SEATTLE — Pamela Jacob has spent nearly two decades feeding Seattle from her Caribbean restaurant, but the 68-year-old owner of Pam’s Kitchen now faces an uncertain future as plummeting sales and soaring operating costs push her business to the brink.
“This was supposed to be my retirement,” Jacob said. “I want to save this restaurant, because if I don’t, I have nothing coming. I’m a 68-year-old woman. I give all of myself to this restaurant, everything.”
Jacob built Pam’s Kitchen in the Wallingford neighborhood as a destination for Caribbean cuisine and culture in Seattle. For much of that time, the crowds came reliably. But 2022 marked a painful turning point…