BELLEVUE, Wash. — The restaurant football fans have been waiting for is now open in Bellevue.
Legion Sports Bar, owned by Legion of Boom members Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor, is located inside Lincoln Square North.
It features an elevated soul food menu, comfortable sports bar seating, and 25 big screen TV’s for watching the games.
They spent three years working on the project with restaurateur Leilani Wong.
"It's been a wild ride,” she said.
Chancellor added, "It's surreal, it's gratifying. Because you think about all the people that put their hands into getting this place looking how it is now. I think it's definitely gratifying to see it all come to life now and we're just ready for everyone to get a taste of it.”
The former football players aren’t just owners in name. They took a hands-on approach to the business.
"Everything in this restaurant, pretty much everything, was picked out by Kam and Leilani. They styled it, the decor, the lighting. Every piece of artwork in this place comes from Seattle, a locally-based artist,” Sherman said. "We're in this community. Everything in this restaurant means something to this community, to this city, to this state."
Wong added, "Kam was in here putting together tables. He hung every one of these TVs, I kid you not."
Sherman said the goal is to run the restaurant using the same principles and values he and Chancellor developed on the football field.
"It's brotherhood, it's camaraderie, it's overcoming adversity, it's accountability, it's humility, it's love and appreciation,” he said. "Gus Bradley, our old defensive coordinator, used to say, 'You have to have a genuine appreciation for everyone's contributions because only together will you get it done. And that applies to almost anything in life. If you want to get things done, you literally have to appreciate every level, every step of the journey, every person that's on the journey with you. And that's how we're going to treat our employees. We show a tremendous amount of appreciation for what they're doing because without them, none of this is possible."
For fans who wonder whether they’ll run into a Legion of Boom member at Legion Sports Bar, Chancellor said it’s possible.
"Very high chance, there's a very high chance,” he said. “But the thing is, you just have to spot us out like Waldo.”
Legion Sports Bar is currently in a soft opening with limited hours. The grand opening is Friday, Oct. 13. It’s located at 700 Bellevue Way NE.
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