Two retail-reopening updates, one with a kitten:

EMERALD WATER ANGLERS: In-store shopping has returned to this longtime WSB sponsor on the southeast corner of 42nd and Oregon in The Junction:

We are back to regular business hours!

Stop by the shop Monday through Friday 10 am-7 pm, Saturday 10 am-6 pm and Sunday 11 am-5 pm to take care of all your fly-fishing needs. We ask that shoppers comply with the statewide mask mandate until further notice for the safety of our shoppers and employees. Curbside pickup is also available upon request!

Celebrating National Women’s Fly Fishing Day!

Emerald Water Anglers is celebrating National Women’s Fly Fishing Day on June 27th with 20% off all women’s clothing and equipment! Come get the boots, waders, and clothing you’ve been eyeballing and celebrate yourself and your time on the water. You deserve it!

And meet the new shop cat, Loomis:

EWA’s update explains, “He won’t help you find anything, but he’s cute! Stop by to say hello and toss a string or two. It’s good for the soul!” P.S. You can book guided fishing trips through EWA too. Kitten not included.

ALAIR: Proprietor Shandon says in-person shopping has returned to her gift shop at 3270 California SW: “I reopened Alair today. Hours will probably be Thursday- Sunday 11-4 moving forward, and we still have curbside pickup and local delivery available.”

One week after our area went to Phase 2 of reopening, the city has announced it’s removing some of the obstacles for businesses interested in using more sidewalk/curbside space. Here’s the elected officials’ version of the announcement; below, from the Department of Construction and Inspections, what it means for businesses (and anyone else interested in the details):

If you’re interested in using space on the sidewalk or street in front of your business to add a temporary café or additional retail space or if you are a food truck owner who would like to try out new vending locations, you will need a Street Use permit from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

Free temporary permits and new, flexible permit options for sidewalk cafes, merchandise displays, and food vending

We’ve created free temporary permit options to expand our support for restaurants, retail stores, food trucks, and other vendors. These permits are good for up to six months.

Temporary outdoor café: With this permit, restaurants can have a temporary outdoor café either on the sidewalk or in the curb space adjacent to their business frontage. In certain cases, we will permit cafes to extend beyond the business frontage.

To qualify for the temporary cafe permit option, the proposed café should be:
Fence free (abutting building) or with temporary fencing that provides cane detectability
Removed when the restaurant is closed
Not located in a loading zones (for curb space locations)
Not located on a principal arterial (for curb space locations)
Restaurants that would like a café in other locations or with more permanent installations can still apply for our existing sidewalk café or streatery

Temporary merchandise displays: We want to make it easier for businesses to promote social distancing for customers while increasing their ability to serve customers. With this permit, a business can set up merchandise displays adjacent to their store or in the curb space.

To qualify for the temporary merchandise permit option, the display should be:

Removed when the business is closed
Not located in a loading zone (for curb space locations)
Not located on a principal arterial (for curb space locations)
With this permit, we are also allowing sales to occur outside instead of inside the store.

Temporary Vending Permits: We are offering a temporary vending permit for up to six months that will allow greater flexibility for vendors to try out new sites and go to where people are located during the pandemic. This option is available for both trucks and carts vending food, flowers, or publications.

To qualify for the temporary vending option, the vending should be:

Up to a four-hour block of time daily (such as between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for the lunch hour)
If vending food, not within 50 feet of a food service business, unless there is support from adjacent food businesses
Not located where an adjacent business is proposing to use the curb space (for curb space locations)
Not located in a loading zone (for curb space locations).
Additionally, we will allow more than two vendors per block with this permit type.
Vendors who would like to vend in other locations or with a traditional year-long permit can still apply for one of our existing vending permit options.

Here’s how we’re making it easier to get these permit types!
No permitting fees and modified application requirements

To make it easier to take advantage of these new permit types we’ve:

Eliminated permit and review fees
Waived daily fees associated with reserving parking spaces for outdoor cafés, merchandise displays, and vending in the curb space

Streamlined timelines
For all these new permit types, our goal is to expedite and prioritize application reviews. The review time will depend on the complexity of the application, the volume of permit requests, and an applicant’s preparedness, resulting in varying approval times.

Updated public notification requirements
To issue our permits faster, we’re not requiring the normal two-week public comment period for new temporary outdoor cafes and vendors. Instead, applicants for these permits will be required to notify nearby residents and businesses of the proposed temporary café, merchandise display, or vending location before they start operations.

Wondering how to apply? Scroll to the end here.