For Bryan Ruttkay, the idea behind The Rec Room goes back to the gathering places he remembers from growing up: the basement or neighborhood rec room where kids and adults ended up together, with a game playing in the background.
Years later, while living in Ballard, he saw how neighborhood breweries could become gathering places in their own right. That experience, combined with his memories of the rec rooms he grew up with, helped shape his plans for The Rec Room on Snoqualmie Ridge.
How the Rec Room Came to Be
After moving to Snoqualmie Ridge in 2020, Ruttkay started thinking about the kind of place that would make sense in the community.
Was there something you felt was missing locally that helped shape the idea?
Completely, and it became clear pretty quickly after we moved here. Snoqualmie Ridge is a genuinely great community, wonderful families, tons of kids and activities everywhere. Youth sports, rec leagues, you name it. But when the game ended, where did everyone go? There was no obvious answer to that. No place where the team could pile in after a win, where parents could stick around, have a drink, let the kids burn off some energy, and actually enjoy each other’s company for a while. You could go somewhere for dinner, but that is a different thing. I wanted a place with real activities, real energy, somewhere that gave people a reason to stay and kept everyone entertained. Somewhere you could walk in on a random Saturday and find half your neighborhood already there. That was the need I kept coming back to.
Did the simulator side come first, or did the broader idea of a place to gather come first?
The simulator came first, honestly. That was the original concept I was working through. But when 7727 became available, the scale of the space changed what we could do, and we shifted pretty quickly toward the bigger vision. The simulators are still central and a big part of what makes us different, but they became one element of something larger rather than the whole story.
What The Rec Room Is
Ruttkay describes The Rec Room as a “third place,” somewhere outside home and work where people can spend time with friends, family and neighbors. He compares the idea to Central Perk from Friends, where the same group naturally gathered, and to the neighborhood pubs and breweries that become part of people’s routines.
How did the food and drink side of the business come together?
Quality local food was the non-negotiable from the start. I did not want food that you tolerate because you are already there. I wanted food you would actually come for. That led us to partner with Treehouse Kitchen, and it has been a great fit. They bring a commitment to quality that matches what we were trying to build.
About 95 percent of what we serve is made to order in house but with recipes and some main ingredients all curated from Treehouse Kitchen. Treehouse Kitchen also offers some grab-and-go items for when people are on the move. The menu is intentionally designed to be quick, consistent, and repeatable. We may not have the longest list of options, but what we do we do well every single time. That consistency matters a lot to us.
The drink menu also has a local focus. The Rec Room plans to keep several taps dedicated to Seattle-area breweries while also bringing in beer from Snoqualmie Valley breweries. Julie Thomas of Books and Bottles in downtown Snoqualmie helped select the wine and sparkling wine offerings, including some bottles customers may already recognize from the shop. The Rec Room is starting with canned cocktails and is also working toward offering bourbon by the glass and a range of vodka drinks.
Beyond the food and drinks, the simulators are another major part of The Rec Room.
The simulators include more than golf, with baseball, soccer, football and other games. Was it important to make the space work for people who aren’t golfers too?
Absolutely. Golf was never really the point. The point is an experience that is accessible and genuinely fun for everyone in the room, whether that is a ten-year-old who wants to play baseball or a group of coworkers who have never picked up a golf club in their lives. The simulator gives people something to do together. It creates energy. The more games we can offer, the more people feel like there is something for them. If we had only offered golf, we would have cut out half our audience before they even walked in.
What’s Next for The Rec Room
With The Rec Room now open, Ruttkay said he hopes it becomes a regular part of the neighborhood and a place local families and groups return to often.
The website mentions watch parties, private events and fundraisers. What role do you want those kinds of events to play at The Rec Room?
Events are how a place becomes a community institution rather than just another business on the block. When you are the spot that hosts the local fundraiser, or where families watch the Seahawks together every Sunday, or where companies bring their teams for a night out, you stop being a venue and start being a landmark. That is the long game for us. Every watch party, every private booking, every community night is us putting down deeper roots. I want The Rec Room to be the place people think of first when they are trying to bring a group together. We have already had several events in the space. The energy has been fantastic. We recognized that the tall ceilings and industrial design led to very loud space, however. We want everyone to have fun but be comfortable. So, we invested in sound dampening panels to make sure everyone has a great experience. We have a commitment to our community and focusing on the full experience is very important.
The Rec Room is open Thursday-Friday 11-9pm, Saturday-Sunday 10-9pm, Monday 3-9pm. The space includes two outdoor patios and Wi-Fi, while the menu includes quesadillas, Cuban sandwiches and pizza, with weekend breakfast sandwiches and mimosas also planned.
