James Beard Award-winning chef Maria Hines struggled to keep her lauded restaurant Tilth open during the coronavirus pandemic, operating with a skeleton crew until Hines was forced to close the restaurant permanently after 14 years. On Feb. 15, 2021, Hines returned to Tilth, which stands closed in Wallingford. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)
James Beard Award-winning chef Maria Hines struggled to keep her lauded restaurant Tilth open during the coronavirus pandemic, operating with a skeleton crew until Hines was forced to close the restaurant permanently after 14 years. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)
Food & Drink

How a Seattle chef lost her James Beard Award-winning restaurant but came out hopeful after an unreal pandemic year

A year of the COVID-19 pandemic took Maria Hines from running her dream restaurant, Tilth, to counting pennies on unemployment — yet along the way, she somehow maintained her trust in the community, in herself and in the universe.

PRODUCED BY THE SEATTLE TIMES CONTENT STUDIO