(Photos courtesy Otter on the Rocks)

That’s a look inside Otter on the Rocks (4210 SW Admiral Way), where the remodeling is complete and the new cocktail bar’s doors are about to open. We first reported last July about the plan for the ex-Parliament Tavern space, and now it’s about to open. When we asked proprietor Tanner Jitmongkonkul about the status, he replied with the news that “We will be hosting our grand opening on this coming Friday 3/11/2022 with craft cocktails and house flatbreads.” He told us in July that the cocktails will feature “a lot of house infusions and house syrups”; the flatbreads will be “a much lighter version of pizza with a lot more room for interesting ingredients.”

He says it’s both exciting and nerve-wracking to be on the verge of opening: “We are currently training employees and making small adjustments to our menus.” Hours for starters will be 4 pm-midnight Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 4 pm-2 am Friday and Saturday, closed on Tuesday. He’s hoping eventually to open earlier on weekends. Events are in the works, too.

Jitmongkonkul, who you might know from bartending at Itto’s Tapas and/or his dessert business Sticky Treats & Sweets, adds, “We are extremely excited to be a part of the Admiral Junction community and hope to be a positive addition to the neighborhood. We hope to see everyone out and about in these coming weeks!”

Most Fridays, West Seattle Liquor and Wine (4714 42nd SW; WSB sponsor) invites you to visit for tastings, 4-6 pm. This Friday (March 4th), they’re having a special tasting for wine lovers – Cabernet Sauvignon. Along with wine from our state, WSLW is also planning to feature Cabernets from California, Italy, Spain, and France this Friday. If you haven’t been to the shop yet, it’s on the outer west side of Jefferson Square, next to Nikko Teriyaki.

The new owners of Alki Beach Pub (2722 Alki Avenue SW), who took over last November, have announced a temporary closure. Jackie Mallahan and Dan Mallahan emailed WSB with this announcement:

On Sunday, February 27th, Alki Beach Pub will be closing for a couple months for upgrades and renovations. We appreciate the continued support and look forward to welcoming everyone back late spring/early summer to our reimagined space! Much Love, Alki!

The temporary closure means that the west end of the beach business district will be a bit lonely for a while – east to west, the former Alki Cleaners space is still vacant, the No-Name Diner just closed (but has a “new concept” on the way), and the former Top Pot Doughnuts and the space next to it are still up for lease, as is the former J&J Public House space.

(Photo by Kara Wallace)

That’s a look inside Current Coffee, which opens tomorrow in the former Caffe Fiore space at 2206B California SW. Here’s the announcement from its proprietor:

Seattle-born and West Seattle resident Tyler Meurk will open Current Coffee this Wednesday, February 23rd.

Featuring beloved WA roasters and introducing specialty coffee farmers from around the world, as well as selling natural wines and local beers, Current Coffee is a North Admiral destination for gathering with friends and neighbors. Tyler’s bond with Seattle’s coffee culture runs deep: For the last 14 years, he has worked as a barista, café manager, sales representative, and now owner/operator.

Tyler and his wife Katie (an entrepreneur who owns the local jewelry gallery Supply Chain) are committed to investing in West Seattle and delighting its residents through their businesses. In concepting Current Coffee, Tyler took inspiration from the movement of the waters that encircle West Seattle. Using “Current” is also a nod to discovering the rotation of seasonal coffees that Tyler will feature in his café. In keeping with the connection of community, Current Coffee features an immersive and captivating mural by West Seattle artist Jennifer Ament. Come by for a fresh pour!

Hours will be Wednesdays-Sundays 7 am-3 pm.

(WSB photo)

Thanks to Meagan for sending the tip that the Benbow Room‘s sign is up at 4210 SW Admiral Way. It’s been seven months since we broke the news that West Seattle restaurant/bar entrepreneur Mark Fuller (Ma’ono, Supreme, New Luck Toy) was taking over the space and reviving its historic identity. Besides the sign, the liquor-license application also suggests the Benbow is approaching opening time; we have an inquiry out to find out its status (and also who created the sign!).

Extra fun tonight at 2 Fingers Social in South Delridge – gaming consoles are set up as part of a ‘takeover” night to raise money to help Till Dawn south of The Junction get open. When we first reported in October on Till Dawn coming to the former licensing-agency space at 5048 California SW, we didn’t have much info, but now we do.

Here’s what the two venues have in common: Andrew Spence as co-proprietor (different business partners, though, for each one). We talked with him at 2 Fingers Social tonight. Till Dawn will be a “super-nerd bar,” for “beer nerds, coffee nerds, gaming nerds.” High-end coffee and 75 bottled/canned beers from all over the world. International will be part of the flavor, in the “cyberpunk/’Blade Runner'” fusion sense, Spence says. That will include packaged snacks from Japanese rice candy to American junk food (chips, soda). The interior of Till Dawn is built out – Spence has been working on it for months – so tonight is to get them to the finish line with expenses from stocking to permitting.

Till Dawn, by the way, Spence says, is named for that time when gamers realize they’ve been up too long playing. The café hours won’t go that late – not finalized yet but maybe 8 am-10 pm-ish at the start. All ages. Same as for tonight’s event, until 11 at 2 Fingers Social (9211 Delridge Way SW), besides “gaming, drinking, and mingling,” you can get in on raffles and “free” beer from Future Primitive in nearby White Center for donors. (P.S. 2FS has outdoor seating as well as indoor.)

(Photo courtesy GoFundMe)

“I didn’t want to lose my business … I could not imagine closing.”

That’s why Jennifer West is going to drastic lengths, including seeking crowdfunding, to keep her independent drive-up/ride-up West Bay Coffee and Smoothies in business after weather damage threatened to end its 14-year run at 2255 Harbor Avenue SW.

The stand shares water service with the larger commercial building on the site. Pipes broke during the recent ultra-cold weather, West says, flooding the larger building. She says the property manager proposed just cutting off service, which would force her to move. Or, she could fix the lines affecting the stand, at her own expense. She also has no access to a restroom or storage in the main building. So she’s paid for the plumbing to her stand, a new porta-potty just delivered yesterday, and is working on a new storage shed.

All that costs money, so she launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding page this week. “It’s been a nightmare but we’re working through the logistics to try to remain open,” West tells WSB. As the synopsis on the crowdfunding page says, she’s already gone through a lot, as have so many businesses – “We’ve been through covid exposures, weathered ongoing supply-chain issues and enormous supply price hikes, while trying to keep everyone safe” – she can’t bear to throw in the towel now.

Today we’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor, West Seattle Liquor and Wine (4714 42nd SW). New sponsors get an opportunity to tell you about what they do, so here’s what WSLW wants you to know:

Using the adjective “premier” only begins to describe the recently re-opened West Seattle Liquor and Wine store on the outer west side of Jefferson Square on 42nd Ave SW. This is not your average liquor store – the slogan is Unique and Uncommonly Found Wine and Spirits.

West Seattle Liquor and Wine’s inventory includes unusual and rare spirits. “We have things you won’t find anywhere else in West Seattle: bourbons, scotches, tequila,” store manager Dolly Amend says, “including all the local Seattle area bourbons.” Continuing, Dolly says, “Our goal, which I believe we have achieved, is to have the best selection of scotch, bourbons, gins, liqueurs, tequilas, and vodkas anywhere in the state.”

(Davey, Sheryl, and Dolly @ West Seattle Liquor and Wine)

Furthermore: “The store’s scotch section is absolutely the best in the city, if not the state,” says Dolly. “You might never have found our single malts, for example, in Seattle before, such as Laddie Classic, Ledaig, Tobermory, to name a few.”

West Seattle Liquor and Wine also offers an extensive tequila section, which aficionados call “fantastic mezcals,” and a selection of liqueurs from all over the world: Italian Amari, pastis from France, Cynar, every possible fruit liqueur. And dozens of made-in-Washington labels are in stock.

The store does not skimp on their wine selections. The store offers a broad selection of wines from around the world. Unique selections not found in any grocery stores.

Its merchandise also includes martini shakers, and just about every tool and ingredient for making cocktails – including tipsy cherries, cocktail onions, many bitters, even a special salt to rim your Margaritas. The list of complementary merchandise includes ginger beer, soda, tonics, and many different vermouths.

Visit the store during its TASTING TIME, which is held each Friday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The store’s tasting selections include varieties of bourbons, whiskey, rums, gins, vodka, tequila, liqueurs, and more.

“Grocery stores wouldn’t have room to carry the 3,000-plus brands and sizes of liquor we have now,” Dolly says, also pointing out that West Seattle Liquor and Wine has a “huge and wonderful selection of wine.”

West Seattle Liquor and Wine is located on 42nd just south of Alaska in The Junction, open 10 am-7 pm Mondays-Saturdays, 11 am-6 pm Sundays. You’ll also find the store at its website, WSLW-LLC.com (under construction), on Facebook and on Google. By phone: 206-923-5472.

We thank West Seattle Liquor and Wine for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

(Texted photos)

Thanks for the tips/pics! What had been the Highstrike Grill at West Seattle Bowl since 2010 is getting a new identity – a “tiki bar” called the Three 9 Lounge (it’s on the corner of 39th and Oregon). Last summer, a reader noticed the space was closed for remodeling, and management told us they were planning a “new concept” but not ready to go public with it. Now, the sign’s up, and the plan is for an October 28th opening.

Before its decade-plus as Highstrike Grill, the space held the Terrace West Chinese Restaurant.

(WSB photo from last month)

Many have asked – and now we have the answer: West Seattle Liquor and Wine will open its doors at 4714 42nd SW (lower west side of Jefferson Square) this Saturday (October 9th). The news is from manager Dolly Amend, who also ran the store in its previous incarnation as Capco Beverages. That store’s original owner closed it after leasing the previous space (at 41st and Alaska) to Swedish; new owners bought the business and leased the new space to reopen it. “We have a great selection of spirits and wine,” promises the manager. She says the first weekend’s hours will be 10 am-7 pm Saturday and 11 am-6 pm Sunday.

West Seattle entrepreneur Jess Selander says her brand of wine, Jøyus, is “the first premium alcohol-removed brand that not only tastes as amazing as alcoholic wine, it’s actually made by a non-drinker.” She says it’s a fulfillment of her dream “to make a non-alcoholic wine that tastes like wine and to change how we think about drinking.” This month is “Sober October,” so she is getting the word out about Jøyus, which has two varieties on the market – sparkling white wine and sparkling rosé, both available at Wildwood Market in Fauntleroy (9214 45th SW) and online at drinkjoyus.com. Selander says she first started pursuing this dream five years ago, but stalled because “the technology and processes were not great.” During the pandemic, she decided to give it another try. Though she and her business are based here, the wine is made in California: “The process starts with alcoholic wine, then the alcohol is gently removed, all while preserving the delicate flavors of the wine.” Jøyus wines are on the dry side, she adds, and that means low-calorie – 90 calories in an entire bottle. She has one more dream: “I’m not setting out to be the only premium non-alcoholic winery whose products actually taste like wine. I’m doing this to normalize non-drinking culturally. I dream of the day I can walk into any grocery store and pick up a couple of different bottles of great tasting non-alcoholic wines. I want to go to a party and find there’s already a bottle of non-alcoholic wine there. And that means people need variety.” (She’s working on getting Jøyus into a variety of additional retail outlets, too.)

A few people have asked for an update on West Seattle Liquor and Wine, the former Capco Beverages store reopening with a new owner and new location. State Liquor and Cannabis Board records show the store’s been licensed as of last month. So we checked in with Dolly Amend, who managed the store at its previous location and will do so here too. She says they’re not locked in on a date yet but hoping it’ll be in two weeks or so. The store closed in its old location seven months ago; that space has since become West Seattle’s main Swedish clinic site. The new store location, 4714 42nd SW, is on the outer west side of Jefferson Square, by Nikko Teriyaki.

With many more sunny days likely before fall and winter roll in, one local coffeehouse has again expanded its outdoor offerings, C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor) added a covered patio on the north side of its property last winter, and now it’s turned a previously sloped area out front into a bricked patio. Add that to the garden area out back, and C & P has a lot of outdoor space to offer. Also note, as featured in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and our weekend previews, C & P has live music outside on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.

When we reported Friday on the plan to revive the Admiral Benbow, we noted we’d happened onto that news while at 4210 SW Admiral Way researching something else. Now we have those details too. A liquor-license application was filed this week for the former Parliament Tavern space. The name on the application is one we recognized from past correspondence – Tanner Jitmongkonkul, whose business Sticky Treats & Sweets we’d spotlighted a few times when it had pop-ups at Itto’s Tapas.

He’s an Itto’s bartender and West Seattle resident who, with partner Erin, is working to convert the Admiral Way space into a cocktail bar called Otter on the Rocks. In our email exchange, here’s how he explains it:

We are so excited to bring a cocktail bar with a new concept to West Seattle. The focus will be properly prepared classics as well as signature cocktails. We will be doing a lot of house infusions and house syrups. As opposed to cocktail bars with a romantic setting, we are trying to introduce a much-more casual and approachable vibe, especially for those who are not familiar with cocktails. We like date nights, but we want Otter on the Rocks to be become a friends-gathering sort of space. We will be looking at some open mics, lots of themed nights, and some live music that fits the space. As far as food, we will be serving a rotating selection of “flatbreads” – a much lighter version of pizza with a lot more room for interesting ingredients. We are working with some local chefs to get this dialed in.

No timeline yet – Jitmongkonkul explains, “The permitting process through the City of Seattle has been extremely slow but we are trying to be very patient. We do have a long list of tasks to complete in order to bring this space up to city code so please be patient with us.” The Parliament opened in the space in 2015; occupants before that included Vidiot and Shipwreck Tavern.