Three quick notes this midday:

ALKI SUBWAY OPEN: While at the beach for a quick walk this morning, we noticed that, after a couple days’ delay, the new Subway at 2758 Alki SW is open, so we popped in to photograph the team. It’s the fifth Subway in West Seattle, as noted here when we first reported exactly three months ago that it was on the way. (P.S. Just after publishing this, we noticed Subway tweeted it’s just opened its 40,000th restaurant worldwide. Checking to see if this was #40,000.)

ATHENA’S: Several people have asked us lately about the status of Athena’s at 16th and Holden in Highland Park, since its windows are papered over and it hasn’t been open for a while. As we’ve mentioned in direct replies, its Facebook page mentioned a few weeks back that while the truck is out and about, the bricks-and-mortar location would be closed “due to construction” until net month.

FIREFLY CAFE & CREPERIE: Firefly (a WSB sponsor) at California/Genesee has new hours as of this week – 7 am-4 pm Mondays-Fridays, 8 am-5 pm weekends.

Three West Seattle restaurant notes today:

HARRY’S CHICKEN JOINT: North of Morgan Junction, Harry’s Chicken Joint (WSB sponsor) is planning its six-month celebration … half-iversary, you could say. Two weeks from today, according to proprietor Bruce:

Just wanted to give you a heads up, we are planning quite a party on Saturday, September 7th to celebrate the six-month anniversary of Harry’s Chicken Joint.

We will close that evening and take our chicken and treats a few blocks south to the Beveridge Place Pub from 6-9PM. It will be a fun time for Harry’s to thank all our loyal friends, neighbors, and guests.

We are also introducing some new menu items: shrimp po’ boy, oyster po’ boy, greens, and a salad.

Come on down and say hello. You’ll have to pay for your beer, wine or cider, but Harry’s will provide the food from 6-9.

In the meantime, check out Harry’s during its regular hours at 6032 California SW, Tuesdays-Saturdays, 4-9 pm. (Harry’s has a menu-enhanced website now as well as its Facebook page.)

ALKI SUBWAY OPENING: Tomorrow (Sunday, August 25th) will be opening day for the new Alki Subway (as first reported here in May, it’s in half the three-year-old, never-occupied space at 2758 Alki SW). **6:44 pm update, as noted in comments – the date was on a hand-lettered sign in the window when we walked by just after 11 this morning, but as of 15 minutes ago, THAT sign has been replaced by another hand-lettered one saying “Opening Soon.”

WSB RESTAURANT GUIDE UPDATES: We have added a few pages to the WSB West Seattle Restaurant Guide, including one for Westcity Sardine Kitchen, which might come in handy since WSK doesn’t have a website of its own, and a page for Chopstix. If there’s something you’d like to say about your favorite West Seattle restaurant(s), remember that each eatery’s page in our guide does have a spot for comments. P.S. to restaurant owners: We make the rounds every few months by phone/online checking for changes to hours and other key info, but you are welcome at any time to e-mail us with updates if you make changes or discover something outdated in our guide – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks! (The restaurant guide, in case you wondered, is NOT a paid-advertising section – it’s one of our free services to both readers and local venues. WSB does have restaurants on the sponsor team, and they get special mention atop the restaurant guide’s index page, as well as in the WSB Sponsors directory, and you’ll see their ads on the WSB sidebar.)

West Seattle’s next new restaurant, Pecado Bueno, has announced it’s opening this Thursday (August 15th) at 5 pm. We first reported back in June that PB, whose original location is in Fremont, would expand here, taking over the former Wing Dome spot at 4523 California SW. As founder James Schmidt explained to us at the time, PB is a “casual,” family-friendly taqueria-style restaurant with a full bar.

Two days after closing Bada Bistro at 61st/Alki, its now-former owners confirm that Fatburger plans to take over the space. Fatburger is a Los Angeles-based chain, founded more than 60 years ago, which made its first inroads into the Seattle metro area with outlets on the Eastside; so far as we can tell, this would be its first location inside the Seattle city limits. The Fatburger website’s “new locations” page mentions that Alki Beach is “opening August/September 2013.” Its closest current locations include Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond, and Federal Way. Fatburger’s arrival will make the 2700 block of Alki Avenue something of a hub of food/beverage chains – with Starbucks across the alley, and Subway soon to open in half of the three-years-empty space at 2758 Alki (as first reported here in May; a sign has just gone up this week). We’re hoping to reach the local franchisees for more information, and to find out if the plan includes the parent company’s wings sideline, as suggested by a liquor-license filing from earlier this year.

Another change in the Alki business district: As the sign on the door says, Bada Bistro has closed after less than five months at 61st and Alki. The restaurant/bar was a rebranding of what Sharon and John Bang, owners of Alki Café across the street, originally opened in spring 2011 as Beachside Café, in the space that had been Alki Bakery until its abrupt closure in November 2010. As for the new owners mentioned in the note as expected to open their doors next month – the outgoing owners, who say the decision to close Bada Bistro was “hard,” aren’t ready to comment just yet. They do say they will continue to own and operate Alki Café.

Pizzeria 22 in the Admiral District is adding a “private event space” next door, proprietor Cary Kemp tells WSB, saying he’s just signed the lease for the former tattoo-shop storefront:

Our plan is to turn the 800 square foot space into a private events facility hosting a cornucopia of events: wedding receptions, birthdays, banquets, corporate events, holiday parties, wine dinners and wine tastings, just to name a few. We will be putting a small pass through in the back of the space that will join both rooms together. This new facility will not alter the current Pizzeria 22 space and hopefully will not alarm many of our loyal customers that appreciate our small cozy atmosphere just the way it is. Other new additions to the new space will be large family style tables, a Caffe Vita espresso bar, and a dough making facility. I would like to have this space ready by Winter so we can ring in the holidays at Pizzeria 22!

It’ll also be available for overflow, and for more outside seating under the Pizzeria 22 banner. We asked Kemp about his Junction space, reported here earlier this year: “Quadrato is coming along. We have received our health permit and should receive the building permit next week. We’ll start construction then. We have also hired a great chef who will be running the space named Jim Seath. Jim opened many restaurants as chef for Ethan Stowell and is a West Seattleite. We have already begun canning and pickling in anticipation of our Fall opening.”

West Seattle’s next new restaurant, Westcity Sardine Kitchen, opens Friday at 3405 California SW, and will serve dinner seven nights a week. We’ve been watching this one for a long time; check the backstory:

December 2010 – The Bohemian abruptly closes.

August 2011 – The site sells to an “experienced restaurateur” (eventually revealed as the owner of Bick’s Neighborhood Grill in Greenwood).

January 2012 – A liquor-license app spills the name “West City Sardine Kitchen” (the first space has since been removed).

September 2012 – After months of attempts to get more information about the future restaurant and its status, via phone calls, in-person visits, notes on the door, we receive a postal-mailed letter from its proprietors, explaining their plan of a “simple neighborhood dinnerhouse” in the vein of Bick’s and co-owned, nearby Saltoro.

June 2013 – A help-wanted ad for the new restaurant appears on Craigslist.

We’ve gone by almost daily ever since, hoping to find someone to follow up with. And today, we connected with staffers who tell us they’re opening Friday, August 2nd, and will be open 5-10 pm daily thereafter – the “simple neighborhood dinnerhouse” as explained in that September letter.

Read on for photos of the menu, and more info:

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LA ROMANZA ADDS PATIO: A new place to dine outdoors in The Junction – La Romanza Bistro Italiano (WSB sponsor) has opened its patio out back. Proprietor Aimee Pellegrini says it’s open “all of our open and non-raining hours, definitely happy hour, dinner and sunny brunch. We can seat up to 20 on the deck and the entire space may be reserved as well. It’s a great spot for an al-fresco evening with light breezes and western exposure. Happy hour on the deck starts at 4:00 pm!” (P.S. Aimee adds that on West Seattle Summer Fest Eve, July 11th, award-winning Elvis stylist Bret Wiggins will perform two sets in front of La Romanza, starting at 6:30 pm, free, with drinks, “small bites,” and dinner available.)

4TH OF JULY CHICKEN: One of our newest sponsors, Harry’s Chicken Joint just north of Morgan Junction, will be open for takeout only on the 4th of July, 1-5 pm. Call ASAP at 206-938-9000 to reserve your chicken.

WANT YOUR OWN PIZZA SHOP? Spotted this week in the businesses-for-sale listings, Red Star Pizza is on the market, four years after taking over the old Pizza Time shop at 7514 35th SW.

WEST SEATTLE FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE UPDATE: The schedule of food trucks visiting all or most weekdays at Delridge/Andover continues to evolve. Our friends at SeattleFoodTruck.com tell us Where Ya At Matt has moved on, but a new gourmet truck called Nosh is headed that way – watch their site for dates.

THE ‘IN CASE YOU MISSED IT’ FILE: While we’re talking food … if you missed our earlier stories, two new restaurants are on their way to The Junction, likely by summer’s end: We reported last week on Pecado Bueno, taking over the ex-Wing Dome space, and we reported a month ago on Quadrato, en route to SW Oregon west of California.

Thanks to Sean for spotting the liquor-license-application posting and sending the tip our way: The nine-months-vacant Wing Dome spot in The Junction at 4523 California SW is slated to become the home of the second Pecado Bueno. The first one opened in Fremont in 2011. According to this PSBJ story, founder James Schmidt was a co-founder of Taco Del Mar. He told PSBJ that he didn’t want to turn Pecado Bueno into a major chain – maybe just five or six places. The concept is described as order-at-the-counter – here’s the menu – with a full bar (which is the type of liquor license that is being sought). This would be the fifth Mexican eatery in The Junction, after Puerto Vallarta, Taqueria Guaymas, Matador, and Pica Border Grill. We have messages out to see what more we can find out, such as timeframe for opening.

6:28 PM UPDATE: Just spoke by phone with owner James Schmidt, who says they could open as soon as August 1st – he’s expecting the “minor” changes they need to the space to be done before then, so the liquor license is what’s likely to be the biggest factor in the time frame. But he also made it clear, it’s a restaurant with a full bar, NOT “another bar.”

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In The Junction at lunchtime today, we spotted that sign outside Junction Bakery and Café, which until a remodel and name change 5 months ago had been Coffee to a Tea with Sugar: Tomorrow is their last day of business, after nine years. Not a total surprise since it’s been listed for sale; the owners aren’t commenting yet on what’s next. They will be open till 5 pm tomorrow and are then papering the windows for farewell messages.

Sandwiches, salads, and pan pizza by the slice are all on the way to 4304 SW Oregon in The Junction, via restaurateur Cary Kemp, who opened Pizzeria 22 two years ago in Admiral. He tells WSB:

It is an old storefront from the 1920’s and was once a deli in the 1970’s. It will be called Quadrato, which means square in Italian, and we will use many of the imported Italian ingredients used at Pizzeria 22 to make sandwiches, salads, as well as Roman and Sicilian-style sheet pan pizza, which is cut into large squares and sold by the slice. Also available will be grilled panini sandwiches as well as Italian wine and local beer. We will be baking our own cookies and other sweets for dessert.

Cary adds:

The place is very small and will have counter-style seating with about 10 bar stools for indoor dining, also outdoor seating during the warmer months of the year. This will be a comfortable place to take a date for lunch or dinner, or order to go. We will also be teaming up with the Beer Junction and delivering our food to their location around the corner. We are very excited to be a part of the Alaska Junction and the great diversity of local stores that make this community one of the best in Seattle for buying and shopping local!

As always, it’s hard to predict how long it will take to remodel a space – this one used to be an insurance office – but Cary says his architect says they might be ready “as early as August!”

SUBWAY AT THE BEACH: Thanks to Dale for the tip on this – city records say one of the newly divided spaces at 2758 Alki SW is being turned into a Subway sandwich shop. That would be the fifth in West Seattle by our count, after North Delridge, Morgan Junction, Jefferson Square, and West Marginal Way. The Alki building has been vacant since it was built almost three years ago on the site long occupied by Pegasus Pizza before that restaurant moved next door two years earlier. A few months ago, work began to split it into two spaces; nothing on record so far for the other one. (P.S. Since publishing this, we’ve also found the Alki Subway listed on the company website as “coming soon.”)

Now, to The Junction:

FIREFLY FOLLOWUP: The outdoor seating along the south side of Firefly Café and Creperie (California/Genesee; WSB sponsor), mentioned here a month ago, is up and running as of this holiday weekend. (We’re checking on an ETA for the organic juice bar that’s been in the works, too.)

ANOTHER NORTH DELRIDGE FOOD-TRUCK STOP: The parking lot of West Seattle Corporate Center parking lot at Delridge/Andover is turning into the latest food-truck hot spot. This week will be the second Friday stop, 11 am-2 pm, for the Mediterranean food truck Za’a Tar (thanks to SeattleFoodTruck.com for the tip); here’s their menu. The New Orleans cuisine truck Where Ya At Matt is stopping there Mondays, also 11 am-2 pm, but not today, because of the holiday. (Sunday evening note) The SeattleFoodTruck.com folks say a third truck, Fish Basket, is about to join the lineup too; we’re awaiting confirmation.

(First 4 and final 5 photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Big line along the sidewalk leading to The Hall at Fauntleroy when we arrived around 6:30 pm to check out the bigger-every-year event, which has almost 50 West Seattle/White Center food and drink establishments offering bites, sips, treats, and more, all to benefit West Seattle Helpline. They had a limited number of tickets at the door. Big crowd inside, once everybody got in:

One of the fun parts about The Taste is that you get to vote on the offerings – and later, we’ll find out who won. Besides the Helpline, of course, whose Brooks Riendl and executive director Tara Luckie stopped for a moment to pose:

Also in welcoming mode – Helpline board member Rev. Ron Marshall:

More photos to come later tonight!

11:43 PM: First, an update just in from Tara:

Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering Company won Best Savory Taste and Stuffed Cakes won Best Dessert. The event was a sellout with 550 tickets sold. … The proceeds are going to help many families in West Seattle. We can all be proud of such a great community effort. Big thanks to all of the restaurants and sponsors that made the event possible!

Helpline’s photo of the “Best Savory Taste” winners (who served a Savory Seafood Risotto):

And the “Best Dessert” victors:

It was a field crowded with tastiness, too, from venues old and new. On the latter side, Harry’s Chicken Joint made its debut, dishing up chicken strips:

The team from The Bridge reminded everyone they’ve got an excellent menu, with their famous bacon-wrapped dates:

Kevin and Holly Brown from Siren Song Wines and The Brown Lounge:

Jack Miller from Husky Deli was offering his famous ice cream in floats:

And a piece de resistance – Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) donating $7,500 to the Helpline!

The night’s total tally is expected to be made public early next week.

(WSB photo from Friday)
Following up on the water-heater problem that brought a fire crew to Alki restaurant Phoenecia early yesterday (WSB coverage here) – they ARE back open tonight, and for a few more days, but then a longer closure looms for repairs, Nadia Khazaal tells WSB:

We have got the place dried out, and for the most part put back together. We will be open today, Sunday, and Monday. Tuesday we will be closed for a private party.

We unfortunately will have to be closed for about two weeks, possibly longer, starting sometime next week. We don’t know exactly when yet but I’m thinking it will probably be Wednesday. There was more water damage then we initially thought and parts of the walls need to be cut out, dried out, and then repaired. So we are looking at being closed anywhere between 2-4 weeks.

So today, Sunday, and Monday will be everyone’s last chance to get their Phoenecia fix in before we close for a couple weeks.

For those who come into the restaurant these next couple days, we apologize in advance for the appearance of our walls. Our baseboards have been torn up already and so our walls are not as pretty as they used to be.

We’ll keep in touch for updates. You can also watch Phoenecia’s page on Facebook.

ORIGINAL REPORT, 8:19 AM: No, it was NOT a fire that brought Seattle Fire Department‘s Ladder 11 to Alki’s Phoenecia restaurant early this morning. After questions via e-mail and in the WSB Forums, we went over to check it out. What was on the fire log as “water job/minor” turned out to be a broken water heater. That meant some mop-up was required, but luckily that wasn’t too difficult, since the restaurant has concrete floors. (We’ll check back later to make sure everything’s OK for tonight.)

10:11 AM UPDATE: A little more information from Phoenecia’s Nadia Khazaal: The problem was actually with a connecting pipe on the water heater; they are thankful to whomever it was who noticed the problem and called SFD. They’ve got crews there now working on getting the place dry and fixing the pipe; Nadia says, “We hope to get everything taken care of in time for service tonight.”

11:53 PM UPDATE: Unfortunately, Nadia now tells us, Phoenecia WILL “definitely be closed for business tonight.”

Asked if tonight was a “soft open,” Pizzeria Credo proprietor Jacques Nawar said yes, but then “not too soft” – they are open to the public tonight until approximately 10 pm. Below, Nawar (center) with chefs Franco and Matt beside the wood-fired pizza oven at the front of the space; you’ll be able to see the fresh pizzas being created through the front window:

As noted in an interview with WSB last month, the space has been remodeled in a big way, including warmer colors “to brighten up the place” and lighting fixtures:

Nawar has planned a “smart” and “eclectic” menu, offering far more than the wood-fired pizza. Pizzeria Credo will also serve appetizers, salads, other entrees such as duck – a specialty, he says – and chicken. And yes there will be gluten-free pizza. Ingredients will be “as organic and local as possible”; Nawar says they are working with West Seattle Produce and looking for other local growers/providers with whom to partner.

Customer Elise enjoys her side car cocktail at the bar.

Pizzeria Credo is located at 4520 California SW.

Spotted today in the West Seattle Junction, signs at the soon-to-open Pizzeria Credo (4520 California SW) and old signage from the previous tenant Garlic Jim’s being taken down:

Paper now covers the windows, and a liquor license application is posted near the front door. (See last month’s inside look and interview with Pizzeria Credo proprietor Jacques Nawar here.)