#2HoursinSLU – Lunchbox Laboratory

Mark Durfor, General Manager, Lunchbox Laboratory SLU

Nobody does the 2-hour lunch rush quite like Lunchbox Laboratory. From the Kool-Aid and Tang on the drinks menu and the fully-loaded burgers, to the upstairs Rumpus Room, Lunchbox Laboratory provides an “unapologetically fun” lunch environment for the thousands of people, both workers and residents, who lunch in SLU.

Mark Durfor, general manager of Lunchbox Laboratory in SLU, says the restaurant serves 200 people or more during a lunch time that’s anything but typical. That’s a lot of towering burgers, heaps of fries and deluxe shakes.

“It all comes together to provide a full, fun, delicious experience,” Mark said.

The restaurant does brisk business at dinnertime, too, and Mark, completing his first month on the job, has had less time than he’d like to explore all of what SLU has to offer. But he recognizes the booming expansion in what is the fastest growing neighborhood in Seattle.

 “I think I pass a dozen construction sites on the way in every morning,” he said.

He sees an opportunity in all of those cranes to greet new neighbors, make connections and forge new partnerships. And while SLU is growing rapidly, it hasn’t lost its identity.

“It still has that local feel,” Mark said. From classic eateries like 13 Coins and Paddy Coyne’s Irish Pub to pioneering biotech organizations like Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the neighborhood is home to many Seattle institutions. The Ivan Salverry Mixed Martial Arts gym is the latest place to catch his eye – it could be his next workout spot.

“Here it’s all local – it’s a unique neighborhood in Seattle.”

We couldn’t agree more.