West Seattle Blog…

Charlestown Café changes and challenges, 1 year later

This Tuesday will mark 1 year since West Seattle’s Charlestown Cafe reopened after repairs from a fire that came on the heels of a long fight over its site’s future. Seemed like the time to check in to see how things are going – and we found out some surprises:

Story and photos by Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The one-year anniversary of the re-opening of Webster’s Charlestown Street Café is a bittersweet celebration for Ron Hanlon, owner of the West Seattle fixture.

A fire in the stove hood in February 2008 closed the Charlestown Café for months while Hanlon, the café property owner and the insurance company haggled over details. The restaurant with the something-for-everyone menu finally reopened June 30 last year. Just in time for what some have nicknamed the Great Recession.

Hanlon’s longtime business partner Larry Mellum moved on earlier this year, expanding Pike Place Chowder to Pacific Place downtown. But Hanlon is staying put at Charlestown, and in West Seattle, where he has owned restaurants for 30 years.

“I’m going to ride this to the end,” he said this week.

Click to read the rest of Charlestown Café changes and challenges, 1 year later…

Charlestown Cafe is open again!

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The video above shows Charlestown Cafe staff greeting Ted, the first customer to walk through the door on the restaurant’s grand-reopening day – he arrived a few minutes after 6 am, as the beloved restaurant is back in business almost five months after a fire shut it down. We’ve talked with co-owner Larry Mellum, who’s also been interviewed by at least one TV crew so far (that’s a channel 7 photographer you see in the video above), and says he’s thrilled for this day to have finally arrived. More video and pix, including an interview with Larry, coming up. ADDED 6:34 AM: Another clip — a quick look inside, just before the first customer arrived:

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ADDED 6:52 AM: Just before the customers began arriving, we talked with Larry about what’s changed at his restaurant, and what hasn’t: Click to read the rest of Charlestown Cafe is open again!…

Charlestown Cafe grand reopening: Still on for Monday

Just checked with Charlestown Cafe co-owner Larry Mellum, and he confirms the grand reopening is still on for 6 am Monday (as first reported here a week and a half ago; then we showed you photos last Monday of the CC team getting everything ready), almost five months after the fire that shut the Charlestown down. We’ll be there to bring you the online equivalent of a live report. Says Larry, in an understatement: “Should be fun!” (WSB Charlestown Cafe coverage is archived here, newest to oldest.)

Charlestown Cafe: Sneak peek inside, pre-grand reopening

Tama and Sacha are two of the Charlestown Cafe team members working hard today to get the beloved restaurant back in shape for its grand reopening, now just days away, as first reported here last Thursday. It’s been a long and bumpy road to get the restaurant reopened after the February fire that at first left cafe co-owners hoping they’d only be closed for “days”; here’s one reason it took so long:

That’s the new hood system required as a condition of reopening. But as our photo shows, it’s in place and ready to go, and the place was abuzz with work when we stopped by earlier today:

Our Charlestown Cafe coverage — not just the fire, but also the development controversy that unfolded in preceding months — is all archived here.

Bulletin: Charlestown Cafe sets reopening date, for real

6 am June 30th. Here’s the update that just came in from Charlestown Cafe co-owner Larry Mellum, 4 1/2 months after the fire that forced the beloved restaurant to close for a while:

The Fire Dept. has approved our new Hood System so we are “good to go!!” This week we will finish getting the restaurant put back together and cleaned-up. Believe me it has been a long and frustrating process but the end is near. So, we will make it official. We will be re-opening Monday, June 30th at our usual time 6:00 a.m. … The support we have received from this community has been incredible. We at ‘Charlestown want to thank you all very, very much!! We will see you on the 30th.

If you missed the original news of the February fire, you can catch up with our Charlestown Cafe news archive (newest to oldest), which includes the most recent update from Larry a week and a half ago, when he told us he’d just had a meeting with his staff to see how many he’d have to replace (since the restaurant had been closed so long) – and he reported “Everyone showed up!”

Charlestown Cafe update: Still hoping to reopen this month

When last we updated you on the repair work to get the Charlestown Cafe open again — it’s now been four months since fire forced it to close — co-owner Larry Mellum was hoping for a reopening around June 10th. We just checked back with him today, since that date’s almost here; here’s his reply, with two bits of news:

Things are progressing well on our construction. I will try to give you a more specific “reopening” date later this week but we expect to be open before the end of June.

I know many people have asked about our staff and what will happen with them. Last week we held a meeting to get an idea of how many people we will have to replace. Everyone attended!!! So, it looks like we will have a good staff to “reopen” with.

If you want to catch up on all our WSB coverage of the Charlestown Cafe — both the fire situation and the development proposal that had been tabled just before the fire hit — check out this archive.

Reader report: Charlestown Cafe work-crew sighting

Thanks to PS for snagging and sending that photo this morning. As we reported last weekend, the Charlestown Cafe finally has its permit to proceed with the work needed to get the restaurant back in shape after fire damage closed it in February, and then co-owner Larry Mellum told us a few days later that we wouldn’t see a lot of site activity immediately because the new hood is being built offsite. He’s hoping to reopen next month sometime; a lot of CC fans are anxiously awaiting that, like PS, whose e-mail accompanying the photo included: “… activity this morning at Webster’s! At last! Mmmmmmmm. French toast!” (Reminder, you can find out the latest on the CC situation any time by going to the WSB Categories list down the right sidebar and clicking Charlestown Cafe; WSB Categories archive all coverage that we filed under those categories, in newest-first order – you can also use the links next to their titles to add specific categories to your RSS reader, if you read WSB that way.)

Charlestown Cafe: Why you’re not seeing lots of activity

Quick followup to our update the other day mentioning the permit’s been granted for repairs to the fire-damaged Charlestown Cafe: We heard back from co-owner Larry Mellum, who explains you’re not seeing signs of work onsite because “The hood is being fabricated offsite … We will know a little more by the end of the week but at this juncture it looks like we COULD be opening around the 10th of June. It is early so don’t hold me to that but it is looking that way!!”

Charlestown Cafe progress: Permit officially issued

Two weeks after Charlestown Cafe co-owner Larry Mellum told us the restaurant finally had the green light for the work needed to recover from the Feb. 4 fire that closed it — the city website reveals a permit was officially granted Friday. We’re checking for an update on the timetable for reopening. (You can see all our archived Charlestown coverage here.)

Charlestown Cafe fire repairs finally begin!

Just in from Charlestown Cafe co-owner Larry Mellum:

I finally have some good news to report. Everything is finally signed sealed and delivered!! Meaning that the Charlestown St. Cafe project is finally underway. I will do my best to keep you aware of our progress but as I have said previously, this is a four week project. Which means we should be open for business sometime around June 1st, with any luck possibly Memorial Day weekend.

It’s been almost three months since the Feb. 4th fire that closed the restaurant; we’ve been chronicling (scroll through our complete Charlestown Cafe archive here) the ups and downs of the owners’ quest for repair approvals ever since. Ironically, just days before the fire, we had reported the shelving of the controversial plan to build a Petco store on the site.

Charlestown Cafe update: Repair work hasn’t started yet

We just checked in again with Charlestown Cafe owner Larry Mellum; in our last update three weeks ago, Larry’s co-owner Ron Hanlon told us they were still awaiting the final go-ahead for work to start, and they couldn’t set a reopening date yet. Today, Larry tells WSB that the work required for the restaurant to reopen post-Feb.-4-fire still hasn’t begun:

The project has not yet started. We have been waiting for our Landlord and their insurance carrier to get the required construction proposal and deposit back to the contractor. To date that has not happened due I believe to some administrative glitches within their operation. … We are as anxious as you to get the Charlestown going again. Thank you again for all of your support.

Whenever the work starts, the cafe owners say it’ll take at least four weeks from that point to get it finished so the Charlestown can reopen. (You can always find the latest WSB coverage of the Charlestown Cafe situation atop this archive.)

Charlestown Cafe reopening-repair progress: No official date yet

Friday is the two-month anniversary of the fire that (temporarily) shut down the Charlestown Cafe, ironically just five days after we had reported the news that the most recent development project appeared to be on terminal hold. So we just checked in minutes ago with Ron Hanlon, co-owner of Charlestown Cafe, to see how repair work is going – when last we heard from co-owner Larry Mellum two weeks ago, when he announced the landlord had agreed to go ahead with fire repairs, he had hoped it would take about a month from that time to reopen. But according to what Hanlon just told us this morning, looks like it’s going to be a little longer than that. He says they’re still waiting for a couple things including a permit for the work. He’s hoping they will be able to set a firm date within a week or so. (You can find our archived Charlestown Cafe coverage, including the development controversy, the fire, and the recovery, by going here.)

Bulletin: Charlestown Cafe WILL repair and reopen

Six weeks after the Charlestown Cafe fire – six weeks with plenty of uncertainty – the news is just in from restaurant owner Larry Mellum:

I wanted to pass along to you the good news that we are moving forward with our repairs from the fire we had on Feb. 4th. Our Landlord has agreed to get our Hood System fixed and upgraded to meet necessary codes so we are “officially” on the mend. I would expect it to take at least four weeks to get the doors back opened. I want to thank everyone who contacted us regarding the fire, wished us well and inquired if they could help us in any way!! This is an amazing community of which we are honored to be a part of. We will keep you updated with our progress and with any luck we will see everyone in a month.

In the meantime, if you didn’t already know this, Larry also owns Pike Place Chowder, with two downtown locations – Pike Place and Pacific Place – so you can get a chowder fix if you’re downtown, till Charlestown reopens.

Five weeks after the fire, Charlestown Cafe still waiting

Quick check-in with Charlestown Cafe owner Larry Mellum, five weeks after the fire that shut down his restaurant: Still waiting for word from the landlord whether they’ll proceed with costly repairs required by the city; hoping for word within a few days.

Also from the follow-up files: Charlestown Cafe fire repairs

As of this afternoon, it’s been exactly three weeks since the Charlestown Cafe fire. We just checked back in with restaurant owner Larry Mellum, who says he regrets to report he has no update on a time estimate for reopening; according to Larry, “The stumbling block is that the City is requiring we replace our hood system” — but since that’s considered part of the building, fixing/replacing it is up to the landlord, and “all we know is, they are discussing it.” He is hoping to hear a decision this week; he knows it’s frustrating for customers, as it is for him and his business partner, and their staff of 35 “wondering what they should be doing, and we have no answers to provide them.” If/when the hood work is approved, Larry says, it would take at least three weeks to be completed — “at least two weeks to fabricate the ‘hood’ and another week to install it.” (All of our archived Charlestown Cafe coverage, including fire reports and the ongoing site-development issues, can be found here.)

Charlestown Cafe update: At least a few more weeks

One week after our last update on fire repairs at the Charlestown Cafe, we went over to the restaurant to see if owner Larry Mellum had anything new to report – He does, and it’ll be disappointing news for CC fans: Kitchen repair work is a little more extensive than expected, and with the permits they need to get, and other aspects of the process, it will take at least two more weeks before they’ll be ready to reopen.

Charlestown Cafe update, from owner Larry

Two nights after the Charlestown Cafe fire, another update from owner Larry Mellum: Regarding when the CC will reopen, he says, “I can’t really give you a time frame as yet but the damage doesn’t appear to be extensive enough to cause any kind of long-term closure. Our best guess barring any setbacks would be early next week if all goes as planned.” Larry also says it’s suspected that the fryer fire started because a thermostat failed and the oil got so hot (the cook tried to turn it off but couldn’t), it “spontaneously combusted.”

Charlestown Cafe fire cause

(Photo courtesy Scott Kratz) We just checked with Helen Fitzpatrick of the Seattle Fire Department re: the cause of the Charlestown Cafe fire; “fire in the deep-fat fryer,” she confirms. As we reported last night, cafe owner Larry Mellum told WSB a few hours after the fire that they’d need “days” to get the restaurant back in shape – we’ll keep checking on how things are going. (Original coverage from last night is here and here, with JetCityOrange’s fire video here. Just last week, we’d reported promising news about CC’s future.)

Charlestown Cafe fire update: How long it’ll be closed

Went back to the scene a little while ago, and we caught up with Charlestown Cafe owner Larry Mellum. He told WSB that work will start tomorrow to get the cafe up and running again following today’s fire (above photo by Christopher Boffoli; see more coverage below; direct links here and here, video link here) — workers are already in there tonight evaluating things — he says it will be closed for “days” but it’s too soon to say how many days.

Charlestown Cafe fire video

Jerry from JetCityOrange just happened to be driving by. See his video, flames and all, here. (Warning, link may be erratic, YouTube glitch, keep trying.)

Charlestown Cafe fire update, with more photos

Recap and update from what’s in the post below: Fire reported at Charlestown Cafe just after 5 pm. No word yet on cause or extent of damage; the restaurant is needless to say closed TFN – City Light crews had to shut off its power. From what we could see at the scene, the building’s exterior is relatively unscathed, but neighbors told WSB at the scene that at one point, “huge flames” were coming from the roof, which firefighters had to cut into. No injuries reported so far. Thanks to everyone who texted and e-mailed us about this — especially WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, who sent first word from the scene – he took the photo above and the ones below, more to come:

Fire at Charlestown Cafe

En route to Charlestown Cafe on California Ave to check out fire call – details to follow.

UPDATE 5:30 pm: Fire is out – exterior looks relatively undamaged. Firefighters had to ventilate the roof to let smoke out.

UPDATE 5:45 pm: California Avenue has reopened. Neighbors say big flames were shooting from the roof for a while.

Photos from Evan Baumgardner.

Cafe owner: “Looks like Charlestown has won the first round”

So says Charlestown Cafe owner Larry Mellum, in an e-mail response to our inquiry about a note that a reader saw posted at CC, saying it looks like the project that posed the most immediate threat to the restaurant’s future is indeed stalled, or maybe even dead. (Background: First word of CC losing its lease was a year and a half ago; the community started rallying to save it last March; most recent Design Review meeting on the Petco store proposed for the cafe site was last August our last report on the project’s nonprogress was in December.) Tonight — here’s what Larry just e-mailed to WSB:

By all indications it appears that Madison Development has pulled out of the project. The Landlord’s agent, Rick Megenity, and I spoke last Friday and that is what he said.

Further, he indicated that Madison has not responded to the Landlord’s requests both in writing or verbally to tell them what is going on. Nor have they been able to meet the formal time lines for development that were laid out in the agreement between them. All that being said, Madison has NOT and I repeat HAS NOT formally backed-out. I don’t however believe that they have to. Because by virtue of their non-performance the contract likely has been breached. What this means without putting words in anyone’s mouth is that the Landlord is likely to proceed in finding some other means of re-development at the Charlestown location. They have indicated that this is how they would hope to proceed. In my conversations with them, we discussed putting some type of multi-use facility here that would include space for a restaurant suitable in size for a “Charlestown-like” location to be included. Although they cannot or will not lock themselves into anything at this juncture, I believe they would like it developed in that way.

So, there you have it. It looks like the community and ‘Charlestown has won the “first round” and by all indications we could be here for a long time to come. If not in our current form it will be in a form suitable for the landlord to receive what he wants — which is more rent out of the property, BUT STILL HERE situated with a couple of other retail and/or office tenants.

Thank you for your inquiry … and to all of West Seattle, thank you for your overwhelming support. It is truly humbling.

Best wishes,

Larry Mellum
Charlestown Street Cafe

We had checked both with Petco and with city planners in the past few weeks; Petco said only that they hoped to stay in West Seattle one way or another, city planners said they hadn’t heard anything in quite some time. (Previous WSB coverage of the Charlestown Cafe situation is all archived here.)

Charlestown Cafe: Not expecting to close any time soon

Checked in with Charlestown Cafe owner Larry Mellum today, after a few recent e-mails from WSB readers who had heard reports of a lease extension. He says they’re still officially month-to-month, but not expecting to be leaving any time soon, since the proposal to tear down the building and build a new Petco store seems to be moving slowly, with no official action since the August public meeting at which the Design Review Board turned thumbs-down on the design for a second time (detailed WSB coverage here). Meanwhile, we received an e-mail comment on the subject of Charlestown’s fate and West Seattle’s direction in general, and wanted to include it in our next followup, so here it is: Click to read the rest of Charlestown Cafe: Not expecting to close any time soon…

Details: Petco Charlestown proposal is still in the doghouse

As mentioned below, tonight the Southwest Design Review Board took up – and spit out – the newest proposed design for a Petco store on the Charlestown Cafe site.

The meeting, in fact, started 15 minutes late, because of the architects’ tardiness. The project team “took a wrong turn,” we were told.

Eerily predictive, that turned out to be. Click ahead for a complete recap: Click to read the rest of Details: Petco Charlestown proposal is still in the doghouse…

Bulletin: Design Review Board keeps Petco project on a short leash

Just back from three hours at the Southwest Design Review Board meeting on two WS projects — the headliner was the reworked design for the Petco store proposed to take over the Charlestown Cafe site — board members still have major concerns and are basically sending the new architects back to the drawing board for a third “Early Design Guidance” meeting (some projects only need one). Detailed report to come.

Petco @ Charlestown Cafe site? Here’s what’s next

This Thursday night, the city’s Southwest Design Review Board will take a look at the latest design for the proposed Petco store at the Charlestown Cafe site.

We’ve received a pre-meeting update from Mark Wainwright with Our Town West Seattle, the community group keeping a close watch on this project and the restaurant’s fate; the group met last Thursday to look ahead to this week’s Design Review meeting.

Mark says there’s a new architect for the Petco plan, Sienna Architecture, based in Portland but with a Seattle office. He adds, “The project design is, in a word, better … this design may have the potential to be Petco’s nicest store.”

Click ahead to read what else Mark says: Click to read the rest of Petco @ Charlestown Cafe site? Here’s what’s next…

Be there: 2 major events tomorrow night

-If you live in/around The Junction, don’t miss the first meeting of JuNO — Junction Neighborhood Association. 6:30 pm Thursday @ the Senior Center.

-If you’re concerned about the future of the Charlestown Cafe and the site it’s on, Our Town West Seattle invites you there, 7 pm Thursday, for a briefing before the next city Design Review Board meeting on the project.

From two corners of California/Charlestown

CHARLESTOWN CAFE CORNER: Our Town West Seattle is inviting those concerned about the cafe site’s future to gather at 7 pm next Thursday (August 2) to get the newest information one week before the next city Design Review meeting on the proposed project.

BURNED-OUT EX-SCHUCK’S CORNER (below): Finally, finally, finally the demolition permit application is in, two months after the land-use permit was OKd for the 2-story commercial building planned there (this page about that project has a small sketch of what it might look like).

Next Design Review meeting set on Charlestown Cafe site

Everyone watching the Charlestown Cafe site/potential Petco project has been waiting for another city Design Review Board meeting to be scheduled, as a key next step in the process. According to the city website, that meeting is now set for August 9th.

Charlestown Cafe campaign: Picketing date set

As discussed at the community meeting regarding efforts to save the Charlestown Cafe and stop the site from being turned into Petco’s new location or any other “big box” development, plans are now in place for a picketing demonstration. According to the announcement just posted on the Our Town West Seattle Yahoo! group, it’ll happen 11 am-2 pm June 30, along California, in front of the restaurant.