West Seattle, Washington
20 Wednesday
(WSB photo, Wednesday)
Last Wednesday we reported on the new mural taking shape under the overpass just north of the Luna Park mini-business district. You can contribute to it this afternoon – they’re having a “community paint day” right now until 4 pm and all are welcome to stop by. The official address is 2901 SW Avalon Way.
(File photo)
Three months ago, we told you that Luna Park Café proprietor John Bennett had, after 35 years, decided to find a new owner for his restaurant. Now the search is over. We discovered this via a routine check of liquor-license applications – one way to learn about new establishments or new owners for existing ones – and followed up with Bennett, who confirmed the sale:
I did sell Luna Park Cafe after over 35 years of ownership. I started building out the restaurant in 1988 in what was Pat and Ron’s tavern. I opened the day after St Patrick’s Day 1989. I carefully vetted all the people who made offers. I feel I picked the right person to take over for the next 35 years. I physically worked at the restaurant for 4 months before I sold it. It was great to talk to all the longtime customers and work with an amazing staff. It was bittersweet to sell, but I need to move on toward retirement.
The new owner is Heong Soon Park, already an accomplished restaurateur – his restaurants include Bacco Café at Pike Place Market, Chan Seattle in the Paramount Hotel, and Cheese Room Seattle on Capitol Hill (which took over the longtime Ristorante Machiavelli space). Via email, we asked the new owner if any changes are ahead for Luna Park Café. He replied, “Luna Park will stay the same, I will be working on improving food and some service, but only to make it better, I promised John to keep for another 30 years to keep his legacy and I want to keep my promise.” For now the hours will remain 8 am-3 pm daily, but Park adds, “We are planning to open for the evening next year. I have a lot of things to digest before I go further.” But he stresses he’s in it for the long haul: “I am improving Luna Park to make it better and can last another 30 years. Who know who will be taking over after 30 years; hopefully my kids. But give me some time, I will promise you to make it better in every way and be the #1 West Seattle go-to spot!!” (Never been to Luna Park Café? 2918 SW Avalon Way.)
(File photo)
One of West Seattle’s longest-running restaurants has put in an order for a new owner. Luna Park Café owner John Bennett tells WSB that he’s put his legendary burgers-and-breakfast (among other things) restaurant on the market. “It was a tough decision to make after 35 years, but it’s time to pass the torch,” Bennett says. “I am looking for someone who will keep it going as it is for another 35 years or more. The restaurant is doing well and I think someone could step in and take it over without skipping a beat.” He’s keeping it open while it’s on the market so the “new owner can come right in and take over. I’ve got a great staff there and I want to make sure that they can stay and hopefully the restaurant will stay the same.” If somehow you haven’t been, it’s not just about the food and beverages (including famous milkshakes) but also the quirky decor.
(WSB photo, 2023)
(And the history!) If you’re potentially interested, you can contact Bennett at 206-227-1950 or bennettproperties@comcast.net. You can see the listing here.
(March photo courtesy Luna Park Café owner John Bennett)
When Luna Park Café celebrated its 35th anniversary in March, owner John Bennett told us they hoped to add dinner this spring. Now, he says, it’s about to happen:
Luna will start opening for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays starting tomorrow. Serving great burgers, sandwiches, salads, vegetarian, and vegan dishes. Expanded cocktail menu, beer specials and new mock-tail options, including our famous boozy shakes!
The café is at 2918 SW Avalon Way. Dinner hours will be 3-9 pm.
Three weeks after Luna Park Café reopened following six months of repairs and maintenance, it’s in Phase 2 – owner John Bennett reports, “We are now open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch. 8 am -3 pm. When the weather gets better we will open our outdoor patio. We are working on a plan to be open for dinner soon. Stay tuned.” Shortly after reopening, the restaurant at 2918 SW Avalon Way celebrated its 34th anniversary.
(WSB photos)
After multiple test runs, Luna Park Café will reopen tomorrow (Friday, March 17th) – but only for breakfast and lunch for starters, according to founder John Bennett. Six months have passed since the restaurant closed for maintenance, repairs, and upgrades.
They’ve also made some menu changes, most notably adding this vegan menu. As with any place opening/reopening, they hope you will be patient, don’t everyone rush in at once! The 34-years-in-business café at 2918 SW Avalon Way will be open 8 am-3 pm Wednesdays-Sundays as of tomorrow.
(Photo sent by Bryan)
Last weekend, some fans of Luna Park Café were excited to see that sight – signs illuminated, people inside. It wasn’t a quiet reopening, though – the café had a few invitation-only test runs, following six months of closure for maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. Proprietor John Bennett tells WSB the test runs went well, but now there’s one last hurdle to clear: “We’re trying to hire line cooks so we can open next week. Anyone who wants to be part of our team can contact us at lunaparkcafe.office@gmail.com.” Luna Park Café (2918 SW Avalon Way) will celebrate its 34th anniversary this month.
Two milestones for one of West Seattle’s one-of-a-kind businesses – Avalon Glassworks in the Luna Park neighborhood. Here’s their announcement:
Avalon Glassworks is celebrating 30 years of business and 20 years for current owners Shannon and Jon Felix. To commemorate, the studio has created a blown glass Anniversary Float, signed AGW 2023 “30” on the sealing button.
It is a 4″ sphere in transparent burgundy red with accents of sparkly gold flecks. It can be purchased online at their Etsy store or in-person at the West Seattle location at 2914 SW Avalon Way. Avalon Glassworks’ new hours are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, 12-4 pm.
(File photo)
Just as the West Seattle Bridge reopens, one of the businesses that’s practically next to it has announced a temporary closure. Just received from Luna Park Café proprietor John Bennett:
We recently have felt the after-effects of Covid and have done our best to stay open as much as possible to serve all our faithful customers. Unfortunately we came to the decision to temporarily close in order to do some much-needed systems updates. We don’t know how long this will take us since we want to be the best we can be when we do reopen!
We will be continuing with our current hours (8 am-3 pm) through Sunday the 18th so we encourage everyone to come see us and order their favorite shake, hobo, or Luna special before we take our break!
We look forward to reopening and having another great 30+-year stint!
Luna Park marked its 33rd anniversary earlier this year.
If you haven’t met her yet, that’s Lily Anaya, who’s celebrating the grand opening of Lily’s Salvadorean Restaurant at 2940 SW Avalon Way. She opened the restaurant three months ago but it’s finally time to party.The restaurant follows Lily’s success serving pupusas and other Salvadorean specialties to Farmers’ Market visitors. She told guests this afternoon about her long road to success in the U.S. after emigrating with her daughters.
If you want to drop in for a meal and/or drink and/or well-wishes, the official party continues until 6 pm. (The restaurant is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.)
Two and a half months after opening in Luna Park, Lily’s Salvadorean Restaurant (2940 SW Avalon Way) is finally ready to celebrate. You’re invited to the 2-6 pm party this Saturday (May 28th). Lily’s announcement promises “mariachi, special discounts, cocktail drinks, and more” and adds, “We are so happy that we are in the neighborhood and for all the warm welcoming that we have received.” Lily’s was a Farmers’ Market fixture before adding this bricks-and-mortar location.
Thanks to Ann for the top photo and tip. The RapidRide C Line shelter on northbound Avalon Way at Yancy [map] was hoisted Saturday, moved from the east side of the protected bike lane to the west side. We asked Metro’s Jeff Switzer about it, and got his response today:
This shelter relocation was planned as part of SDOT’s SW Seattle Paving: 35th / Avalon Project, which rebuilt/reconfigured SW Avalon Way in 2019/2020. To support the addition of protected bicycle lanes on this section of roadway, SDOT constructed a transit island for our existing northbound RapidRide stop far-side SW Yancy St to eliminate merging conflicts at the new protected bike lane and to keep this as an in-lane bus stop. We were just now able to finally perform this work with staffing levels stabilizing. Some (photos) from the team to help show our efforts and the result:
2940 SW Avalon Way, until recently the home of Allyum, has a new tenant – someone you might already know from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market: A liquor-license application this week revealed that Lily’s Salvadorean is taking over the space. A note on the window confirms it:
The note promises Mexican food as well as Salvadorean. Founder Lilian Anaya Quintanilla‘s business is more than a decade old. We briefly made contact at the market today, where Lily’s booth was very busy as usual, and we’re working on a followup conversation for details.
Thanks for the tip. The proprietors of Allyum, the “plant-focused” restaurant at 2940 SW Avalon Way, announced this evening that they’ll close by the end of the year. From their announcement:
Covid has definitely made it very difficult for us to grow the way we need to in order to self sustain and stay out of debt. After many heart felt talks and consideration of all possibilities to make our lovely space work, we have realized it’s just too big to keep costs down and run efficiently as a small restaurant. We have decided it’s time for Allyum to take the necessary next step of closing the doors of our business. Allyum will close by the end of 2021. We will have a set date soon.
We gave it our best shot, had a great time, and met some wonderful folks along the way, feeding them healthy, delicious food, so we feel pretty good about things despite the unavoidable outcome.
So, going forward, we have some really fun events we are planning, to go out with a bang and give you all one last taste of Allyum. Chef Ally will continue to cook of course and we ask that you look out on instagram for popups and private dinner opportunities for you and your loved ones. We are planning a lot of fun holiday promotions and plan to stay running in the space until the end of the year.
Come in and say goodbye and eat as much Allyum as you can while we are still open. Your business is still very much appreciated.
We thank you all so much for welcoming us and showing us so much love and support.
Until we meet again,
Chef Ally & Dahli Strayer of Allyum
Allyum opened this past New Year’s Day. The space previously held Duos, Avalon Restaurant, and Café Revo (before the restaurants, it held Murphy’s Furniture Studio until 2008).
The pandemic has been a challenge for nonprofits, missing the usual opportunities to gather supporters for celebratory fundraisers. Some have had live events online. Transitional Resources – headquartered in the Luna Park area – has produced an online event you can watch when you have time, to learn about – and potentially support – TR’s work “to stop the cycle of homelessness and institutionalization.” Here’s the announcement:
Transitional Resources serves our neighbors living with the most serious forms of mental illness by pairing behavioral health services and supportive housing to help people get off the streets and live successfully in the community.
We have missed gathering with our community, and we can’t wait until we can safely gather with you once more! But since we aren’t quite there yet, in lieu of an in-person event, we’ve put together a virtual program about what TR has been up to. We invite you to watch and hear more about our work, get inspired by our clients’ stories, and learn how individuals like you can make a difference. This exclusive content will be available through October 7. You can visit TR’s website to view it.
We need our neighbors to know that Transitional Resources is still out here, providing the continuous, community-serving care that our clients need. Like many organizations, the past year and a half has been extraordinarily challenging for us, and the support of our community has been critical to our continued operations. We’ve faced another year of canceled events, enhanced safety protocols, plus the additional challenge of constructing a brand-new building during a pandemic. We are proud to say that TR has been able to support our clients throughout these challenges, keeping people safe and healthy, and our new building will help us to increase our capacity and services to even more people. We depend on the community to help us persevere through these challenges, and we would appreciate your support as we continue to provide services to those who need it most.
You can watch the video here, and/or make a gift to support TR here. P.S, They’re hoping to open their new building on SW Yancy next month.
One reader report, from Melissa: “My car was broken into 9/21 in the evening or early morning sometime on SW Orleans Street, behind Luna Park Café. My inflatable paddleboard was stolen. It is a Body Glove paddleboard.” If you see one dumped somewhere, let us know and we’ll connect you.
12:43 AM: Though it’s not on the Seattle Public Utilities map yet, there’s a water outage in the Luna Park area. That’s according to multiple readers who’ve texted. 206-386-1800 is the number to call when you’re having water woes, and one texter reports they said there’d watr break on Avalon.
5:06 PM: Thanks for the updates in comments. We asked SPU about the outage and got this response from spokesperson Shanna Christie:
Last night around 11 pm, SPU crews responded to a water main break near the 3000 BLK of SW ANDOVER ST. Water was shutoff to 43 service lines to make the emergency repair. The break was fixed and water was back on around 2 am for some customers. A section of about 25 customers remained out of water due to a broken valve. Around 8 am today, a second SPU crew began work to repair the broken valve. This required a second emergency water shutdown impacting the same group of 43 customers, including the approximately 25 customers whose water was already off. The second repair was complete and water was back on for all customers by 12:30 pm today.
4:16 PM: A commenter mentioned this morning that there was suspected gunfire in the Luna Park area late last night. At the time, we found no confirmation. But that has changed. A preliminary police report says SPD got a call around mid-morning reporting gunshot damage sometime overnight at the Pet Care Center at Luna Park veterinary clinic (2950 SW Avalon Way). According to the police report, “A spent round was located in the lobby area of the business, and it penetrated a window frame on the east side of the building. There were about five or six locations of new damage.” We have a followup inquiry out to the clinic.
4:43 PM: The clinic confirms that no one was hurt – no pets or people were in the building when it happened. Their services have continued today uninterrupted.
Happy 32nd anniversary to Luna Park Café! Tomorrow’s the big day, and to celebrate, the café will be offering Birthday Cake Shakes for $4. In his message about the milestone, proprietor John Bennett also sent us a photo from the past:
He explains, “This is a picture of it before we got started in September 1988. Was Pat and Ron’s Tavern.” Read more history on the café website (and note that this was NOT the site of the amusement park with the same name – that was on the water at Duwamish Head).
West Seattle’s Luna Park Café is reopening indoor dining today, at 25 percent capacity as per state guidelines. Proprietor John Bennett says the restaurant will be open 8 am-9 om seven days a week and will still offer takeout orders (206-935-7250) plus “for the hardy … we have a few tables outside. Join us for Valentine’s weekend ! Boozy raspberry vodka shakes and cranberry mimosas.”
Luna Park Café is at 2918 SW Avalon Way.
If you’ve lived in West Seattle for more than a few minutes, you’ve probably heard about the short-lived early-20th-century amusement park Luna Park at the peninsula’s northern tip, likely even seen a few photos. But you probably haven’t heard or seen most of what West Seattle resident Paul Moyes shows you in the video above – Luna Park inside and out. Paul told WSB via email, “It is a detailed breakdown of the layout, location, and attractions of the amusement park. It proved a lot of fun researching where all the buildings and rides were located, and also discovering the names and a bit of backstory on the performers that entertained the throngs there.” Paul is not a historian – he told us he moved here in the ’90s (from Michigan) to study oceanography at UW – but has “enjoyed photography for a while (instagram.com/paulmoyes)” and this is his first video. “I’m considering learning more about videography and doing more vids in the future. I had such a great time on this one I think I caught the bug.”
ORIGINAL MONDAY REPORT: We first reported more than three months ago about the plan to open Allyum in the former Duos Lounge space at 2940 SW Avalon Way. Now the sign is up and opening plans are set – Allyum has announced that this Friday, New Year’s Day, will be its first day, open 11 am-3 pm for takeout. Chef Ally Rael told us in September about her plan for an upscale, local-focused plant-based menu, also spotlighting beverages. You can now preview the menu online – including a “New Year’s Nosh” featuring latkes, matzo-ball soup, and a Reuben sandwich centered on “pastrami-marinated mushrooms.” Allyum also plans to soon be part of the trend of restaurants offering “markets” – describing their intention to offer “an array of housemade, farm fresh and specially procured items for your enjoyment at home. From fresh pasta and signature sauces, to ‘off the beaten path’ bottles of wine and local farm-fresh veggies.” Post-holiday hours are on the Allyum website.
ADDED TUESDAY: In response to our inquiry, Allyum confirms it’s takeout TFN: “We do have a limited amount of outdoor furniture but our rain gear isn’t quite ready. We will do online orders from our website and walk-in orders. No delivery (yet).”
Today, we welcome West Seattle Pilates as our newest sponsor. New WSB sponsors get a chance to tell you what they do, so here’s what West Seattle Pilates would like you to know:
West Seattle Pilates is owned and operated by Jenny Melville and located in the ActivSpace building on Harbor Avenue. She has lived in West Seattle for the past decade and taught Pilates all over the Seattle area for 9 years. Pilates helps lengthen and strengthen the muscles in your body. It is great as a practice on its own or can be added to other fitness modalities for conditioning. West Seattle Pilates opened in March of 2018 and offers small-mat Pilates classes and private lessons.
West Seattle Pilates takes pride in maintaining long-term clients. Jenny creates a safe environment that welcomes people no matter their fitness level and body type. She is able to work with clients who have chronic injuries and different pathologies. Jenny is creative in her approach and up to the task of helping someone move and feel better. After a Pilates session, people leave feeling energized and mindful of the smaller muscle groups they worked. Clients notice better posture, stronger core, and an overall feeling of greater mobility in their bodies.
West Seattle Pilates has volunteered their services including to West Seattle High School to introduce Pilates to freshman students. Jenny is very willing to give back to the community and has donated several gift certificates to various events/auctions over the past couple years.
It is important to keep your body moving during this pandemic, especially if you are working from home. WSP offers classes on Zoom and private lessons on Zoom or in the studio. If you’ve ever wanted to try Pilates and the apparatus(reformer, tower, chair) there is a one-time Private Lesson Intro Pack of 3 lessons for $180 (+ tax). Feel free to give us a call at 206-822-5844 or send email to westseattlepilates@gmail.com
We thank West Seattle Pilates 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.
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