Another victim in the relentless generic apartment building boom currently taking place in Seattle. 
Upsetting, indeed. Sucks to lose any place that calls itself a pinball bar. Especially one with one of the longest standing annuals in the world.
That said, as a Seattle resident, shortys was very nearly last on my list of places to frequent. Pretty awful service there (beyond your average dive bar, bad) and games that werenât usually in the kind of condition that you would expect from an âinstitutionâ.
Iâve seen a couple comments saying Shortyâs will move if this happens, since itâs still popular enough to be a viable business. I guess it wouldnât be the same, but still would survive ⌠and maybe even improve! 
I hope it simply gets moved rather than terminated. I guess that all depends on how well Shortyâs was doing before they had to get out of there.
A dive bar yes, and I agree that the service can be slow, but other than Surf Champ - their former lone EM game for years - Iâve found their games to be maintained pretty well overall. And how many places get EVERY single new LE model Stern as they become available (plus a WOZ and the upcoming Hobbit and Big Lebowski)? On top of this, Shortyâs is very convenient for me, as someone who works in the Belltown area, to pop over at lunch for some pin action or to swing by after work before catching a ferry home.
Hereâs hoping that they can stick around and find a new location in the same area!
Per Facebook, as @bkerins mentioned (the poster of this comment is identified as the manager):
A couple of things: a) the deal hasnât gone through yet. The Wayne Apartments (Lava, Roccoâs, etc) are applying for historic protection status, if they get it the deal is off. B) Shortys has several years left on our lease and is not going anywhere short term. C) in the (somewhat likely) event that we do eventually have to move, the owner intends to relocate the bar to a different location. So none of this business journal shit is good news, but I wouldnât say the sky is falling just yet.
[quote=âTunaDelight, post:5, topic:853, full:trueâ] And how many places get EVERY single new LE model Stern as they become available (plus a WOZ and the upcoming Hobbit and Big Lebowski)?
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While itâs not around Seattle, this seems to be the pattern at Casa de Carlos in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles (with WWE Wrestlemania being the exception, for some reason).
A hearing has been scheduled for October 7th (I think) with regards to making that row of buildings a historic landmark, which would block permits to raze it. It is apparently one of the only building with original architecture that defined the Belltown area decades ago. Several people in the local pinball community are helping lead the effort to make the case at that hearing.
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Good luck! Iâve been wanting to visit Shortyâs and Seattle for a while now. Hope they stay around for years to come!