Cruise ships started arriving on the Seattle waterfront earlier this month. That means many local businesses, including restaurants and retailers, are off cruise control and kicking it into high gear to prepare for the influx of visitors. Port of Seattle Commission President Toshiko Hasegawa says the cruise ship industry contributes more than $900 million to the local economy and supports more than 5,500 jobs. Cruise ships will stop nearly 300 times during this year’s tourist season, bringing in 1.9 million visitors to the region.

“I would say that that by and large for the most part we hear a lot about people who are looking forward to the season because the economic benefit that it does bring,” Hasegawa says. “Folks at the Pike Place Market, for example, or in the CID (Chinatown International District), they’re depending on this surge. It brings foot traffic. It brings people who are willing to spend some money into the local economy.”

Hasegawa said, on average, each cruise ship guest spends $218 while docking in Seattle. Each family or party spends an average of $569.

Michela Tartaglia, chef and owner of Pasta Casalinga in the Pike Place Market, anticipates the largest bump in tourism business starting in June. She is in high gear year-round, retaining a full-time staff of 12 all year long rather than staffing up with seasonal employees during the spring and summer.

Tartaglia, who was born and raised in Piedmont, Italy, says that locals and regulars make up about 60% of her business. She also prioritizes sourcing ingredients from Pike Place Market merchants.

Pasta Casalinga is just one of the many restaurants anticipating a summer bump in business. Here are many others:

• 84 Yesler, nestled off Post Alley, opened in the throes of the pandemic. Not only has it survived, it has thrived under the leadership of owner Susumu Takahashi, and chef and general manager Christina Siegl. 84 Yesler is the cashmere sweater of restaurants; luxurious, comforting and versatile.
• Pizza is what initially drew throngs of hungry diners toPost Alley Pizza. Don’t sleep on the rotating selection of fat hoagies, packed with thinly sliced cold cuts in addition to the hot sandwiches on special.
• Entry to the Seattle Opera or Pacific Northwest Ballet is not required to dine at Prelude at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center on performance nights. General Manager Tony Bock, a veteran of New York and Seattle restaurants, has curated a thoughtful wine list to pair with specialties such as short rib onion soup, sea scallops and shrimp served over creamy polenta, and mushroom, sweet potato and asparagus tempura.
• Here Today Brewery & Kitchen set up shop by the Alaskan Way train tracks in 2022 to what amounts to the end of the downtown line. “The cruise ships are a big boon to our business in the summer,” CEO and Manager Chris Elford says. “We are often the very first or very last restaurant folks visit in their Seattle excursion.”
• Don & Joe Meats has been operating in the Pike Place Market for nearly 120 years, and was recently bought by Barnaby Dorfsman, Jon Kiehnau, and Ben Frey. Tucked away behind the butcher counter on opposite sides are Pike Place Market institutions Maximilienand Place Pigalle. Both feature spectacular views of Elliott Bay and specialize in French fare. Each is unique, however.
• Sporting an America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation, Oriental Mart has been churning Filipino classics such as adobo and sinigang (sour soup). Leila Rosas holds court in the 10-seat lunch counter inside the Sanitary Market and away from the bustling pedestrian traffic on Pike Street.
• La Fontana Siciliana — Italian for fountain — harkens to Old World public squares centered around towering fountains. The fountain and courtyard are intimate and romantic as is the inside of the restaurant. If the lobster ravioli in a rich cream sauce doesn’t satiate, finish with an affogato for dessert.
• The path to Zig Zag is well worn by congregates searching for cocktail Mecca. But don’t fast on the food. Braised pork cheeks over creamy polenta, as well as the Zig Zag Burger, are hearty specialties. For vegetarians, indulge in the nasturtium risotto.
• From Rachel the Piggy Bank take the stairs toward Zig Zag, where you will run into Brandi Sather and Randal Ventura’s Lonely Siren before you reach Western Avenue. Sather runs the front of the house. Ventura is the “Ace” in the kitchen. Generously seasoned Portuguese fare, generously priced wines and smart cocktails are the payoff at the end of this trail.
• In a lot of ways quintessential Seattle (it lies under the shadow of the Space Needle and the Seattle Center Monorail and mere yards from the Chief Seattle Fountain), Tilikum Place Cafe flies under the radar on the side street of Cedar between the major arterials of Fourth and Fifth Avenues. Reservations for the coveted brunch books weeks — sometimes months — in advance.
• Next to Tilikum Place Cafe, hidden behind a discreet storefront, Wa’z delivers Japanese “kaiseki” (tasting menus for $175) that rotate monthly and feature seasonal ingredients. It is the creation of Hiro Tawara, who trained at Shiro’s under Shiro Kashiba and at Sushi Kappo Tamura under Taichi Kitamura. Score a coveted seat at the counter surrounding the open kitchen and watch your dinner being made. It’s quite a show.
• It’s easy to miss Screwdriver Bar while walking along First Avenue. A single door is the only sign of this craft cocktail bar that doesn’t take itself too seriously. That door leads to a basement that is part den, part music venue, part rock n’ roll museum, and all whimsy all the time.
• Finally, Jazz Alley is well known to locals and music geeks. What many may not know is that veteran chef Alvin Binuya has elevated the traditional menu with precise execution. “I speak with (Jazz Alley founder) John Dimitriou on a daily basis, and most of our discussions are around the menu,” says Binjuya, a veteran of Seattle fine dining destinations such as The Hunt Club at The Sorrento, Ponti Seafood Grill and Axis. “We have a large percentage of repeat customers, along with a widely varied and diverse demographic, due to the wide range of music performances. We have to find a way to be in the ‘middle,’ in order to accommodate the majority.”

Give some of these places a try. It’s time to become a tourist in your own backyard.