WEST SEATTLE BIZNOTE: The Neighborhood planned for ex-Peel & Press space

Four months after Peel & Press closed at 6503 California SW, a new plan for the space has emerged. It’ll be a restaurant called The Neighborhood, whose proprietors Jenny & Ahmed Almukhtar announced the following via both a note on the door and in social media:

We’re hard at work getting ready to welcome you! Our goal is to open by April, and we can’t wait to share our vision with the Morgan Junction community….

Our Mission:
At The Neighborhood, weā€™re creating a community-driven, welcoming, inclusive, and vibrant dining destination in West Seattleā€™s Morgan Junction. Our focus is on delivering great-tasting food and beverages, exceptional service, and genuine hospitality. Rooted in community, we aim to become a local favorite by prioritizing quality, consistency, and connection. We will initially offer pizza, pasta, and our take on Italian classics, eventually branching out to feature American and global fare. To complement our menu, we will also offer a carefully curated selection of spirits, beer, wine, and mocktails. Looking ahead, our long-term goals include offering brunch on weekends and hosting pop-up restaurant concepts on Mondays and Tuesdays. On these days, The Neighborhood will also be available for private event bookings, giving you the opportunity to host your own customized gathering in our space. All ages are welcome, and we look forward to serving everyone in the Neighborhood!

They’re planning to be open 3-9 pm Wednesdays through Sundays. Our archives show their local hospitality-industry involvement has included The Bridge (whose current owners include Peel & Press’s former proprietor Dan Austin). We have a message out in hopes of talking with The Neighborhood’s proprietors.

31 Replies to "WEST SEATTLE BIZNOTE: The Neighborhood planned for ex-Peel & Press space"

  • Trent Delford February 15, 2025 (1:23 pm)

    Finally another pizza place ! 

  • AC February 15, 2025 (1:54 pm)

    Best of luck! Always happy to see a new restaurant at the nearby Morgan Junction. Pizza and pasta joint replaced by a pizza and pasta joint wouldn’t be my personal preference, but based on the numbers in the area, pizza and/or pasta seems to be the perennial favorite for a lot of people around here.

    • JustSarah February 15, 2025 (4:05 pm)

      Well, don’t forget that the last pizza and pasta placed replaced the prior pizza and pasta place.

      In all seriousness, I wish them well! As a north Fauntleroy resident, my family and I will probably check it out.

      • AC February 15, 2025 (6:33 pm)

        Unfortunately I’ll probably need to wait a few weeks for the first couple reviews. Offering only dinner service 5 nights a week sounds like some >$15 spaghett.

        • JustSarah February 15, 2025 (6:40 pm)

          Oh, I’ll also be waiting a bit. My dad worked as a chef and I learned not to judge a restaurant in their first few months. Gotta give them time to find their rhythm. 

  • Ryan Caple February 15, 2025 (2:51 pm)

    So happy for you guys!!! Canā€™t wait to come in and try it out!

  • Beanie February 15, 2025 (2:55 pm)

    Welcome to the neighborhood! Canā€™t wait to try it!

  • Gay February 15, 2025 (5:19 pm)

    Basta!

  • Pietro February 15, 2025 (5:29 pm)

    I will be very happy to have p&p pizza back, and look forward to trying the rest of the fare. I will be even happier if the place gets a thorough cleaning and the bathrooms get fixed, if not fully updated. 

  • Patrick February 15, 2025 (5:50 pm)

    Seriously more pizzaā€”again? There is a pizza place literally right across the street in addition to the other million pizza places in West Seattle. I do wish them luck.

    • K February 15, 2025 (8:05 pm)

      This place was an Italian restaurant even before Peel & Press.  Zeek’s came second, and is a completely different atmosphere and cuisine than Abbondanza, Peel & Press, and probably The Neighborhood as well.

      • alkibeeeech February 16, 2025 (11:40 am)

        I miss Abbondanza every time I drive by. The food was always worth the wait šŸ¤—

  • WSB February 15, 2025 (6:32 pm)

    Note that pizza is ONE of the things they’re planning to offer. Also of note, the pizza ranks have thinned in West Seattle a bit in the past year or two – Spiro’s (replaced by Little Donkey), Junction MOD (no replacement yet), Pizzeria Credo (replaced by the reopened Pegasus), and Peel & Press (which this is replacing).

    • JP February 16, 2025 (9:32 am)

      Isnā€™t Pegasus literally named Pegasus Pizza?

  • Seaviewer February 15, 2025 (8:40 pm)

    Rumor on the street was it was going to be a bagel place so this is a bit disappointing. Best of luck to these folks thoughā€”as has been said, a pretty saturated market šŸ„“ To anyone else who opens a bagel place: there will be LOTS of enthusiasm. 

    • MJC February 16, 2025 (7:24 am)

      Agreed! We drive to Ballard and Cap Hill regularly to grab a bagel breakfast on the weekend. We said yesterday that we need to go to Ballard more regularly for options before 4 and kid friendly. It feels like WS has a lot of 21+, which is fine, but my life isnā€™t there right now and wonā€™t be for years. It would be GREAT to see a place that is available for lunch in Morgan Junction and also allows kids so I have options besides Zeeks near my house. 

      • aa February 16, 2025 (1:11 pm)

        Drive to Ballard??  Blazing Bagels on 1st and Lander, Bloom Bistro in Georgetown, and Loxsmith Bagels on Beacon Hill.

    • JC February 17, 2025 (3:19 pm)

       I second the bagel shop idea, Im hoping Loxsmith opens a location here. I would be fine with any bagel place though.

    • natinstl February 17, 2025 (4:04 pm)

      I am always driving to Wallingford for Eltana bagels. 

  • Adam February 15, 2025 (9:11 pm)

    Didn’t the previous owner hint that it was going to be replaced by something West Seattle needed? I was hoping it would be a Rachel’s Bagels.Best wishes to the new owners. If they have good food, I’ll definitely become a happy customer. 

    • Former Owner February 15, 2025 (9:53 pm)

      I did hint that but that deal fell apart in the last minute. I was excited for the concept. That said, I have known these two for years and they are great people and operators. Their culinary talents are far more diverse than Pizza and Pasta. Also, I am hearing talk of calzones and Stromboli. When a place has successfully run with a foundation of pizza in a neighborhood for 25 years keeping that as part of the menu makes sense. It has one of the very few NY stone ovens from Manhattan in the region. I know there is more to the menu coming down the road and from what I have been privy to, it is going to be great. I will say no more but when the blog speaks with them a lot more will come out. I watched people tell Shawn at West of Chicago another pizza place in West Seattle would be a failure. He went from commissary kitchen to a thriving brick and mortar. Like you said, if the food is great, people will support them!

      • Gay February 16, 2025 (12:00 pm)

        The calzones and strombolis now are just pizza wrapped up in a package.  Hardly diverse.Remember Carmelita’s on Phinney?  A supreme vege restaurant.—basta con pasta!

        • Jake February 18, 2025 (12:31 pm)

          Italian food catching strays. What’s next? All pasta is the same??

  • Good luck to them February 15, 2025 (10:10 pm)

    In this economy and area opening any type of food business is a gamble. But wish them luck. 

  • Eric 43 February 15, 2025 (11:39 pm)

    Another pizza and pasta restaurant .there is also one going in where the swinery used to we need a bagel shop I miss zats burnt out on pizza 

  • AT February 16, 2025 (9:16 am)

    Best wishes to them. I hope they’ll have online ordering for take-out (not necessarily the scammy predatory delivery apps, I just want to order food when I leave work and pick it up on the way home )

  • RJB February 16, 2025 (10:36 am)

    We are SO EXCITED West Seattle is back in West Seattle!! Awesome people…cannot wait!!

  • Thunder Road Guitars February 16, 2025 (11:17 am)

    Welcome to the neighborhood

  • Roni Caponi February 17, 2025 (6:25 am)

    Jenny & Ahmed are great chefs. You can taste and feel the love they put into the food they share. Iā€™m happy they are going to do Italian cuisine because Zeeks has really gone downhill. They have crumbs on all the seats and floor. Iā€™m sure the back of the house has the same upkeep. The mistreatment of their delivery drivers resulted in a lost settlement. So I am going to be very happy to go support this local husband and wife combo bringing the love back into the pizzas. Please do calzones and put the sauce inside šŸ¤ŒšŸ•

  • Pam February 18, 2025 (11:30 am)

    This area is short a good breakfast and lunch place. Not more pizza.

  • goonesbeoaw March 4, 2025 (8:39 am)

    I’m optimistic, but the description sounds like more of the same. 

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