FOLLOWUP: Taste of West Seattle winners!
(Photos by WSFB board member Nicole Lutomski)
The Hall at Fauntleroy was full of tastiness last night as the West Seattle Food Bank fundraiser Taste of West Seattle returned to its original format, with dozens of local food and beverage purveyors serving tastes and sips to attendees. While WSFB was the biggest winner of the night, some of the participants went home winners too, as attendees got the chance to vote on their favorites. WSFB development director Breanna Bushaw sent us the list:
Best Savory: Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes
Best Vegetarian: Aroy Mak Thai
Best Beverage: Aroy Mak Thai – yes, they won two!
Best Sweet: Dolcetta Artisan Sweets
Best Pour (Wine & Beer): Darby Winery
If you missed the event, you can of course support WSFB any time – here’s how.
BIZNOTE FOLLOWUP: For everyone wondering about the ex-Original Bakery space
Some readers have been wondering what’s going on with the vacant Fauntleroy space where The Original Bakery closed in February. As we reported at the time, the space at 9253 45th SW was taken over by the same company that owns Endolyne Joe’s next door. Owner Peter Levy told us in February that they planned to open a new establishment that would serve “morning pastries and espresso,” with other details to come. But with no outward sign of activity in the past seven months, readers asked if the plan was still on. Reached by email, Levy tells us they’ve been waiting all this time for a building permit: “We finally did get approval and the final permit required was issued yesterday.” So, he says, “We will be starting construction activity immediately, with an expected opening now estimated in mid-January.” Some details are still being worked out: “What we know at this point is that we will be opening at 7 am, providing an assortment of baked goods and coffee/espresso. We are still in the development stage as to what our service will include for the lunch and dinner hours. We are at this time intending on a limited breakfast menu with the aforementioned baked goods and continuing service throughout the day and evening. Up until about a week or two ago, we were still not clear if we would be able to secure the permits required to proceed, but with permit in hand it’s full speed ahead.”
FOOD BIZNOTES: Opening day for Miso; more info on Banh Mi XO; Portage Bay Café change
Three restaurant notes:
MISO OPENS: The new Highland Park “K-food” restaurant at 16th/Holden is open at last, as of today. We took pics yesterday as their preparation stretched out one more day. Ben is the proprietor:
He tells us Miso (which is Korean for “smile”) will be open 11 am-8 pm Mondays through Saturdays, closed Sundays. We photographed the menu: here and here.
MORE ABOUT BANH MI XO: We mentioned briefly Tuesday that this sign had gone up at 35th/Henderson:
We’ve since connected with proprietor Guy by email. He says hours will be “most likely breakfast and lunch (8 am-3/4 pm).” Menu plans: “Banh mi, bun (vermicelli), fresh spring rolls, bubble-tea drinks, fruit smoothies, and Vietnamese waffles.” Guy adds, “This will be our first sandwich shop, but hope we can expand. We have been in the restaurant for 10 years+ in the past.” As for when they’ll open, “Later October/November will be our best guess.”
PORTAGE BAY CAFE: Peter from Portage Bay Café emailed us with news of a fall change in hours:
Our location in West Seattle will be shifting to our fall hours starting next week. Like our smaller neighborhood stores in Ballard and near Ravenna, West Seattle will be switching to five days a week, open Thursday through Monday. Thursday, Friday, and Monday, we’ll be open 8-1:30, and on Saturdays and Sundays, we’ll be open 8-2.”
September 26 and 27 will be the first weekdays we’ll be closed, resuming five day a week service starting on the 28th.
It’s been almost nine months since Portage Bay opened at 4725 42nd SW.
BIZNOTE FOLLOWUP: Chef Korea Miso revises opening date (update: and another delay)
That photo shared by RG in a comment shows what just discovered after going over to 16th/Holden to check – Chef Korea Miso, the new restaurant in the old Wanna Burger/Teriyaki spot, has pushed back their opening a bit. It was supposed to be today; now the sign on the door says they’ll open next Wednesday (September 20th). They told us last month the menu will be “K-food.”
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 20: We just went over; they’re not ready to open yet. They tell us they’re waiting on deliveries of the ingredients needed for their dishes. Could be tomorrow, or Friday …
WEST SEATTLE RESTAURANTS: 2 brunch notes for this weekend
Thinking about weekend brunch?
SKYLARK BRINGS BACK BRUNCH: The restaurant, bar, and entertainment venue at 3803 Delridge Way SW is bringing back brunch starting this weekend:
It’s been a long time coming, but we are finally ready to start slinging eggs and pouring those mimosas again!
Starting this Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-3:00, we’ll be offering our house-smoked meats, house made gravy and hollandaise, breakfast tacos, Benedicts, Smoked Bloody Marys, 7 Roasters Coffee, breakfast cocktails, Macrina Bakery Bread and plenty more, all made with the love that you’ve come to expect from us!
We’ll also have the SEAHAWKS on the BIG SCREEN this Sunday. Plus there’s gluten-free and veggie options, as well as something for the kiddos!
It’s sort of a soft re-launch, according to the Skylark announcement: “We’ll have a whole new staff for this so please be patient and feel free to share your feedback. We will be limiting modifications for the first few weeks as well as not doing online ordering while our crew gets things dialed in, but will always do our best to accommodate our guests’ needs.”
CIRCA SKIPS SATURDAY: No Saturday brunch at Circa in The Admiral District tomorrow because, co-proprietor Gretchen tells us, Team Circa is running in the Orca Half half-marathon – and afterward, they’ll have a staff party. But Circa WILL reopen for Saturday dinner.
TICKET TIME: Taste of West Seattle returns to original format
(WSB photo from 2019 Taste of West Seattle)
This year, the Taste of West Seattle – benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank – returns in its original format, one big event with dozens of food/drink purveyors offering “tastes” to attendees. Original venue, too – The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW). WSFB is now selling tickets for the Taste of WS, which is set for Thursday, September 28th. $125 VIP tickets get you in first, at 5:30 pm; $75 general admission starts at 6 pm. Here are the participants the WSFB has announced so far:
Aroy Mak Thai
Bakery Nouveau
Circa
Darby Winery
Dolcetta Artisan Sweets
Dream Dinners
Elliott Bay Brewing Co.
Ghostfish Brewing
Mission Cantina
Papa Tony’s Hot Sauce
Pecos Pit Bar-B-Que
Ringa
Seattle Sorbets
Shoshinbakery
Shug’s
Sopranos Antico
T2 Cellar
The Good Society Brewing Co
The Locöl Kitchen & Bar
Tuxedos & Tennis Shoes
Viscon Cellars
…and more to come!
It’s a 21+ event, and usually sells out, so if you’re interested, go here to get your ticket(s).
BIZNOTE: Ephesus closes in West Seattle
Thanks to the readers who emailed in recent days about the closure of Ephesus, the Turkish-turned-Greek restaurant at 5245 California SW. Via email, Aydin from Ephesus confirmed the closure and said they didn’t renew their lease because “Our landlord wanted to increase rent 100% and we didn’t accept.” You can find the same Greek food and beverages at 210 Occidental Ave. S. in Pioneer Square.
Property records show the West Seattle building has had the same ownership for 30 years; they sold off the long-stalled building site next door last year. (The new project for that site, first noted here last year – again, under different ownership from the now-closed restaurant – is still making its way through the city permit process; here’s the new design packet for the 9 townhouses planned there.)
BIZNOTE FOLLOWUP: Junction plumbing repairs almost done
It’s been almost two weeks since we first reported on sewer-line repairs affecting Elliott Bay Brewing and then Talarico’s Pizza in The Junction. The work got ever more complicated, Tim O’Neill of O’Neill Plumbing Company (WSB sponsor) explained, as they dealt with, among other things, a century-old line. He sent an update today explaining that you’ll see his crews in the area a little while longer:
Both Elliott Bay Brewery & Talarico’s Pizzeria are open for business.
The EBB pipe-lining project from inside the building’s basement to the main on California Ave ha been completed.
We then moved over to Talarico’s to make similar repairs and have found additional pipe separations near the curb line that will require some equipment that is not readily available until early next week.
We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have everything, including the cement repairs, completed by 8/31.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Restaurant burglary
New Teriyaki and Wok in Morgan Junction (6540 California SW) is opening late today – around 5 pm – as its owner deals with cleanup and repairs after an overnight burglary. We took the photo after hearing police dispatched this morning to check out the shattered door; at the time, officers hadn’t reached the owner, but they eventually did, and we went back just now to follow up with him. He told us the burglar(s) didn’t get away with much – $20 and “a box of chicken.”
BIZNOTE FOLLOWUP: Elliott Bay Brewing reopens in West Seattle
(Added: WSB photo)
4:07 PM: Just heard from Elliott Bay Brewing proprietor Todd Carden: They’re reopening EBB’s West Seattle Junction flagship location at 4:30 pm. As noted here last Friday, it’s been closed several days while plumbers worked on a stubborn sewer-line problem. Repairs are now complete.
ADDED 11:28 PM: Still some work to do, Tim O’Neill of O’Neill Plumbing (WSB sponsor) tells us: “We have been making repairs to an old sewer system that’s been functioning for a century, but finally decided to give up…….. We have found good solid pipe to connect to. The prior pipe we were following was in too bad of condition to reconnect to.” That’s what enabled Elliott Bay to reopen. Next: “Tomorrow we will be inserting a liner from where we made these repairs, out to the middle of the street to reinforce that stretch of pipe. Next step after that will be to make a smaller, yet similar repair to Talarico’s pipe that is in the same general location. We thank everyone for theit patience and please stop into these two great restaurants for a cold brew and a bite !!”
BIZNOTE: ‘K-food’ coming to former Wanna space in Highland Park
(Photo sent by John)
Thanks to everyone who has texted and emailed about the sign that just appeared at the space where Wanna Burger and Teriyaki closed back in May, at 1513 SW Holden in Highland Park: Chef Korea Miso. We’ve been watching the space ever since a commenter on the original closure story noticed a sign indicating it was being remodeled and would “reopen” in June. A return of Wanna didn’t seem likely, as the restaurant’s website had been taken down as soon as it closed, but we didn’t know for sure until now. As with so many times we’ve been by on spec, no one was there when we went back this morning, but we did reach someone by phone who was able to tell us a bit about the new restaurant. She said the menu will be “Korean-food based (called K-food).” Hours will be Mondays through Saturdays, 11 am to 9 pm, closed Sundays, and they’re just waiting on the final health permit before they can open.
BIZNOTE: Former Tug Inn site to become a tavern again?
(WSB photo, July 2020, post-Tug closure)
According to a liquor-license application, the former home of the Tug Inn may return to its tavern roots. The tavern-license (beer/wine) application for 2216 SW Orchard is in the name of Deluxe Beer Bar and Grill. We haven’t succeeded in reaching its prospective operators yet, but we did reach the owners of Bee’s Plumbing, which bought the site in 2020 and moved their business in until outgrowing it and moving to the former South West Plumbing location in North Delridge. They tell WSB they’re “in the process of renting the old bar out to a company who is going to open a restaurant.” (They’re already renting part of the site to a towing company.)
BIZNOTE: Driftwood on Alki reopening on Friday
Multiple readers reported a startlingly empty space at the restaurant/bar Driftwood (2722 Alki Avenue SW) and wondered what happened. No, Driftwood – which opened seven months ago – did NOT shut down. It did have to close temporarily earlier this week, co-proprietor Jackie Mallahan confirms: “We had to have our floors redone and take care of a small water leak.” They had hoped to reopen in time for dinner tonight but Jackie tells us this morning that they won’t be able to open until tomorrow (Friday): “Unfortunately the floors have not cured enough and we are not able to move the kitchen equipment back in.” They’re notifying tonight’s reservation-holders this morning.
BIZNOTE: Just Poké finally opens in West Seattle
In a reply to an online question, Just Poké had said they planned to try for a “soft open” of their long-anticipated West Seattle restaurant (4735 42nd SW) starting today. So we went by just now – and the sign tells the story: Yes, they’re open. It’s been a long road to this day for the regional chain – we first reported 5 1/2 years ago about Just Poké’s plans to expand to West Seattle, initially with a different Jefferson Square-area location; most recently, proprietor Norman Wu had told us they were aiming for late June. Their hours are 11 am-8 pm and they told us they’re expecting to have an official grand opening in a few weeks. This space was previously the art gallery/framing shop Wallflower, which closed four years ago.
BIZNOTE: New West Seattle Junction coffee-and-pastry shop Panterelli opens
Thanks to Dwight for the tip! The coffee/pastry shop that Pizzeria Credo proprietor Jacques Nawar has long had in the works next to Junction Plaza Park is open. Panterelli is all about choux pastry – cream puffs, for example.
This is not the proprietor’s first venture into sweetness – he also operated Naked Crepe for a few years in the northernmost commercial space demolished for the under-construction mixed-use building. The 4210 SW Alaska space where Panterelli is now open was previously Western Jewelry and Coin Exchange (known casually as “the watch shop”). Panterelli’s hours for starters are Wednesdays through Sundays, 8 am-3 pm.
Thanks to Frank for the tip. 
You have probably heard about the deadly wildfires on the island of Maui, with at least 36 people reported dead so far. (
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