TV Restaurants

Is Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill Still Open? Update (Auburn, WA)

Open verified

As of September 2026, Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 7, 2026.

Primary source
spunkymonkeybarandgrill.com ·
Secondary source
Tripadvisor ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The restaurant's own website currently lists its address, phone number, hours, and links to active Facebook/Instagram/X accounts; Tripadvisor listing shows continued customer review activity. No evidence of closure, rename, or ownership change found in any source reviewed.

  • Season / episode Season 7, Episode 11
  • Original air date
  • Address 124 2nd St SE, Auburn, WA 98002

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) visited Auburn, Washington, for "Monkey Business," season 7 episode 11, which aired January 15, 2014, focused on Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill at 124 2nd Street SE. The restaurant was owned by Donel Brinkman, who according to the episode's own framing had run Spunky Monkey for sixteen years, and chef Robert Irvine used the standard two-day renovation to rework the bar-and-grill menu, streamline kitchen operations, and refresh the dining room for a business that also hosted nightly karaoke and functioned as a neighborhood gathering spot in downtown Auburn, south of Seattle, drawing a regular local crowd.

Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill continues to operate at the same 2nd Street SE address. The restaurant's own website, spunkymonkeybarandgrill.com, currently lists the address, phone number, and hours of operation, Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. and weekends from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m., and links to active Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) accounts for the business. Reality TV Revisited's account of the restaurant's history describes a mostly positive customer response after the renovation, noting that the business narrowed its menu at one point to help keep food quality consistent with a smaller kitchen staff, a change that mirrored adjustments other renovated restaurants on the show made after their episodes aired for viewers at home.

Between the restaurant's own current website, its active social media accounts, and third-party listings such as Tripadvisor showing continued customer activity, Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill's ongoing operation is supported by more than one independent, dated source found during this research pass. No indication of a name change, ownership change, or closure was found in any source reviewed for this record, and the business appears to remain a long-running fixture of its downtown Auburn block more than a decade after its Restaurant: Impossible appearance.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 7, Episode 11
Original air date
Episode title
Monkey Business
What was featured
menu and kitchen renovation of Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill

Frequently asked questions

Is Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 7, 2026.

What happened to Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill after Restaurant: Impossible?

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) visited Auburn, Washington, for "Monkey Business," season 7 episode 11, which aired January 15, 2014, focused on Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill at 124 2nd Street SE. As of September 2026, Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 7, 2026.

Where is Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill located?

124 2nd St SE, Auburn, WA 98002. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant: Impossible featured Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill?

Season 7, Episode 11 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired January 15, 2014. The episode is titled “Monkey Business”.

Did the makeover last at Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill?

The episode first aired January 15, 2014. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 12 years later —: As of September 2026, Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 7, 2026.

What do reviews say since Restaurant: Impossible?

No indication of a name change, ownership change, or closure was found in any source reviewed for this record, and the business appears to remain a long-running fixture of its downtown Auburn block more than a decade after its Restaurant: Impossible appearance. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is Spunky Monkey Bar & Grill still using the Restaurant: Impossible menu or branding?

The restaurant was owned by Donel Brinkman, who according to the episode's own framing had run Spunky Monkey for sixteen years, and chef Robert Irvine used the standard two-day renovation to rework the bar-and-grill menu, streamline kitchen operations, and refresh the dining room for a business that also hosted nightly karaoke and functioned as a neighborhood gathering spot in downtown Auburn, south of Seattle, drawing a regular local crowd. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
124 2nd St SE, Auburn, WA 98002
Venue type
bar

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • spunkymonkeybarandgrill.com — https://www.spunkymonkeybarandgrill.com/
  • realitytvrevisited.com — https://www.realitytvrevisited.com/2021/07/restaurant-impossible-spunky-monkey-bar-and-grill.html
  • Tripadvisor — https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g30274-d464086-Reviews-Spunky_Monkey_Bar_Grill-Auburn_Washington.html

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