This afternoon marked not only Joe Mallahan‘s first campaign visit to The Junction since he started running for Seattle Mayor, it also marked what was undoubtedly the first campaign stop at the “Hole Foods” site on the Junction/Triangle border:

More photos from Mallahan’s tour – covered for WSB by contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli – ahead – but first (added 9:33 pm) here’s his video of scenes from the tour:

Mallahan was met in the Junction by a contingent of neighborhood and business leaders including West Seattle Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Patti Mullen, Vlad Oustimovitch, Pete Spalding, and Joan Jeffrey. (Mullen and Spalding also were at Mike McGinn‘s West Seattle town hall yesterday.) After a quick lunch at Husky Deli with Jack Miller (above), the group led Mallahan on a brief tour of the Junction, which included stops at ArtsWest and the site of the future Junction Plaza Park, as well as the aforementioned “hole,” and a stop at West 5 for a quick chat with Dave Montoure.

Christopher reports that along the way, the group talked to Mallahan about some of what they see as the top issues facing West Seattle residents, including car prowls and other crime, traffic and parking issues, and development. They continued on to tour the West Seattle waterfront, including Seacrest Park, as well as Youngstown Arts Center.