Last Exit on Brooklyn

The Last Exit on Brooklyn was a Seattle University District coffeehouse established in 1967 by Irv Cisski. It is known for its part in the history of Seattle's counterculture, for its pioneering role in establishing Seattle's coffee culture, and as a former chess venue frequented by several master players.

The Last Exit on Brooklyn opened on June 30, 1967 at 3930 Brooklyn Avenue NE near the University of Washington campus in a small light-industrial building leased from the University. It was one of the pioneer espresso bars in Seattle, adding an espresso machine shortly after Café Allegro opened the first in 1975. The Last Exit was known for its original espresso concoction named the Caffè Medici – "a doppio poured over chocolate syrup and orange peel with whipped cream on top". Described in 1985 as "America's second oldest, continuously running coffeehouse", it was also known for its inexpensive food and as a venue for folk music and bohemian conversation.

The Last Exit was also notable as a popular destination for Seattle's amateur and professional Go and chess players including Peter Biyiasas,Viktors Pupols, and Yasser Seirawan, who wrote of the venue, "Those first chess lessons soon led me to the legendary Last Exit on Brooklyn coffee house, a chess haven where an unlikely bunch of unusual people congregates to do battle." Interviewed by Sports Illustrated in 1981, Seirawan described the Last Exit as "Scrabble players, backgammon players, chess and game hustling ... This became my home. This was to become my family."

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