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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Robbie Cape brought a technology founder’s approach to Mt. Joy, a Seattle chicken restaurant built around a bigger ambition: use restaurant demand to help grow a supply chain for pasture-raised poultry. The concept started with a food truck and opened its first brick-and-mortar location on Capitol Hill in December 2023. Its farming goals were the founders’ stated mission—not proof that the restaurant had transformed poultry production.
From Microsoft and startups to a chicken restaurant
Cape spent 11 years at Microsoft before co-founding Cozi, a family-scheduling app, and later telehealth startup 98point6. In 2021, the 98point6 board replaced him as CEO, according to Eater Seattle. Cape then moved into restaurants with Mt. Joy, co-founded with restaurateur Ethan Stowell and chef Dionne Himmelfarb.
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Cape described Mt. Joy as startup-like because the founders had to build a brand and explain its purpose to customers. In a September 2023 interview with GeekWire, he said, “We’re creating where there is nothing. We’re creating a brand from nothing, we are creating a dialogue. Every time I talk to someone new, we’re answering new questions, and I’m creating new narrative. That to me is the definition of a startup.”
Why build a chicken restaurant around farming?
The founders’ idea was to use a familiar fast-casual meal to support a less familiar supply chain. Cape’s stated theory was that steady restaurant demand could encourage more farms to raise poultry using pasture-based or regenerative practices. Eater reported that Mt. Joy sourced chickens from farms in Western Washington. The founders’ ambition was to influence the food system; the cited coverage does not establish that Mt. Joy achieved broader environmental, animal-welfare, or farmer-income outcomes.
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Grant Jones, described in launch-era coverage as Mt. Joy’s co-founder and chief agricultural officer, characterized the challenge this way: “The supply chain that we’re trying to source from does not exist yet.” The quote, reported by GeekWire, captures the tension in the business model: a restaurant hoping to buy from a supply chain that it also wanted to help develop.
What Mt. Joy served—and what the sourcing figures mean
Launch-era reporting described fried chicken sandwiches, a portobello sandwich, fries, and milkshakes. A November 2024 GeekWire account of the South Lake Union location also listed tenders, wings, and a vegan tofu wrap. Those are dated menu snapshots, not confirmation of what either location serves today.
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In that 2024 report, GeekWire said Mt. Joy reported sourcing over 90% of its food from Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. That is a company-reported figure, not an independent audit, and it should not be read as a current sourcing rate. Mt. Joy’s stated regional sourcing and poultry-farming goals are relevant to its founding story, but they do not by themselves verify particular farming practices or measured impact.
The business and Cape’s departure
Mt. Joy opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant on Capitol Hill in December 2023 after starting as a food truck. GeekWire reported that the company raised $1.5 million in 2023; that is a reported business funding figure, not evidence of profitability or long-term financial performance.
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- Give the Gift of Chicken and add a little "yay" to their day.
- Make their day with the gift of Chick-fil-A. Perfect for every occasion! Usable for purchases of food, beverages, or merchandise at participating Chick-fil-A Restaurants in the U.S. only.
- Celebrate the big and little things for friends and family, near and far, with a Chick-fil-A eGift card. They are just as fun to give as they are to receive.
- You’re just a few clicks away from making someone’s day a little brighter (and tastier).
- Deliver deliciousness right to their inbox.
GeekWire reported in April 2026 that Cape had left Mt. Joy in May 2025 and started a new venture. At the time of that article, Mt. Joy had locations in Capitol Hill and South Lake Union. Separately, Capitol Hill Seattle News reported in March 2026 that the Capitol Hill flagship was listed as “temporarily closed” and that ownership and the restaurant’s future were unclear. The available coverage does not establish whether either location is operating on October 8, 2026; historical addresses, hours, menus, and prices should not be treated as current without confirmation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the Mt. Joy story does—and does not—show
Mt. Joy illustrates how a founder can apply startup thinking to a restaurant: create a new brand, explain a mission to customers, and try to build demand around a supply chain that founders say needs to grow. Cape framed his broader motivation in terms of ambitious projects intended to “repair the world,” as quoted by GeekWire. That is a statement of aspiration, not an independently measured result.
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- Make their day with the gift of Chick-fil-A. Perfect for every occasion! Usable for purchases of food, beverages, or merchandise at participating Chick-fil-A Restaurants in the U.S. only.
- Celebrate the big and little things for friends and family, near and far, with a Chick-fil-A eGift card. They are just as fun to give as they are to receive.
- You’re just a few clicks away from making someone’s day a little brighter (and tastier).
- Deliver deliciousness right to their inbox.
The distinction matters. The reporting documents the concept’s launch, its founders’ sourcing ambitions, a company-reported regional sourcing figure, and Cape’s departure. It does not provide independently verified impact measurements or establish the restaurant’s present operating status.
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