Radnor’s beefs up Tacoma’s burger scene

A new spot is slinging smash burgers and beignets late at night in the South Tacoma neighborhood.

Theory Real Estate, owned by the Miller family, opened Radnor’s on South Tacoma Way in May 2024 to accompany their event venue, Edison Square.

“They are very passionate about bringing new life and excitement down to this South Tacoma Way neighborhood,” Edison Square creative director Casey Catherwood said.

Catherwood said they wanted to be able to serve food at Edison Square, which housed Tacoma’s largest movie theater more than a 100 years ago, as well as selling to the streets.

“We had a big emphasis on being able to serve late night food out to the streets. This is a night life area on South Tacoma Way and being able to offer something new and exciting so that people can come and eat before going home from the bars,” Catherwood said. “We just wanted to add to late night food offerings because we know that world-class cities have late night food options.”

Radnor’s is run by chefs Lewis and Myra Mageo. Lewis handles the kitchen, while Myra operates the front of the house, according to Catherwood.

“Lewis is a highly passionate burger expert, debatably the best burger chef in the city, and is very, very passionate about the smash burger artform,” Catherwood said. “They are very passionate about Tacoma’s food scene and very passionate about food. From ingredients to process, to the packaging and the experience for the customer is all very intentional and it’s all driven by Lewis and Myra’s dedication to making it that way.”

Something that makes Radnor’s unique is that instead of ice cream or milkshakes, they pair the sweet New Orleans treat, beignets, with their burgers.

“We were just trying a bunch of different combos and we had a love for these beignets. We couldn’t get enough of them and started to experiment on how they paired with salty flavors, how they paired with late coffee, how they paired with the burgers,” Catherwood said. “Burgers and beignets just had a ring to it and we’ve rolled with it.”

Catherwood said the Miller family wants to help restore the South Tacoma neighborhood.

“The family has Tacoma roots and is very passionate about adding to the positive momentum in the city here,” Catherwood said. “There was an opportunity to buy a building on South Tacoma Way a few years back and they really saw an opportunity to bring some life into the neighborhood.”

Theory Real Estate owns the buildings of other popular businesses in the neighborhood such as Howdy Bagel and Church Cantina.

“It started out as an opportunity in a neighborhood in the city we love and quickly became a way to make a difference and inject some love and life into a historic neighborhood that had been neglected and forgotten about in a lot of ways,” Catherwood said.

The restaurant is named after an actual person, Radnor Pratsch, who built the RealArt Theatre, now Edison Square.

“He was a Tacoma dreamer who built several theaters in the city and he was a passionate yachtsman as well. When we were thinking of names for the restaurant, I suggested Radnor’s as a tribute to the spirit of what the building and neighborhood had originally been over 100 years ago,” Catherwood said. “We threw a little captain’s hat on our mascot and named him Radnor in sort of a homage to the person who built our theater scene here in South Tacoma.”

Catherwood said they hope to continue Pratsch’s legacy of passion for the city, while also establishing a legacy of their own.

“I was like ‘Why don’t we say Radnor’s since 1919?’ I mean who would debate it?” Catherwood said. “I always love when you go to middle America and you see these restaurants that have been around for 50, 60 years and we are hoping we get to do the same thing.”