West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
Staci at Luna Park Café shared the photo of their sign – which is up in advance of the restaurant’s 23rd anniversary this Sunday (March 18th). She says they’re celebrating by offering kids free face-painting from 3-6 pm that day (Sunday). The café’s history – including a photo of what the building held, long ago – is on this page of the LPC website. Staci also mentioned they’re also celebrating St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow (Saturday) with a corned-beef-and-cabbage special and green beers. (We’ve received word of a few other St. P’s day specials we’ll be offering, and they’ll be in the Saturday daily preview – e-mail us yours if you haven’t already!)
At Ola Salon in the Luna Park business district tonight, that’s Tiann Stubberfield with the tweezers and Transitional Resources‘ Darcell Slovek-Walker (reclining) and Yemaya St. Clair. Ola and TR are neighbors – TR, which provides housing and other services to people living with “severe and persistent” mental illness, is headquartered just a few blocks south on Avalon Way. Tonight, Ola held a fundraiser for TR, including donating the proceeds from certain services as well as raffle tickets. Treats too, plus live music from West Seattle’s own Sid Law:
If you missed tonight’s event – here’s how to help Transitional Resources. Meantime, still lots of chances for you to reach out and give this holiday season – we’ve got a special section, with both fundraisers and direct donation opportunities, on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page.
Several inquiries have come in about the police/fire response in the Luna Park business district. All we know so far is that an elderly man is reported to have suddenly collapsed, and medic crews have been doing CPR. No crime or crash – police told us they are there just to help make sure firefighters have the space they need to work. As you can see in our photo, southbound (uphill) Avalon is blocked at the scene. If we find out anything more later, we’ll add it.
Assuming the weather gets better by tomorrow – latest forecast suggests it could – SDOT says the paving work on Avalon Way will continue, and may go into Wednesday as well. According to spokesperson Marybeth Turner, “Lane closures will not last long and flaggers will assist traffic through the work areas. Sidewalks will remain open.”
SDOT was already planning to be over here doing “spot paving” on California SW in the block south of SW Edmunds tomorrow and Wednesday (as reported here). Now comes word that SW Avalon Way will follow, between 35th SW and SW Spokane (map), on Thursday and Friday, 9 am-5 pm, weather permitting. SDOT’s announcement says, “One lane of traffic in each direction will remain open. Bicycles will merge with general traffic within work zones. All sidewalks and crosswalks will remain open.”
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Deb Breuler, co-owner of the Luna Park-area restaurant Avalon:
During the early morning hours our patio at Avalon restaurant was
vandalized. Two large planters were knocked over. Plants were pulled up, chairs were broken and thrown to the sidewalk out front. It must have happened quite late we were here until 1 am and back at 8 am. It has since been cleaned up and none of our diners had to miss a beautiful day on our patio. It was disheartening to know this happened in our community. If anyone saw anything?? I have reported this to the police.
No way to tell if it’s related, but while we were taking photos early this morning today at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, we were told that shrubs had been torn out by vandals overnight; Alki Community Council‘s David Hutchinson had replanted them and was cleaning up before the 9/11 anniversary events began.
(Photo courtesy Avalon Glassworks, used with permission)
West Seattle’s Avalon Glassworks has a long history of helping local nonprofits – and the latest is the Seattle Public Library Foundation, which will get a portion of the proceeds from the newly announced holiday ornaments shown above. $30 each. You can check the ornaments (and other blown-glass art) at their shop on Avalon Way just south of the West Seattle Bridge. (They’re available online too.)
The ornaments caught our attention as we were just about to publish this reminder: Seattle Public Library branches are closing for a week-plus again this year, as a result of city budget cuts. That closure starts a week from tomorrow (August 29) and continues through the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 5th, so the libraries won’t reopen till Tuesday, September 6th. More info here.
A postscript to the West Seattle shoots for “Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas” – Alki last weekend and Beach Drive yesterday – two photos just came in from Avalon proprietor Mary Palmer, who says: “We thought we would share a couple of photos with you. David DeLuise came into our restaurant to relax after a day of filming ‘Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas’ and to celebrate a crew member’s birthday.” That’s Mary at right, with Avalon partner Deborah Breuler at left. If the name sounds familiar, yes, he’s the 39-year-old son of the late comic legend Dom DeLuise, and couldn’t resist a bit of clowning at Avalon:
Avalon’s been open four months now, in the Luna Park business district. (Driving by this afternoon, we noticed it looks like their patio’s open – a few tables of diners were out in the sunshine!)
ADDED 1 AM SUNDAY: Avalon sends word another of the movie’s stars, Elliott Gould, came in Saturday night:
Warm up for Fat Tuesday with a Happy Hour Monday! If you’re a local business owner, no matter how small (or large!) your business, the Westside Professionals (WSB sponsor) would love to see you at Avalon tomorrow night, 5-7 pm. It’s a chance to network, mingle, and meet other local entrepreneurs while checking out one of West Seattle’s most acclaimed new lounge/restaurants; here’s the event page on Facebook.
As the RapidRide “C” Line bus service gets closer to its West Seattle debut, currently set for September of next year, Metro is locking in the details for stops, stations, bus lanes, and the rest of the accompanying “facilities,” working in tandem with SDOT, since the facilities are on city streets and sidewalks. We have been reporting here on the concerns that two business districts along the route have had regarding street parking that will be removed for bus lanes. While Triangle business owners along SW Alaska had most of their concerns quelled (as reported here), Luna Park business owners (whose concerns we first detailed last December) have just received final word of the plan for their area. It’s largely unchanged from the proposal that was discussed again at their most recent merchants’ meeting.
The plan is outlined in a letter sent to Luna Park businesses this week (read the 2-page PDF here), signed by Metro director Kevin Desmond and SDOT director Peter Hahn. It finalizes the plan for a bus lane that will mean no on-street parking along the east side of Avalon 6-10 am weekdays between the bridge and SW Bradford. That had drawn strongest objections from Luna Park Café owner John Bennett and Java Bean Coffee owner Tony Hoyt, both of whom do much of their business in the mornings. The letter notes that the restrictions “will affect 355 linear feet of curb space …” The county and city reps who had attended Luna Park merchants’ meetings had previously described the affected area as 15 parking spaces; by the city’s 15-to-19-feet-per-space measure, that’s between 19 and 23 spaces.
There is one potential change: Desmond and Hahn write that “… with this letter, we commit to reassessing whether an additional RapidRide stop at the existing northbound (bus) stop at SW Charlestown Street [map] would be warranted to meet the needs of more riders.” Luna Park business owners had taken the previous proposal as adding insult to injury, as there was no RapidRide stop planned in the business district, or anywhere north of SW Yancy, a few blocks uphill.
We’re checking on how soon the decision on that potential stop will be made; work along Avalon Way might start as soon as “late spring,” according to the letter (again, you can read it in its entirety here).
EDITOR’S NOTE: As mentioned in our just-published overview of where RapidRide-related parking/traffic changes stand after a series of recent meetings, the plan to ban morning parking on SW Avalon across from the heart of the Luna Park business district is not sitting well with business owners, particularly those whose businesses depend heavily on morning sales – Luna Park Café and Java Bean Coffee. As our story notes, they feel insult is being added to injury by the fact not only does the current plan take away parking across from their businesses, but also, RapidRide will not stop in the business district. Java Bean’s owner wrote a letter to various government addressees after the most recent Luna Park Merchants’ meeting, suggesting moving the station is a must. He asked WSB to “share it with the community”:
Subject: Rapid Ride along Avalon Way West Seattle (Java Bean) A little less Potter, a bit more George Bailey!
Joe, Michelle, Brian and Bill,As you are aware, quite a bit of discussion concerning the Rapid Ride parking issue in the Luna Park Business District of West Seattle has taken place over the past year. Many different options have surfaced, that would both accommodate the goals of Metro, the livelihood of the businesses and the retention of jobs in the Luna Park neighborhood. As the owner of Java Bean I am greatly concerned that the choices being proposed regarding the rapid ride program will put me out of business and cause 5 full time jobs to be lost in West Seattle. Given what’s in the balance I would guess most West Seattle residents would side with us – the business owners, our teammates and our fans if given the choice of either saving their neighborhood amenities or getting to work a bit quicker. Why can’t we do both?
During (last Wednesday’s) meeting I brought up a question concerning how the location of the bus stops were chosen for the C-line. One of the key factors: an average of 150 people board the bus on a daily basis up the street from our business district (the proposed Rapid Ride stop) vs. the 120 people who board the bus on a daily basis directly across the street from my Coffee Shop (Java Bean) and other businesses in our business district. Based on this as a factor, I was told, at least at this point, the plan is to remove surface street parking between the hours of 6-10 am M-F for the Rapid Ride bus line that will NOT stop in our business district. This will put me out of business, eliminate 5 full time jobs, and decrease the quality of life of the residents of West Seattle who frequent my business. Not to mention the adverse affects it will have on my associate business owners.
In fact, with the goal to get people out of their cars and on the bus, not only will my customers (who continue to drive) be unable to park from 6-10am, but my customers who do decide to use Rapid Ride will not be afforded the opportunity to jump off the bus to grab a cup of coffee since the bus won’t be stopping in our business district.
It’s a serious double whammy to the Java Bean. You take away the parking, put people on the bus and then those on the bus can’t get off.
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
In our previous coverage of the new West Seattle restaurant Avalon, which officially opened this afternoon at 2940 Avalon Way SW in the Luna Park business district, we’ve talked about the food, and the coffee – but the art is part of the story, too. It’s all by Diann Sales:
She’s the sister of co-proprietor and head Chef Deborah Breuler – at right in this next photo with co-proprietor Mary Palmer (Deborah had answered questions about their plans in one of our earliest reports):
Diann’s work incorporated many repurposed materials found at the site (the photo above shows her in front of a collage done on an old door they turned up). More Avalon photos ahead:
If you’ve driven along Avalon tonight, you might have noticed people inside the street’s new namesake restaurant. No, Avalon is not open to the public yet – as reported two days ago, next Monday (January 3) is the big night – but tonight, it’s having what’s known as a “friends and family” night to work the bugs out. Stopping by for a few photos, we got co-owner Mary Palmer to pause for a photo, by the espresso machine:
Caffe Umbria is the coffee chosen by Avalon. Meantime, among the “friends and family” we found giving Avalon’s cuisine a try were two people already well-known in the local food world:
Justin Cline and Ann Magyar, who own White Center-headquartered Full Tilt Ice Cream, pronounced Avalon’s food “good.” Both of the desserts on tonight’s preview menu, by the way, included Full Tilt ice cream – salted caramel in the Chocolate Profiteroles, cinnamon with the Apple Pie Tartlet. (What else was on the menu, you ask? The appetizers offered were Duck Flat Bread with persimmons and fontina cream sauce, Mixed Green Salad with sherry vinaigrette, marinated cheese curds, pears and candied hazelnuts; Salad Trio of marinated winter vegetables; Crab and Cod Cakes. Entrees: Syrah Braised Short Ribs with root-vegetable gratin; Grilled Sturgeon with dandelion pesto, anchovy butter, caramelized cauliflower, fennel bulb and cavalo nero; Marinated Carleton Port Tenderloin with butternut squash, brussel leaves and pancetta; Braised Chicken Gremolata with mashed potatoes, sunchokes and lemon. Other potential menu items are on their website.)
(From the RapidRide C Line route map)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Imagine West Seattle without the art glass of Avalon Glassworks, the “salubrious” beverages of Java Bean Coffee, the burgers of Luna Park Café, and the rest of the Luna Park business district.
That’s what the businesses’ proprietors warn could happen if the forthcoming Metro RapidRide “C Line” takes away Avalon Way street parking nearby – as is currently planned – a risk they say is even more dire in their area than in The Triangle, where related fears have surfaced.
The Luna Park district merchants have been talking with Metro over the past few months, without convincing them to preserve the parking, so now they’re taking their concerns to the community at large. Wednesday morning, we were invited to sit in on their monthly merchants’ meeting, which also included businesspeople dealing with related RapidRide-parking-removal concerns in The Triangle, as well as three county reps.
On this “Small Business Saturday,” remember the smaller business districts of West Seattle too – like Luna Park, along Avalon Way just south of the West Seattle Bridge, where you will find Avalon Glassworks. Luckie shared photos from today’s glassblowing demonstration, featuring glass jellyfish created by guest artist Richard Lowrie.
You can go watch till 5 pm today – and Luckie also notes that Avalon Glassworks has a food drive under way; bring a donation and you’ll get $1 off a purchase.
That was fast. Tonight the WSB inbox yielded news of activity at the former Café Revo, which is apparently going to become a “Mediterranean-influenced” restaurant called Avalon. There’s no business license or liquor-license application in that name yet, but we did find social-media accounts for its apparent owners, mentioning the purchase and hopes of opening next month. We have messages out to see what more they can tell us.
That’s photographer Tim Aguero, snapped via the WSB BlackBerry between mini-photo sessions at Avalon Glassworks on Saturday afternoon, during “Head Shots at the Hot Shop” – a chance to get a new photo for your online profiles (or whatever), with a suggested $40 donation going to the White Center Food Bank. We stopped by toward the end, but it was too soon for the final tally, which Avalon Glassworks’ Shannon Felix has posted on their Facebook page (along with shots of some of the participants) – $745. AG’s FB page is also a good place to learn a little more about art-glass creation – which we caught in action while covering the fundraiser:
That’s Sean with the torch. You can watch the creative process at the shop four days a week!)
You’re on Facebook, and/or Linked In, and/or Twitter, and/or you have a website with an “about” page … but you just don’t have a great photo of your smiling face to show the world. Tomorrow (Saturday) is the day you can fix that while doing a good deed – “Head Shots at the Hot Shop” features pro photographer Timothy Aguero set up at Avalon Glassworks 1-5 pm tomorrow to photograph you with an art-glass backdrop. Suggested donation of $40 goes to the White Center Food Bank. No appointment required! 2914 SW Avalon Way.
As was observed during this morning’s groundbreaking for Transitional Resources‘ new Avalon Place facility (2988 SW Avalon Way, just north of the old Tillicum Village building) – here’s the before/after:
TR is one of those places you drive by all the time without realizing it’s there. Its business is to help those with “serious, persistent” mental-health challenges, dozens of whom either live in its current buildings along Avalon, or get services there. Now it’s adding a brand-new building that’ll provide 16 “permanent, affordable housing” units, as well as space for other services, and that’s what brought TR staff, board members, and dignitaries out for today’s brief ceremony. In our video, the woman toward the right is TR CEO Darcell Slovek-Walker; the others include King County Executive Dow Constantine and City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (project funding includes county and city dollars). Slovek-Walker tells us the house now on the site (you can see it in our video) will be demolished within a week or two; construction of Avalon Place should take about seven months.
Till 9 tonight, the merchants of Luna Park welcome you to their first-ever Block Party – you can’t miss the balloons waving in the slightest hint of breeze along SW Avalon Way, from Ola Salon to Avalon Glassworks (watch glassblowing, live!), with stops along the way including Java Bean Coffee, a West Seattle fixture for more than two decades. And looking back even further … why … it’s “The King”!
You can snack like a king (or queen, or princess, or prince) at the food booths – these were by Luna Park Café:
And the Java Bean van’s not the only classic car you can gawk at:
Live music and raffles too – on Avalon south of The Bridge, till 9 tonight.
Two big happenings scheduled for Thursday night:
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION’S SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA: The second year for this free outdoor-concert series (co-sponsored by local businesses including WSB) kicks off tomorrow night with The Starlings (video above). For each of the next six Thursday nights, be on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center (bring your own chair/blanket) at 6:30 to enjoy great local music. And it’s more than music: The Kid Picks van from PCC Natural Markets (WSB sponsor as well as major sponsor of the concert series) will be back. ANA will sell its new T-shirts and track jackets. No food concessions yet, so bring your own dinner/snacks – but food carts are welcome if you want to invite one (they’d have to set up along Walnut on the east side of the park). See you there!
LUNA PARK BLOCK PARTY: Businesses in the Luna Park area – SW Avalon Way just south of the West Seattle Bridge – are planning this first-ever bash tomorrow night, stretching from Avalon Glassworks (where you can watch live glass-blowing demonstrations) to Ola Salon (beverages and raffle), 5-9 pm, with live music along the way too, all to showcase this unique slice of West Seattle.
Blustery outside but ghoulishly warm inside at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) tonight, for the second consecutive night of pre-Halloween partying … last night, Nightmare on Morgan Street to benefit West Seattle Helpline; Friday night, Zombie Dance Party on behalf of local roller-derby teams. P.S. Congrats to The Feedback for winning “Best Cocktail” in the “Best of Western Washington.” Now, off to Luna Park Cafe for a dayside scene:
Heleyna Holmes photographed Batman and Batgirl after they found the Batmobile at Luna Park. Also in the costume realm, a scene from a classroom:
That’s Seattle Lutheran High School English teacher Leslee Myers taking the occasion Friday morning to dress in period garb as if the classroom were a radio studio, playing the classic “War of the Worlds” from exactly 71 years ago. (That classic, by the way, also happens to be the inspiration for West Seattle High School Drama Club‘s fall play, which has a 2:30 pm matinee today.)
Thanks to Victoria and Thomas for sending word that a truck is stuck under the bridge by Luna Park; Thomas included the photo. We’re heading over to figure out exactly what’s blocked, but in the meantime, good area to avoid. 10:44 AM UPDATE: The truck is blocking the ramp where you turn either southbound from Harbor or northbound from Avalon to go toward the eastbound West Seattle Bridge (here’s a map). Some of its wheels are up on a concrete barrier. So if you need to get to The Bridge, don’t go that way, TFN. 11:02 AM UPDATE: We just took these pics for a closer look. No word so far how long till this will be cleared:
11:29 AM: Heading back over to see if it’s cleared yet. Meantime, note other traffic challenges around the area, as discussed in comments. The Viaduct has reopened, though, just got word on that. And thanks again to everyone who sends tips – which in turn help many other people – please check our contact options and consider storing in your cell phone/smartphone/etc. whichever one would be easiest for you to use whenever you have something to report. 1:32 PM UPDATE: The scene is now clear and you can get to the ramp from either direction.
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