On Oct. 16, a Kitsap Sun photographer caught chef John Hall cutting steaks in the Restaurant Lola kitchen before dinner service. Those steaks helped make Lola the restaurant people drove in for from Bainbridge, Seattle and Gig Harbor. Lola is now in its final weeks. It closes after New Year's Eve, and in 2027 the same room at 722 Lebo Boulevard in Sheridan Plaza reopens as Reuben's.
The cause is local. Bremerton's own regulars didn't stop coming to Lola. They started coming less often and spending more per visit. Hall and his wife, Anna Bressi, decided they wanted their regulars back on a weekly schedule, so they are rebuilding the restaurant around that.
The numbers behind the decision
Hall and Bressi laid out the economics plainly to the Kitsap Sun, in a story republished by The News Tribune on Oct. 21, 2026. When Lola opened in 2023, the average bill was $52. This year it is $83. Over the same stretch, covers, the number of tables turned over, are down by 100 a month compared with a year ago. Revenue has stayed steady, which Bressi put down to fewer people paying more.
Regulars told the same story. According to the Sun, customers who used to keep a weekly standing reservation have moved to monthly ones, and everything else about a night out, like the babysitter and the gas, costs more too. Hall summed up where that left the restaurant in four words: "We're a luxury line item."
On paper, steady revenue looks fine. But a restaurant that earns the same money from fewer, bigger checks comes to depend on birthdays and anniversaries, and it sees its neighbors less and less. Being the splurge spot is an honor, the owners told the Sun, but it isn't what they came home to build. "Our north star in coming home was creating something that serves the community," Bressi said. "...we didn't open Lola to just be a destination."
The same article describes a client base running from Bainbridge to Seattle and Gig Harbor, along with requests to cater dinners at large homes on Hood Canal and beyond. Even with customers coming from that far, the owners describe their aim in neighborhood terms. "Our goal is to be the best neighborhood restaurant in the country," Bressi said.
What changes when the name does
The switch to Reuben's changes how the room works, along with the menu. As the owners described their plans to the Kitsap Sun:
| Restaurant Lola | Reuben's, planned for 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Pacific Northwest New American with Southern touches | Southern comfort food: fried chicken, ribs, meatloaf, shrimp and grits, mac and cheese, house rolls or cornbread |
| Service | Table service in a small dining room | Order at a counter, then sit at shared tables |
| Meals | Dinner | Expanded lunch hours added |
| Takeout | Not offered for the main menu | Offered |
| Typical spend | Average bill of $83 in 2026 | Target of about $30 for a meal and a drink |
| The feel, in Bressi's words | "Your rich aunt's house" | "Jovial" |
Counter ordering and shared tables turn the dining room over faster. Lunch adds a second time of day people can come in. Takeout reaches people who won't book a sit-down dinner on a Tuesday. And $30 is a dinner you might have every week. A plate built to be eaten in the dining room didn't travel well, which is why Lola skipped takeout for its main menu.
Hall also told the Sun he was aware of how Lola looked from the sidewalk. "People perceive us as being exclusive, and that perception can hinder folks coming through the door," he said. "And I wanted to be mindful of that."
The casual menu has already been tested
Reuben's isn't a leap into unfamiliar territory. Some of the comfort dishes it plans to serve have already appeared briefly on Lola's menu, according to the Sun. Lola's pop-up events, such as its Creole brunches, drew a wider crowd than the regular dinner menu did. "People have been telling us this is what they want," Hall said.
The food also follows Hall's own path. West Sound Magazine's November 2025 profile traces him from Birmingham, Alabama, through culinary school at Johnson & Wales and time at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Europe, to eight years in New York at Gramercy Tavern, Per Se and Momofuku. Before moving to Kitsap, where Bressi grew up, he ran an upscale pizza chain in Alabama. Lola showed the fine-dining training with Southern accents. Reuben's leads with the Southern side.
Both names come from Hall's family. Lola is named for his Aunt Lola, whose portrait hangs behind the bar. Reuben's honors his uncle and his grandfather, who share the name and both served in the military, his uncle in the Marines and his grandfather in the Army. Hall told the Sun that felt right in the Navy community where he is raising his family. Uncle Reuben also cooked professionally, and the new menu and dining room are meant to honor that.
Lola's final weeks
The owners planned a countdown to the Dec. 31 goodbye that began with a Halloween pop-up in late October. With Thanksgiving falling on Nov. 26 this year, here is what the Kitsap Sun reported is left on the calendar:
- The annual Thanksgiving takeout special. This is a Lola tradition. Ordering details are available from the restaurant directly.
- Holiday plans through December. The owners mentioned "other holiday plans" in the run-up to the final night.
- New Year's Eve, Dec. 31. Lola's last service under its own name.
If you've been saving a Lola dinner for a special occasion, the next eight weeks are the time to use it. The steaks are the dish people associate with Lola. A 2024 Seattle-area dining guide recommended the roasted oysters, the lamb ragu and the herb-crusted cod with grits. Hall said he'll still bring some items back at Reuben's now and then, steaks included, but Lola's full dinner menu ends with the year.
The people aren't going anywhere. According to the Sun, every staff member plans to stay through the transition, and the restaurant will likely hire more once the longer hours start in 2027. Hall and Bressi will also keep catering under the Lola name, so the private-dinner side of the business continues. After New Year's Eve there will be a break while the space is refreshed. The owners have said Reuben's opens in 2027.
Starting with Friday's art walk
Lola's last season overlaps with one of Bremerton's free monthly evenings out. The First Friday Art Walk runs Friday, Nov. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m., rain or shine. Its route covers downtown Bremerton, Charleston, Manette and Lebo, the area around Lola. The Downtown Bremerton Association's event listing has the details.
Later in the month, the association's Winter Fest is set for Saturday, Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Quincy Square on 4th Street. The posted schedule has Santa arriving at 5 p.m., the tree lighting at 5:30 and a band at 7. Voting in the new downtown holiday window-decorating contest runs from 9 a.m. on Nov. 24 until 4 p.m. on Nov. 28, and the winning business gets $500.
When Lola opened in 2023, it was the kind of restaurant you planned a special night around. Reuben's is meant to be one you stop into for lunch on an ordinary weekday. The address stays the same at 722 Lebo Boulevard, and so does the staff.
I've lived in Kitsap County my whole life, and changes along Lebo Boulevard are the kind of local news I like passing along to neighbors. If you're planning a last Lola dinner, ordering the Thanksgiving takeout, or just curious about what's changing in East Bremerton, I'd love to hear about it. Wendy Crenshaw is always happy to talk about this town. Let's Connect.
