"It's PROCTOR. It's literally located next to a toy store." That's how one commenter answered this summer's news that Narrows Brewing On Proctor would start letting kids in, according to The News Tribune.
Letting kids in at Narrows took a license change. In Washington, a place that wants to serve beer to a table with kids at it generally has to qualify as a restaurant, and that means serving full meals. That one requirement goes a long way toward explaining Proctor's all-ages pint options heading into the holidays. In 2026 the district lost two kitchens and gained two all-ages pubs that serve food. One is a taproom that changed its license to admit minors. The other is a pub that was planned as family-friendly from the start.
The pizza at Narrows came with the license
Parker and Lauren Rush, who own Narrows Brewing, took over the former Viva space at 2620 N. Proctor St. in May 2025 and opened the taproom that July. That was a very fast turnaround for a full remodel. To open that quickly, they used a tavern license tied to their existing brewery license. It let them pour everything they wanted, but no one under 21 could come in.
According to Lauren Rush, the 21-and-up policy was never the plan. "We had actually wanted to make the Proctor taproom family-friendly from the beginning," she told TNT Diner. "As you guessed, changing the license was a process, and part of that meant adding food to our menu. Since we needed to offer food to welcome all ages, we thought pizza was the perfect fit."
Their answer was a fluffy Sicilian-style square pie, cut into eight squares and priced at $22. It comes in four versions: four-cheese, pepperoni, a margherita with cherry tomatoes, and a roasted vegetable pie with artichokes, mushrooms, red peppers and cherry tomatoes. A back patio with picnic tables was added at the same time. Minors have been welcome since July 1, 2026.
The pizza is what made the all-ages license possible. Under the state rule on restaurant licenses, a business has to offer a certain number of "complete meals," each made up of an entree and at least one side dish. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board offers many license types and endorsements. Under most of them, a taproom pouring beer brewed somewhere else stays 21-and-up.
The same company runs two kinds of rooms. Narrows' flagship taproom at Narrows Marina, where all the beer is brewed at 9007 S. 19th St., stays 21-and-up. The owners confirmed that even as the Proctor taproom opened to all ages.
Who can come in, and why
Each Proctor pub's door policy traces back to how it is licensed and fed.
| Spot | Address | Who's welcome | What it rests on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrows Brewing On Proctor | 2620 N. Proctor St. | All ages since July 1, 2026 | In-house pizza kitchen that meets the complete-meal rule |
| Narrows Brewing waterfront taproom | Narrows Marina | 21 and up | Owners' choice for the flagship, which hosts weddings and private events |
| Peaks & Pints | Proctor District | 21 and up | Described by The News Tribune as Proctor's adults-only beer bar |
| The Snug Family Pub | 2717 N. Proctor St. | Built as a family-friendly pub | Restaurant and bar in a fully rebuilt building |
Breweries in Pierce County don't all handle this the same way. A brewery can meet the food requirement by bringing in an outside operator, as long as the arrangement is permanent. TNT Diner pointed to 7 Seas in Gig Harbor, where The Galley, a permanent food trailer from the owners of Millville Pizza Co., covers the food. At 7 Seas in Tacoma, The Canteen by Camp Colvos runs the on-site kitchen. Narrows chose to run its own kitchen in Proctor. Whether the food comes from an in-house kitchen, a trailer or an outside operator, the meals have to be in place before minors can come in.
Before the change, The News Tribune described casual places for families in Proctor that aren't full-fledged restaurants as "basically null."
The Snug started with the building
The Snug Family Pub at 2717 N. Proctor St. took the opposite path from Narrows. Narrows opened fast and changed its license later. The Evans family spent about two years rebuilding a property that has been in the family for decades. Paul Evans formally took ownership from his mother, Ann Evans, in November 2025, The News Tribune reported.
The building went up in 1975 and has more than 3,300 square feet over two floors. Several restaurants have come and gone upstairs since the 1990s. The most recent was Crudo & Cotto, and Tuladhara Yoga ran a studio on the first floor for ten years before moving to 3519 6th Ave. The Evanses started out planning to update the second floor. After the deck came down, they found that bringing the upper story up to current city and health codes didn't fit what they wanted, so they rebuilt the whole building.
"Every restaurant that has occupied the space has really struggled to survive," Andrea Evans told TNT Diner in December 2024, as The News Tribune recounted this fall. "It doesn't lack for foot traffic, but it needed some redesigning … We're builders, so this is what we do."
The pub draws on Paul Evans' Irish roots and on Proctor itself. His father, Bill Evans, had a lasting impact on the city and especially on the Proctor neighborhood. In Ireland, a "snug" was a small, closed-off corner of a pub where people who wanted privacy could have a drink. Tacoma Weekly reported that the Evanses want the whole pub to feel that way, a place for individuals, friends and families to eat and drink together.
The Snug held its soft opening Sept. 22 through 24, open 3 to 8 p.m. and taking reservations through Toast. Its address is on the same block as Knapp's, at 2707 N. Proctor St.
Two kitchens closed in 2026
Since spring, Proctor has lost two places that served kids alongside adults.
Knapp's Restaurant and Lounge at 2707 N. Proctor St. closed in June after nearly 90 years. It opened in 1938 as a delicatessen and added its bar in 1969. It served breakfast, lunch and dinner, with steak and eggs, burgers and meatloaf alongside beer, wine and cocktails, The News Tribune reported.
Fondi Pizzeria at 2515–2517 N. Proctor St. served its last night on Oct. 3, about 18 months after opening in April 2025. "Unfortunately, the fresh, made-from-scratch ingredients that go into all of our products are both expensive and labor-intensive, and we have not been able to achieve the financial profitability necessary to continue operating the Proctor location," read a message on Fondi's website, as The News Tribune reported. The original Gig Harbor location is still open, and Proctor gift cards and loyalty points can be used there.
Fondi's message points to the cost of running a scratch kitchen. Running a kitchen is also what lets Narrows and The Snug welcome every age. Narrows needed the meals to change its license. The Snug opened with its kitchen built in from the first day.
Proctor's holiday calendar, with dinner in mind
Several of Proctor's holiday events this season are in the evening, so dinner at an all-ages spot fits easily around them.
- Saturday morning at the market. The Proctor Farmers' Market runs at N. 27th and N. Proctor streets on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Dec. 19. After that, winter markets run 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 9 and 23, Feb. 13 and 27, and March 13 and 27, 2027.
- An evening of shopping on Nov. 21. Compass Rose at 3815 N. 26th St. holds its Holiday Open House from 5 to 8 p.m., according to the Proctor District calendar.
- Holiday movies at the Blue Mouse. The Blue Mouse Theatre is showing "Home Alone 2" on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m., "Die Hard" on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., and "It's a Wonderful Life" on Dec. 10 at 3:45 and 7 p.m. Its Friday Night Frights series shows "The Shining" at 10 p.m. on Dec. 18.
- Dinner before the movie. In July, TNT Diner listed Narrows' Proctor hours as noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. On those hours, there's enough time for square pizza and a pint before a 7 p.m. showing. The Narrows On Proctor page has the brewery's current schedule.
The Rushes looked at buildings in Seattle, Eatonville and Gig Harbor before choosing Proctor. "We kept coming back to Proctor, and we loved the neighborhood," Lauren Rush told Tacoma Weekly in August. Once they decided the Proctor taproom should welcome kids, the next step was adding a kitchen.
I keep track of which Proctor spots are all-ages, which closed this year and which are new, because that's the kind of detail people ask about on a North End tour. If you'd like that kind of street-level read before a move to or within the North End, Catt Johnson is glad to go over it with you. Book a Call.
