Hi there, I wanted to let the community know that Ola Salon in West Seattle was broken into and (burglarized) last night. All of our retail, equipment, cash, checks, two laptops and more was stolen. Everyone is safe; we just want to give the community a heads up and to be aware of a robber in the neighborhood. If anyone happened to see anything, please let the police and the front desk at Ola know immediately. Thank you! 206-933-6702

We have another reader report – this one from Mona, who says she ordered something because of a crime report- and now it has resulted in one:

I came home around 5:30 PM today and found (an) empty package on my doorstep which was supposed to have contained the stun gun flashlight that a WSB reader recommended in (comments on) this post. I already filed a report. This happened near 17th avenue SW and Cambridge.

Lots of time left to get to Ola Salon in Luna Park for Furry Faces Foundation‘s first-ever “Heels for Hounds” – not just a silent auction of some cute shoes (casual as well as fancy, as shown in the photo above), but also wine tasting, appetizers, and live music, all to benefit animal advocacy:

Ola’s at 2942 SW Avalon Way.

After publishing the news earlier this week that West Seattle Helpline received a $10,000 grant from the RealNetworks Foundation, we found out Helpline wasn’t alone: Transitional Resources, headquartered in the Luna Park neighborhood, has received one too. Above are TR’s CEO Darcell Slovek-Walker and RNF’s Kevin Johnson. A TR spokesperson tells WSB, “This grant will go so far in helping us expand our onsite chemical-dependency services to provide intensive substance abuse help to our clients. We are so happy to see their support for the organizations in West Seattle who are doing so much for the community!”

It’s been almost four months since Duos Catering moved into the former Avalon Restaurant spot at 2940 SW Avalon Way (as reported here in August). The owners said they planned to open a “neighborhood hangout” – and they’re finally ready. Last night, during their “soft open,” WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams stopped in, photographing both the small-plates food …

(Grass-fed beef sliders with applewood-smoked bacon, Tillamook cheddar, onion jam)
… and the people – here’s co-owner Benjamin Jury checking in with guests:

More of Nick’s photos ahead:

More food – this is asparagus soup, with Parmesan custard and Parmesan tuile:

In the kitchen, executive chef/co-owner Wil Yee, putting the finishing touches on an order of crab cakes:

Here’s the crab cake, with Dungeness crab, apple salad, saffron & vanilla bean beurre blanc, citrus gastrique:

At the bar, Marcus McQuade, preparing a cocktail:

Waiter Peter Attieson, opening a bottle of wine:

One more food photo! Corn dogs (really!) with fresh-corn crust and chipotle honey mustard:

While this is a “limited opening” week, Duos tells us the grand opening is planned for next Friday and Saturday:

P.S. For a look at the “limited opening” menu – go here. And call to check if they’re open before you go, since this is “limited opening” week – 206-452-2452.

ADDED MONDAY: Benjamin Jury says they’ve decided on days/hours for starters: “We had a great weekend working kinks out and feeling good about our service. We plan on being open Tues – Saturday from 5-9:30 for food, and bar stays open until 12 Tues-Thurs., 2 am Fri-Sat. Our kitchen hours aren’t set in stone and will probably change after the new year. This next weekend will be our Grand Opening.”

We’re on Avalon Way as its funky little business district opens its arms and its doors to evening visitors for the 2nd annual Luna Park Block Party. Top photo shows Sean Welch making a bowl at Avalon Glassworks, where you can enjoy some truly warm temperatures if you are missing true summer (don’t worry, you can also stand by their ginormous fan and feel Seattle-cool). The block party’s on till 9. Outside Java Bean Coffee, we spotted their long-famous red VW van:

Tonight’s host business is Ola Salon a bit further south along Avalon Way, where Sid Law is serenading Block Party-goers:

And Luna Park Café promises free facepainting, though – thinking ahead to Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade – we opted instead for a photo of “Bailey the Burger”:

The Luna Park Block Party’s on till 9 tonight.

Staci at Luna Park Café shared the photo of their sign – which is up in advance of the restaurant’s 23rd anniversary this Sunday (March 18th). She says they’re celebrating by offering kids free face-painting from 3-6 pm that day (Sunday). The café’s history – including a photo of what the building held, long ago – is on this page of the LPC website. Staci also mentioned they’re also celebrating St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow (Saturday) with a corned-beef-and-cabbage special and green beers. (We’ve received word of a few other St. P’s day specials we’ll be offering, and they’ll be in the Saturday daily preview – e-mail us yours if you haven’t already!)

At Ola Salon in the Luna Park business district tonight, that’s Tiann Stubberfield with the tweezers and Transitional Resources‘ Darcell Slovek-Walker (reclining) and Yemaya St. Clair. Ola and TR are neighbors – TR, which provides housing and other services to people living with “severe and persistent” mental illness, is headquartered just a few blocks south on Avalon Way. Tonight, Ola held a fundraiser for TR, including donating the proceeds from certain services as well as raffle tickets. Treats too, plus live music from West Seattle’s own Sid Law:

If you missed tonight’s event – here’s how to help Transitional Resources. Meantime, still lots of chances for you to reach out and give this holiday season – we’ve got a special section, with both fundraisers and direct donation opportunities, on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page.

Several inquiries have come in about the police/fire response in the Luna Park business district. All we know so far is that an elderly man is reported to have suddenly collapsed, and medic crews have been doing CPR. No crime or crash – police told us they are there just to help make sure firefighters have the space they need to work. As you can see in our photo, southbound (uphill) Avalon is blocked at the scene. If we find out anything more later, we’ll add it.

During the early morning hours our patio at Avalon restaurant was
vandalized. Two large planters were knocked over. Plants were pulled up, chairs were broken and thrown to the sidewalk out front. It must have happened quite late we were here until 1 am and back at 8 am. It has since been cleaned up and none of our diners had to miss a beautiful day on our patio. It was disheartening to know this happened in our community. If anyone saw anything?? I have reported this to the police.

No way to tell if it’s related, but while we were taking photos early this morning today at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, we were told that shrubs had been torn out by vandals overnight; Alki Community Council‘s David Hutchinson had replanted them and was cleaning up before the 9/11 anniversary events began.

(Photo courtesy Avalon Glassworks, used with permission)
West Seattle’s Avalon Glassworks has a long history of helping local nonprofits – and the latest is the Seattle Public Library Foundation, which will get a portion of the proceeds from the newly announced holiday ornaments shown above. $30 each. You can check the ornaments (and other blown-glass art) at their shop on Avalon Way just south of the West Seattle Bridge. (They’re available online too.)

The ornaments caught our attention as we were just about to publish this reminder: Seattle Public Library branches are closing for a week-plus again this year, as a result of city budget cuts. That closure starts a week from tomorrow (August 29) and continues through the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 5th, so the libraries won’t reopen till Tuesday, September 6th. More info here.

A postscript to the West Seattle shoots for “Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas” – Alki last weekend and Beach Drive yesterday – two photos just came in from Avalon proprietor Mary Palmer, who says: “We thought we would share a couple of photos with you. David DeLuise came into our restaurant to relax after a day of filming ‘Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas’ and to celebrate a crew member’s birthday.” That’s Mary at right, with Avalon partner Deborah Breuler at left. If the name sounds familiar, yes, he’s the 39-year-old son of the late comic legend Dom DeLuise, and couldn’t resist a bit of clowning at Avalon:

Avalon’s been open four months now, in the Luna Park business district. (Driving by this afternoon, we noticed it looks like their patio’s open – a few tables of diners were out in the sunshine!)

ADDED 1 AM SUNDAY: Avalon sends word another of the movie’s stars, Elliott Gould, came in Saturday night:

The plan is outlined in a letter sent to Luna Park businesses this week (read the 2-page PDF here), signed by Metro director Kevin Desmond and SDOT director Peter Hahn. It finalizes the plan for a bus lane that will mean no on-street parking along the east side of Avalon 6-10 am weekdays between the bridge and SW Bradford. That had drawn strongest objections from Luna Park Café owner John Bennett and Java Bean Coffee owner Tony Hoyt, both of whom do much of their business in the mornings. The letter notes that the restrictions “will affect 355 linear feet of curb space …” The county and city reps who had attended Luna Park merchants’ meetings had previously described the affected area as 15 parking spaces; by the city’s 15-to-19-feet-per-space measure, that’s between 19 and 23 spaces.

There is one potential change: Desmond and Hahn write that “… with this letter, we commit to reassessing whether an additional RapidRide stop at the existing northbound (bus) stop at SW Charlestown Street [map] would be warranted to meet the needs of more riders.” Luna Park business owners had taken the previous proposal as adding insult to injury, as there was no RapidRide stop planned in the business district, or anywhere north of SW Yancy, a few blocks uphill.

We’re checking on how soon the decision on that potential stop will be made; work along Avalon Way might start as soon as “late spring,” according to the letter (again, you can read it in its entirety here).