Tully’s to Bring Back Iconic Ranier Beer ‘R’ to South Seattle’s I-5

The Ranier Beer “R” sign prior to the opening of MOHAI.

One of the new owners of Seattle-based Tully’s Coffee stores, lawyer Michael Avenatti says he plans to bring back the infamous giant “R” sign atop the former Ranier Brewery welcoming visitors into South Seattle along I-5.

The new “R” will be a 12-foot replica of the original, which is currently being housed at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). The “R” was replaced by a giant “T” when Tully’s took over the facility for a roasting works and headquarters in 2000.

@beerblog Thx! The “T” should have never displaced the “R”. As the son of a 31 yr “Bud” worker in St Louis, even I knew that!

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 18, 2013

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The Ranier Brewery was closed by owners Pabst in 1999, when brewing operations moved to California. Tully’s then roasted there for several years, before Green Mountain Coffee Roasters took over all its roasting operations as part of a 2008 deal. In a press announcement, Avenatti said that employees still working in the building are being moved to a new operational headquarters above a Tully’s store near Pike Place Market.

“The replacement of the ‘R’ with the ‘T’ some 13 years ago was a mistake,” Avenatti said. “That part of the Seattle skyline has always truly belonged to the ‘R,’ ”