Congratulations to West Seattle-headquartered Elliott Bay Brewing for two medals today in the first-ever Washington Beer Awards, announced at the Washington Brewers Festival! We got word from its owners that Fauntleroy Stout won a gold medal and Gateway Amber won a silver medal. See the full list of winners here. (West Seattleite-owned Washington Beer Blog tells us its coverage of the awards is in the works.)

Activity at the former Sharon’s Westwood Florist shop at 35th/Kenyon, including that sign, caught the attention of WSB’ers Catherine, Jissy, and Felicia, who e-mailed to ask about it. The answer turned up in a recent state liquor-license-application filing, with a “beer/wine specialty shop” license sought for The Tap Station. Among the applicants: Names we recognized from the team behind Locöl, in its third year next door. So we contacted Kyle Duce to ask about the plan for the neighboring store; he says it’ll offer more than beer and wine:

I have teamed up with my Chef/GM of Locöl- Charlie Worden – and will be creating a TO-GO “Tap Station”- a wine/beer/retail Shop that will have 8 local wines on tap and 8 local beers on tap. These will be available by growler fill or in any vessel and will be charged accordingly by the ounce. Tap Station will also have a bottle/can beer selection as well as bottled wine.

As far as the retail side, we plan on having (pre-packaged/local) grab and go food items for household use, camping, picnics, etc… Tabby Cat Pickling Company and Doolie’s Hot Sauce, to name a few. We are in the works of having a house olive oil and balsamic fill station that will allow you to fill for home use and be charged by the ounce. We plan on using this separate location as an educational space on all the bounties the NW has to offer. I wanted to create a space that would compliment Locöl and offer a quick in-and-out experience for people cruising home for a BBQ or a spot that the neighborhood could come in and get educated on all the things we love about the NW.

I look forward to bringing all these ideas together in a beautiful rustic space that will be inviting to the neighborhood and offer the same level of passionate, unpretentious service and neighborhood focus that we founded Locöl on!

How soon, you ask? Duce says they’re “looking at opening in the next couple months.”

It’s a cloudy Sunday morning, and though it’s June, summer warmth seems far away. So Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora Swift has cooked up an idea: Instead of a scone or muffin accompanying your latté, how about … fresh s’mores? Not just a pre-assembled treat that resembles one, but a real, honest-to-goodness, roasted-over-the-campfire s’more. Hotwire is offering you 4 s’mores “for your roasting pleasure, served up with your personal fire pit,” $5.50. Check ’em out and cook ’em up at 4410 California SW (just south of SW Genesee).

Two food/drink notes to share this morning:

LA ROMANZA BISTRO PAIRS WITH SIREN SONG WINES: This weekend in The Junction, it’s your next chance to try out the new Siren Song Wines tasting room inside La Romanza Bistro Italiano (4521 California SW; WSB sponsor). It’s open 3-6 pm Saturdays and Sundays. In our photo above, that’s La Romanza proprietor Aimee Pellegrini and Siren Song’s Kevin Brown.

NEW FOOD-TRUCK STOP: Delridge Way has been a popular area for many of the city’s food trucks to park when not out serving their wares. Now, though, we have word that a popular truck is adding a Delridge stop to its schedule: Starting next Monday, 11 am-2 pm, TFN, you can find the new Orleans cuisine of Where Ya At Matt in the parking lot of West Seattle Corporate Center (Delridge/Andover), also known as “the building with the big flag.”

They are the C & P in C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) – Cameron and Pete Moores – and they are celebrating a milestone tonight: Ten years in business! Valentine’s Day 2003 is when their coffee house, community gathering spot, arts hub, discussion-group hotspot, etc., opened in the century-old Craftsman it inhabits at 5612 California SW. Tonight they are greeting friends old and new during a party that was wall-to-wall people when we stopped by for a photo – including a kids’ fishing game on the back porch, and Bob “Bobcat Bob” Rice performing somewhere amid the revelers. C & P hosts a wide range of events every month – keep an eye on the calendar here. Congratulations, C & P!

12:18 PM: Thanks to Kendall Jones from the West Seattle-headquartered Washington Beer Blog for the tip that the new West Seattle Brewing Company has just announced its “first commercial sale” – its “West Pale” has just been tapped at A Terrible Beauty in The Junction. WS Brewing Company is the beer-making enterprise that took over the former Tervo’s/Corner Market spot in The Triangle, as reported here last July. But don’t go THERE to try their brew – it’s not open to the public. Terrible Beauty IS (at Edmunds/California).

8:20 PM: If you’re just seeing this now – all gone, reports WSBC.

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 6:08 PM: In March of last year, we reported that a stretch of Harbor Avenue including the Alki Tavern‘s site was up for sale, listed for almost $4 million. Tonight, the tavern has announced via Facebook that it’s closing:

Well, it’s finally true… After 38 years the Alki Tavern will be closing on March 17th… St Patrick’s Day. Let’s make these last 3 months unforgettable!

King County property records show transactions including the tavern site within the past two weeks. We’re following up to find out more.

(Inside Alki Tavern tonight)
ADDED 7:17 PM: WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand has just spoken with Alki Tavern manager Gill McLynne, who is the son of its current owners (and has a brother working there too). He confirms that they’re moving because of a pending project, and says the family does not plan to try to re-create the Alki Tavern somewhere else – you can’t duplicate something that’s one of a kind. So between now and St. Patrick’s Day – a closing day they chose because of their Irish heritage, and the fact it was always a big day at the tavern – watch for some special celebratory nights so people can come by and say goodbye, including, he said, nights to honor some of the former bartenders and servers. He estimates as many as 300 people have worked there over the years. Since it’s a family-run business with many regular customers, it’ll be sad to say goodbye, he said, but he and his family will work to make the final few months special for the regulars as well as for the whole neighborhood.

ADDED 9:36 PM: County records show the sale spanning two transactions on December 21 and 24, with Salty’s Properties listed as selling the entire site to YMSA Co. Ltd. for $3.2 million in one transaction on the 21st (the same day YMSA registered with the state, listing its company directors as two people with addresses in Korea), and the tavern owners’ interests deeded to Salty’s Properties for $392,000 on the 24th. We could not find any specific development proposal filed online so far for any part of the site, though there were land-use consultations in fall of 2011; the land is zoned for up to 65 feet (six stories).

On this busy pre-holiday-shopping day, we welcome one of our newest sponsors – Capco Beverages, the liquor store opened by longtime Junction entrepreneur Leon Capelouto in the spot that was previously the state’s premier liquor store; now it’s a premier private liquor/wine store, as the Capco Beverages team wants to make sure you know:

(WSB photo: Jan, Jane, and at center, manager Dolly)
The word “premier” isn’t just a label; this is not your average liquor store. Capco Beverages‘ stock includes unusual and rare spirits. “We have things you won’t find anywhere else in West Seattle: bourbons, scotches, tequila,” store manager Dolly Amend says. “All the local Seattle area bourbons. Our Scotch section is constantly growing. We want to have the best selection of Scotch, bourbons, gins, liqueurs, tequila and vodkas anywhere in the state.” The Scotch section of the store is absolutely the best in the city, if not the state, says Dolly – single malts, for example, you might never have found in Seattle before, such as Laddie Classic, Ledaig, Tobermory.

Capco Beverages also offers an extensive tequila section, with what aficionados call “fantastic mezcals,” and a selection of liqueurs from all over the world: Italian Amari, pastis from France, Cynar, every possible fruit liqueur. Dolly says that if a product is listed with a distributor, she will stock it. If a customer asks and it isn’t on the shelf, she will try to get it. And dozens of made-in-Washington labels are in stock.

Its merchandise also includes a collection of Alki t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and caps, martini shakers, and just about every tool and ingredient for making cocktails – including tipsy cherries, cocktail onions, many bitters, even a special salt to rim your Margaritas. Plus ginger beer, soda, tonics and many different vermouths. We also have wine and drink gift baskets ready to purchase – or custom baskets can be made.

“Grocery stores wouldn’t have room to carry the 3000-plus brands and sizes of liquor we have now,” Dolly says, also pointing out that Capco Beverages has a “huge, wonderful selection of wine.”

Capco Beverages is at 41st and Alaska, in Capco Plaza (same building as QFC and Petco). You’ll also find the store on Facebook. And you can use a special coupon you’ll find here on WSB to get a discount on your purchase.

HOLIDAY NOTE: Capco Beverages plans to be OPEN Thanksgiving Day – 10 am-2 pm. Regular hours are listed online.

We thank Capco Beverages 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.

This weekend marks the end for Shipwreck Tavern in The Admiral District. After getting a tip tonight from Guy (thanks!), we went there to confirm the reported shutdown, and co-owner Scott told WSB it’s true. The Shipwreck also made the announcement via Facebook:

This is Scott and Chris here, telling all yall, this is the end. The ship is wrecked. We will be closing the doors this Sunday the 18th. We want to thank everyone for all their support and especially to all the wonderful musicians who have graced this bar. Also everything is for sale so come in and have one last beer with to celebrate a new beginning and buy some nautical s–t, and grab your stein if you have one. We love you all and thanks again.

It’s been three years since Shipwreck Tavern opened, meant to be a nautical-themed haven for drinks and tunes.

(Photo courtesy Krystal Kelley)
A new wine/beer lounge opens Halloween night in The Admiral District – and it’s intended to be a treat, says entrepreneur Krystal Kelley, whose Mind Unwind gallery/gathering space at 2206 California SW will also now be home to the Treehouse Lounge. It’s in the gallery of the loft, previously a “greatly unused space,” and Krystal says she’s been working on it for about a month, with colleagues J. Conrad Nivens and Zac Hutchins. It’ll be open Wednesdays through Sundays, 5 pm to midnight, with Happy Hour 6-8 pm – and Happy Hour all night ($5 house wine/draft beer) on Grand Opening night Wednesday. Read the rest of the Treehouse Lounge story on the Mind Unwind website; Treehouse Lounge also is on Facebook, here.

Espresso is back at 16th and Holden in Highland Park! This is opening day for Jenny’s Java Joint, and proprietor Jen Francisco is thrilled to be up and running, with coffee from Zoka. (The congratulatory flowers on the left side of our photo are from family members, as she explained on Facebook.) We brought you her story just four weeks ago – and now her dream is reality. She’s open till 2 today, 6-2 tomorrow, 5-2 Mondays-Saturdays.

In a cozy century-old ex-carriage house on the north edge of The Junction, Lora Swift and her Hotwire Online Coffeehouse team are celebrating 10 years in business. If you’ve been there, you know it’s not just a coffee shop/Internet café with tasty drinks and eats – it’s a nerve center, a touchstone, a launch pad. (As our first sponsor, Hotwire helped WSB get off the ground!) Lora launched herself out of a corporate career to get Hotwire started in 2002, and over the years has become involved in much more than beverage purveyorship – to name just one offshoot, there’s the annual West Seattle Outdoor Movies series in the adjacent courtyard. The crowd on this year’s finale night (August 25th) was wall-to-wall:

If you weren’t at Hotwire today to say “happy 10th,” no worries, the party continues. You even might check on the availability of the T-shirt Lora designed to honor the occasion – see it here – and to celebrate the community she enriches.