When Café Mia closed at 4317 SW Oregon six months ago, there were hints of what was on the way – but no confirmation until Dough Joy Donuts‘ announcement today:

Our new location in West Seattle is a donut shop AND a disco-themed plant shop in one! It will feature a layout that includes Dough Joy on one side, and Botanic! at the Disco > @botanicatthedisco < a disco-themed plant shop on the other. Glitter floors, neon lights, disco ball planters, cute houseplants - we got it all!⁣ ⁣At Dough Joy you’ll be able to find our fan favorites like Chocoholic, Strawberry Milkshake, and Pride, and we’ll often feature rotating specials like our Peanut Butter Cup, Banana Cream Pie, Boston Cream - and more! We will also have a full coffee bar with exciting drinks, featuring our friends at Fulcrum coffee. ⁣ ⁣All our donuts are raised, fluffy kind, and also have no egg, dairy, or animal by-products (vegan friendly, but would never know it!).

This is an expansion for Dough Joy, which has been selling its donuts on Capitol Hill and in Ballard. No official opening date yet but “very close” is how they describe it.

(WSB photo, last month)

Four weeks ago, we reported on Fire Tacos taking over the restaurant space at 2738 Alki Avenue SW, where No-Name Diner closed earlier this year. We’ve had an inquiry out for more information since then, and heard back today from proprietors Erika and Jorge. They have set Saturday, April 23rd, for their grand opening, noon-8 pm (beyond that, they haven’t finalized hours/days yet). They describe their bricks-and-mortar venture, following success with a Kent-based food truck, as “a taqueria + bar concept” and add, “We are so excited to open up and bring our authentic Mexican Tacos to Alki. Love all the support and positive vibes we’ve received from everyone.”

Thanks for the tips (and to Chris for the photo). We’ve been watching the ex-J&J Public House space at 2808 Alki SW for a while, and the banner that went up Thursday reveals it’ll be Alki Phở & Bar. We haven’t yet reached the proprietors but Chris spoke to someone on site who said they’re hoping to be open by June 1st. Ownership in online records cross-references to the ownership of Best Pho & Thai Restaurant in Renton.

P.S. This would be the first phở restaurant on Alki since Saigon Boat Café, which was at 2632 Alki SW before a preschool took over the space.

More than a month after Copper Coin closed, with only a simple note on the door that the 2329 California SW restaurant was “temporarily closed,” we finally have information about what’s happening there next. About a week into the closure, we reached proprietor Aaron Shepherd, who told us he was not ready to comment on what was happening but expected to have something to say soon. That was the last we heard from him. We eventually found a listing indicating Copper Coin had been up for sale for months, and the listing was marked “pending,” indicating a sale in progress. No indication of who would be taking it over – until today, when a liquor-license application revealed the new owners. We reached one of them, Tony Barbano, by phone this afternoon. They’re planning to open a restaurant called West Wings, specializing in, as you’d probably guess, wings. They have a background in the restaurant business, having operated Round Table Pizza in Burien for 15 years. They’re hoping to have West Wings open in July. Copper Coin was in operation for almost 9 1/2 years; two years after it opened, Shepherd and partners opened Coastline in The Junction.

That’s a pan holding eight orders of Seven Flavor Beef from Lee’s Asian Restaurant in The Junction. Today, as reported here last month, is Lee’s last day; Keith Bacon (producer of the All Ways West Seattle podcast) and husband Corianton Hale are major fans of Lee’s, and sent the photo after stocking up on their favorite menu item to get some into the freezer for the future. After 20 years, Lee’s is closing – two weeks after neighbor Kamei shuttered – as their building will be torn down soon for mixed-use redevelopment (plans filed with the city say work could start within weeks).

In addition to the community planning effort looking ahead to the reopening of the West Seattle Bridge (as updated here last night), some businesses and organizations have special events in the works too. Duke’s Seafood Alki (WSB sponsor) plans four dine-out benefits in the months ahead and is looking for nonprofits interested in being considered. Here’s the announcement:

Duke’s Seafood Alki today launched a search for nonprofit organizations to highlight and honor as part of its “Countdown to the Bridge” campaign. Duke’s Seafood designed the campaign to celebrate the hardworking people of West Seattle as they battle the challenges imposed by the closing of the West Seattle bridge. Nonprofits are encouraged to share their story at our website by end of April 2022.

“With the opening in sight, we want to thank the nonprofit organizations that continued to work tirelessly during the hard months when the bridge was closed,” says Duke Moscrip, founder of Duke’s Seafood. “We know those challenges firsthand. The transportation difficulties and their resulting consequences to Alki Beach due to the bridge closure has hit all of us hard. So, as we count down to the opening, we want to recognize four nonprofit organizations in West Seattle, one per month, where we donate a percentage of our sales for that evening.”

Duke’s Seafood seeks nonprofits in the West Seattle area and has set up a webpage to apply for this partnership: dukesseafood.com/locations/alki. “Duke’s Seafood values sustainability and honesty in everything we do,” says Moscrip. “We seek to align with nonprofits that share those values. We encourage any nonprofit in the area to tell us your story, how you serve the community and the challenges you have faced due to the bridge closure. We know it’s been tough, and we hope our small gesture will make a difference.”

Duke’s Seafood Alki opened in 2001 at 2516 Alki Ave SW, West Seattle. It is open for lunch and dinner from 11 am-10 pm Sunday through Thursday, and 11 am-11 pm Friday and Saturday, with Happy Hour daily from 3-6 pm and 9 pm-close on the deck and in the bar.

Duke’s plans to announce the beneficiary organizations by April 30th, so best to apply sooner rather than later.

Thanks to Chris for the tip! Banners in the windows on the corner of 61st/Alki reveal what’s next for the restaurant space that most recently held the No-Name Diner. We reported on its closure four weeks ago (that story includes the list of seven restaurants that had been in the 2738 Alki SW space since Alki Bakery‘s abrupt closure 11 1/2 years ago). At the time of No-Name’s closure, its post said its chef was planning an “entirely new concept” for the space, but now the Kent-based food truck Fire Tacos says it’s moving in, continuing the recent trend of mobile food providers going bricks-and-mortar. Fire Tacos specializes in tacos de birria and explains online that “Birria is a Mexican stew made with meat (beef, lamb, goat) braised in an adobo, flavored with dried chiles and herbs. Garnished with cilantro, onion and lime.” Fire Tacos’ truck opened in fall 2020. We have an inquiry out in hopes of finding out more.

Last month, we reported that Lily’s Salvadorean Restaurant was on the way to 2940 SW Avalon Way. You probably know proprietor Lilian Anaya from her popular Farmers’ Market booth. We finally got the details tonight – including that the restaurant will open tomorrow (Wednesday, March 9th). Anaya tells WSB, “I am planning to serve typical Salvadorean food, along with some Mexican food. We will be bringing a real taste of El Salvador to everyone. The hours are going to be 6 am to 10 pm every day.” She says she decided to open a restaurant here “because the West Seattle Farmers Market is one of our best markets in Seattle and I believe that we will hope to do well in the West Seattle area. In West Seattle, our customers now know us and enjoy the food, and we would like to keep bringing that joy when people eat the pupusas.” Her booth will hace to skip the market for a month or so “due to the fact that we don’t have enough staff for both the Restaurant and Farmers Market.” Anaya adds that while tomorrow is opening day, the Grand Opening will have to wait until her liquor license is finalized.

12:25 PM: Just Poké has long had West Seattle in its sights – more than four years – but for the first time, there’s a sign of progress. Hope tipped us today that the banner was up in the window of Just Poké’s future location, the former Wallflower Custom Framing space in Mural (4735 42nd SW) across from Jefferson Square. That’s the space that Just Poké’s founder Norman Wu mentioned to us one year ago, though the company’s website shows a different WS address (the space since taken by West Seattle Liquor & Wine [WSB sponsor]). We have an inquiry out seeking an update on their timeline.

3:34 PM: Wu tells WSB they’re expecting to open in June.

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday – if you’re looking for tasty ways to celebrate here on the peninsula, here’s what we have so far:

CIRCA FESTIVITIES: The owners of this Admiral restaurant/bar (2605 California SW) have strong ties to New Orleans, so it’s a big day. We asked co-proprietor Gretchen what’s planned – her reply: “Big special menu for Tuesday, plus Hurricanes will be flying. Music and decor.” Reminder, Circa is now open earlier, as reported here three weeks ago – 9 am, seven days a week.

BAKERY NOUVEAU ‘POP-UP’: The beloved bakery‘s locations (including 4737 California SW in The Junction) are all Fat Tuesday-focused tomorrow. Here’s the announcement:

March 1, 2022 will be our 2nd Fat Tuesday Pop-Up Shop! All 3 cafés will be open from 7:00am – 1:00pm on Tuesday, selling exclusively Mardi Gras products.

You can stop by any of the 3 shops and pick up the following items:

– Pączki (chocolate, raspberry, lemon, vanilla & apple caramel)
– King Cake
– Muffuletta
– Twice-Baked Croissant

**PLEASE NOTE: NO OTHER PRODUCTS WILL BE SOLD THIS DAY**

Anyplace else? Please let us know so we can add!

Three food-biz notes:

(WSB photo, January 2021)

TACONTAINER CHANGING: Thanks to Kathy for the tip. After 13 months, TACOntainer – the taco stand in a small repurposed shipping container at 2530 Alki Avenue SW – is closing. But the container is staying. Proprietor Victor explains, “We’re concluding our TACOntainer operations due to family reasons, unfortunately. This will be our last week for now. We might open a few more times before mid-March but that is uncertain at the moment. Our friends (another Mexican food vendor) will take over our spot and the name will change and the concept will change, but the container will stay.” Victor says there should be more news on that in mid-March, and if his family situation allows, “We hope to be able to come back in a year or so.”

NO-NAME DINER NO MORE: Just down the street, at 2738 Alki Avenue SW, the No-Name Diner has closed. We noticed a sign on the door recently that said “closed for remodeling.” But according to a social-media post, the restaurant closed at the end of January, with proprietor Renae explaining, “A good friend named Vittor and our chef Shawn, along with a small team, will be starting up a whole new concept for a restaurant, and The No-Name Diner will be no more.” The location has gone through a long list of concepts since the sudden closure of Alki Bakery there in late 2010 – before No-Name, it was It’s BBQ Time in the Kitchen, which followed Alki Chicken and Waffles, which was preceded by B’s Po Boy, and before that Fatburger from fall 2013 to early 2017, following Bada Bistro‘s less-than-five-month run, after two years for the Beachside Café.

3 MORE DAYS IN WEST 5 AUCTION: When West 5 in The Junction announced its closure, there was mention of an auction. That auction is happening online right now and has three days to go – with items including its most-famous signage, indoors and outdoors:

Dozens of other items too, as shown here, where you can bid until 8 pm Friday.