A Famous Chef Now Offers Roman-Style Pizza at the Amazon Spheres

Renee Erickson's newly established Italian restaurant, Willmott's Ghost, is expected to be bustling.

Photo: Aaron Leitz

Renee Erickson and her Sea Creatures restaurant company inaugurated their newest establishment, Willmott’s Ghost, within the Amazon Spheres this morning. The all-day café integrates several Italian traditions, featuring food from diverse areas, including pastries, Roman-style pizza, apertivi, and supper. This is an exhilarating enhancement to Sea Creatures' robust network of restaurants, which features acclaimed establishments such as Bateau, the Whale Wins, and the Walrus and the Carpenter.

In terms of design, Willmott’s Ghost (2100 6th Ave) serves as a vibrant contrast to Erickson’s Deep Dive, her theatrical, darkly illuminated bar located within the Spheres. Willmott’s Ghost employs a mint, pink, and gold color scheme, with ample natural light streaming in through the building’s glass-and-steel exoskeleton. Additionally, there is a seasonal garden patio that accommodates 28 patrons.

Chef Renee Erickson

Willmott’s Ghost represents the chef’s inaugural comprehensive venture into Italian cuisine, seeming as a logical progression from Barnacle, her modest Italian aperitivo bar adjacent to the esteemed Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard. Erickson pursued her studies in Rome during college and has stated that she derives inspiration from the nation where her passion for cuisine originated.

The menu comprises traditional Italian dishes, with hand-pulled mozzarella, arancini (fried rice balls), fire-roasted vegetables, steaks, and Roman-style pizza available by the slice for takeout. Happy hour will occur from Monday to Saturday, 4 to 6 p.m., including Erickson’s interpretation of aperitivi, Italy’s custom of afternoon nibbles, including fried morsels and cured meats, complemented by spritzes and negronis. Erickson enlisted Ben Campbell of Ben’s Bread to produce the pizza dough, croissants, and focaccia.

Patrons of Willmott’s Ghost can utilize complimentary parking during evenings and weekends, specifically when the offices are not operational, in the adjacent Doppler and Day 1 buildings owned by Amazon.

This recent opening concludes a significant 12-month period for Erickson and his team, who have also expanded General Porpoise Doughnuts to Los Angeles, acquired Westward, Great State Burger, and Saint Helens from Huxley Wallace Collective, and launched the employees-only Rana e Respo in the Spheres.