A Japanese-fusion restaurant is set to make its debut in Tacoma.
Katsu Burger, billed as the “Home of the Original Deep-Fried Goodness,” will open at 2805 6th Ave., taking over the former space of The Redd Dog, operations director Christopher Poetter confirmed to What Now Seattle.
“It’s right in the heart of Tacoma. It’s between Pacific Lutheran University and Puget Sound University. It’s got a great night life scene. We’re right next door to a local concert venue called Jazz Bones.” Poetter said.
He continued, “We’re excited to be there. You can’t get a deep-fried burger anywhere except for out here in Washington. Katsu Burgers is very unique to Washington, and it’s primarily a Seattle thing, but we’re really excited to bring that experience to Tacoma. We love our food. We love our vibe.”
This will be Katsu Burger’s ninth location in Washington, joining outposts in Seattle, Bellevue, Lynnwood, Federal Way, Kent, Lake Stevens and Lacey. The chain also has a location in Santa Clara, California.
The new Tacoma location will follow the model of the other Washington spots, but the team plans to add a touch of “Grit City” to this Katsu Burger.
They will also add teaching opportunities inside the burger joint.
“We’re going to have Bonsai classes, just try to engage the community more. We have some really fun ideas on how we’re going to do that. We’re going to have Bonsai trees for sale. That’s what’s also going to be a little bit different about this location.”
The restaurant has earned numerous accolades and has been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food.
Katsu’s menu features burgers like the “Tokyo Classic,” made with natural beef katsu, Tonkatsu sauce and Japanese mayo, and the “Godzilla Attack,” topped with 12 Spice, jalapeño, pepper jack cheese, Tonkatsu sauce and spicy mayo.
The restaurant also offers “mega burgers,” including the “Mt. Fuji,” stacked with crispy natural beef katsu, chicken katsu, pork katsu, egg, bacon, cheddar, American cheese, pepper jack, wasabi mayo, spicy mayo and Tonkatsu sauce.
To complement its burgers, Katsu offers sea salt fries, Nori fries roasted with seaweed flakes, curry fries and 12 Spice fries, along with banzai bites, korokke, seaweed salad and wasabi coleslaw.
“We grind our meat fresh in-house. Everything is processed in our kitchen–hand trim our pork and chicken, make our sauce from scratch. We put a lot of work into every burger. We’ll get beef shoulder, and we double grind it, season it, form it into patties, make tempura, batter it, and bread crumb it, and then fry it,” he said.
While an official opening date hasn’t been announced, the team responded to the Feb. 13 Facebook post stating they are “trying to open ASAP” and “got the keys Monday.”
Before opening, Poetter said they still need to hire staff and secure kitchen equipment and permits.
Visit the Katsu Burger website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
[Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include an official interview with Christopher Poetter]
