Alderwood Meals: Elemental Pizza and BittyFish Sushi
How do shopping malls thrive in an era of change? Elevated dining may be the key.
For years, malls were shopping destinations that drew people from all over who would stay for hours, but their popularity slowly waned, with online shopping delivering a near-fatal blow. Faced with the option to evolve or remain empty, many malls reconfigured, bringing people in by moving rows of stores and restaurants to the perimeter, facing out. The huge fashion fortress is a relic and in its place, we get natural light and food options you can get to without having to make your way through the mall.
Long-time business partners and restaurateurs George Christothoulou and Steve Rosen are bringing their creative and successful restaurant Elemental Pizza to Alderwood's North end, where this updated mall concept is embraced. Appropriately, they're bucking current restaurant trends by opening a larger one in a time when smaller dining rooms are popular due to their availability and lower rents.
![](https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/pizza.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=39ed3564d2baa52c240eed54d8b21299 320w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/pizza.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=88a85caa90a260bc0a2a6dfde44c24e1 540w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/pizza.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=ca039ff332e8e6025a55891c9e72eaa5 768w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/pizza.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=32a04b5d3bc0183c22754db26e0a3157 1024w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/pizza.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=5ac20af4515182b34a8e857d9b8be2bf 1200w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/pizza.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=2fab0f6d1eac3f642986285a20b21ba7 1440w)
Christothoulou and Rosen also wanted to create their own style of pizza instead of joining the New York and Vera pizza trends. They wanted something firmer than New York to stand up to interesting toppings which can't be offered on a pizza and still called Vera, which is also served wetter than they like. With dough made from yeast-fermented for three days plus unique and high-quality ingredients, the Elemental pizza emerges from their blistering hot woodfire ovens crispy, chewy, and deliciously charred.
Maybe it's been a while since you went to the mall. Round out your next visit with a meal at BittyFish or Elemental Pizza and you may not wait as long before going again.
Customers can order from the specialty menu or get creative and build their own from the expected as well as unusual sauce, cheese, and toppings options. Elemental thrives on customer interaction and feedback, and they pay attention to what people order, so your creation could end up on the specialty menu one day.
Had pizza too many visits in a row? They also serve sandwiches, salads, pasta, and appetizers. Plus there's a kids' menu with a little of everything. Groups with no children will be able to choose seating in the lounge, which will surely be a hit among residents of the new residential buildings going up across the street. You read that correctly, Alderwood Mall is getting hundreds of apartments, bringing a completely new style of urban living to this changing area. There's already a Costco and the new Home Depot is nearly open.
![](https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/51371423590_3abda7d997_k.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=215f86eed3fecf4f8b267e5b92c9918e 320w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/51371423590_3abda7d997_k.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=fc83b81adeb092495bfca349886acca0 540w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/51371423590_3abda7d997_k.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=fdb82d007133845afe4df600df431068 768w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/51371423590_3abda7d997_k.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=cb4ff72ab1a22cd006287fbaa2fcaf3c 1024w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/51371423590_3abda7d997_k.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=255e378ec7bc666643443d97602aa486 1200w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/51371423590_3abda7d997_k.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=6dbfb0cbe8b2901c8b3b0d5e4295fb5a 1440w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/51371423590_3abda7d997_k.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=39f92c5bfebe05c110f4b5469b95e39b 1898w)
Elemental Pizza's opening soon, but even with no target date set yet, you're safe to stop by because Christothoulou and Rosen already have another restaurant open next door, BittyFish Sushi. It's a bright, family-friendly restaurant where you can quickly assemble a meal from small plates off their conveyor belt and an impressive selection of larger rolls and kitchen creations made to order. Unlike most restaurants with a conveyor belt, all the plates from theirs are one price ($3.50) and tracked with RFID technology so any which aren't eaten in a reasonable amount of time are removed.
But don't limit yourself to the belt at BittyFish, there's more to explore on the menu that's also reasonably-priced, and attentive servers stop by frequently in case you'd like something from it. They can even bring dessert, plus specialty cocktails made by a sophisticated machine hidden in the back. Whether you're grabbing a quick bite before a movie, catching up with friends, or fueling up for another hour of trying on clothes, you'll love BittyFish's fresh flavors and high-quality ingredients.
Maybe it's been a while since you went to the mall. Round out your next visit with a meal at BittyFish or Elemental Pizza and you may not wait as long before going again.
![](https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=4fe6be9543798124e728fa750cdf1636 320w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=932e17b37e7dc2e5c3df23e9b2d6f7b5 540w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=7bd7895beefce4b38858994d6ffe1d5c 768w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=a2863b2c746c9847d77e2ca51e433d29 1024w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=9d6bf62c99cb727b23f9d3cc9b45f5d7 1200w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=fb08afc493037b017b4a142ac84a0756 1440w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=c470119f2682c502d04310c7df403bd0 1920w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=92db1ccc508b1d247b69ef0e599b1d6d 2560w, https://snohomish.imgix.net/images/archive/free-birds-zdqV1KO6Iuk-unsplash.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=3840&s=260f4d52c0f78b3247be58d47696557d 3840w)