behind the counter:
- A new point-of-sale system and better discounts
- Relationships with island farms "so that we can source truly local"
- Possible later additions, such as an expanded deli and hot food section or a seasonal section
The pinball machines and arcade games, in the store since the early 1990s, are staying. Tyler called them part of the "quirky aspect that makes it fun for kids and families to go in and get that staple that they need at that right time." The market's own website lists organic groceries, fresh deli items, prepared foods, and a large beer and wine selection, and Tyler told the Review he plans to maintain the market's status quo while giving it a refresh.
The Hannons expect the transfer to finalize within the next few months, then plan updates before a grand reopening under the new ownership next spring. The Review story doesn't say whether the store will stay open the whole time, so the market itself is the best place to ask before planning a south-end stop around it.
Walt told the Review it was "just time," and that the store "needs some fresh energy to take it to the next level." On the island this fall, fresh energy means a new register and local produce. The sign stays the same.
At Bene Pizza, the Big Change Was Bringing Something Back
Maureen Gilbert took over Bene Pizza on Sept. 1 from Drew and Jillian Bateman, who had run it for seven years. Bene had been takeout-only since the pandemic began in 2020, and her most visible change so far has been reopening the dining room.
She told the Bainbridge Island Review how she thinks about the job:
"I loved the idea of bringing back the old spirit of the place. I love coming in and taking something well-loved and breathing life back into it. But also, part of my philosophy is you don't go in and start changing everything about a beloved institution."
Walt's and Bene came to the same approach separately. Both new owners treat the business as something the island already depends on. Each is adding one new thing on top of what customers know. At Walt's, that's local sourcing. At Bene, it's a pizza designed by the staff.
Gilbert has four Bainbridge High School class of 2027 students working at the restaurant, and they created a menu item called "The Spartan." She plans to repeat it every year, so each graduating class of employees adds its own pizza to the menu. She has also floated an idea from her Philadelphia upbringing. She told the Review there's no pizza place in Philly without good cheesesteaks, and that you can't find one on the island. For now it's an idea, and the cheesesteak isn't on the menu.
Google Maps lists Bene at 937 Hildebrand Ln #104, open 3:30 to 8 p.m. daily. Hours are often the first thing a new owner adjusts, so check them before you go.
Thuy's Phó House Closed After Almost Two Decades
Thuy's Phó House closed on Sept. 8, after almost two decades of serving the island.
The Bainbridge Island Review traced owner Thuy Nguyen's moves around the island. She opened her cafe in the Bainbridge Pavilion in 2008, ran Roosters next, and finally opened Thuy's in downtown Winslow. Her family visited the island in 2000 and moved here the following year. All five of her children worked in the business, graduated from Bainbridge High School, and now have careers of their own. The restaurant was a family operation for its whole run. Nguyen told the Review she plans to spend her time with her growing family.
Avery Pujolar, who has worked at Thuy's since 2023, told the Review: "We will all miss her restaurant, and the island will miss her wonderful food. Hopefully we can all learn the secrets of her broth recipe."
Google Maps now marks 120 Madrone Ln N as permanently closed. Neither the Review's closure story nor that listing names anyone moving into the space. Walt's had a son ready to step in, and Bene had a buyer looking for "a community-based business on Bainbridge Island." For the Madrone Lane space, nothing new has been announced yet.
A New Shop That Grew Out of the One Next Door
Pickleball Life, opening later this month, follows the same pattern. It started as a product line inside Island Life, the store next door.
According to the Island Wanderer, artist and designer Alex Sanso opened Island Life Artisan Gifts as a shop built around Bainbridge Island. A few months later she made a T-shirt marking the island as the birthplace of pickleball, and it sold right away. More designs followed, many in the mid-1960s style of the years when the game was invented.
Eventually she heard customers telling friends on the phone, "I'm at the pickleball store." When the space next door opened up, she said she thought, "If there's any time to give this a try, it is now."
Pickleball Life opens Thursday, Oct. 29, in downtown Winslow, next door to Island Life. The Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce plans a ribbon cutting at about 4 p.m. that day. The opening has been announced but hasn't happened yet. Sanso says the history is what customers respond to: "Once they find out that they are indeed where it all began, the history and legacy of the sport really matters to them."
The Dates Between Now and Spring
Here's what's ahead, in order:
- Thursday, Oct. 29: Pickleball Life opens in Winslow, with the Chamber ribbon cutting around 4 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 6, 6 to 8 p.m.: The Bainbridge Island Downtown Association's First Friday Art Walk, with participating downtown galleries, shops, exhibits, and refreshments. It's the first art walk with the new shop open.
- Within the next few months: The Walt's Lynwood Market ownership transfer is expected to finalize.
- Next spring: Grand reopening at Walt's under Tyler and Alexandra Hannon.
Meanwhile, Bene has its dining room open again, and the space at 120 Madrone Ln N is empty with no announced tenant.
At Scott Ahern, we pay attention to who's running the island's shops and restaurants, because those places shape everyday life here as much as any house does. If you're curious how ownership changes in Winslow or at Lynwood Center fit into the bigger picture of island life, we're glad to talk it through over coffee. Book an Appointment whenever it suits you.
