By Tim Clifford

Sad news arrived in the form of “permanently closed” signs adorning the windows of Zoopa Organics in Tukwila earlier this week. The restaurant, located at 393 Strander Blvd. across from the Westfield Southcenter Mall, was one of the first, and still one of the few, all-you-can-eat buffets to offer mostly organic ingredients.

“In the 18 months since we took over Zoopa we have made significant progress and learned more than we knew we needed to. But, the landlord has other plans. Restaurants are a risk for landlords and one they are not willing to shoulder given the looming threat of forced wage increases which render restaurants unprofitable,” wrote the owners on their website, eatzoopa.com, of the closing.

According to the owners the closing was unexpected and the decision by the landlord came last weekend.

Zoopa was previously operated by a California company called Fresh Choice which shut down the franchise in 2012. Local entrepreneur Jerrod Sessler, a former NASCAR driver in the Northwest Series and a Stage IV Melanoma cancer survivor, bought the franchise and reopened it in January of 2014 as Zoopa Organics.

The focus became serving as much food sourced from local organic ingredients as possible and charging customers a buffet price. For around $13.69 customers could enjoy as much of the buffet line as they wished and take a cup of Full Tilt ice cream. Along with organic fruits and vegetables the buffet also offered pizza, pasta, mashed potatoes, and an array of soups.

Sessler’s brand Home Task forged partnerships with local organic companies such as Freggies, Full Tilt Ice Cream, and the Seattle Bagel Bakery to stock Zoopa Organics.

“In the future we will be opening another location under a different brand name, but with the same healthy vision that Zoopa had,” the site promises.