SMOKEY POINT — For years, the Buzz Inn Steakhouse was a traditional fixture of Smokey Point, just northeast of the I-5 exit, but a few months ago, the restaurant’s owners felt it was time for a change.

On Friday, Nov. 30, of last year, the Buzz Inn Steakhouse finally found time to commemorate this transition by celebrating its official grand opening at its new location, in Suite D at 5200 172nd Ave. NE in Arlington.

“We’ve got better access to traffic and we’ve gained about 50 seats, from 275 before to 325 now,” said Anita Markowski, manager of the Buzz Inn Steakhouse formerly at Smokey Point, and now near the Arlington Municipal Airport. “We’ve gained a full-blown banquet room and a really beautiful new restaurant overall.”

Nov. 30 proved to be hectic throughout the day, especially when the band “Expertease” came to play in the evening, Although Buzz Inn opened at its current location on Oct. 4, Markowski explained that they waited two months to stage their official grand opening to make sure everything was running right at their new location.

“We thought we’d do a soft opening to ease ourselves into it, but everybody stepped right back into their shoes,” said Markowski, who noted that the restaurant’s employees have increased from 25 to 32 since their move. “Not only is business back to where it was before, but we’re even busier than we were before.”

She’s also noticed several newcomers since the move.

“A lot of these people, we’d never seen before,” Markowski said. “One customer lived just up the hill but hadn’t even known we were here. We’re just hoping we don’t have too many old customers who are still going, ‘Hey where did they go?’” she laughed.