West Seattle, Washington
23 Saturday
2 things noted on a pass through Jefferson Square‘s northwest corners: first, West Seattle’s sixth not-in-a-grocery-store Starbucks (first mentioned here in August) is progressing rapidly in the ex-Infinity Espresso spot:
Second, looks like some progress on the Junction Plaza Park site, with the green-gray of spray-on grass, just in time for the holidays:
Seattle Weekly spotlights some of the city’s last true taverns in this article from the latest edition and this online slideshow, including West Seattle’s own Poggie and Tug. (The article’s author, Mike Seely, lives in WS.)
The team putting together The Bohemian in the space that used to be Leslie’s Country Store (3405 California, next to Spiro’s) is finally ready to reveal more about their plans. They answered our e-mail by writing up a cheery blurb that we decided to share in its entirety:Read More
Driving or walking through The Junction, you can’t miss the distinctive exterior touches that continue on the former Neilsen Florist location that’s becoming Shadowland. We e-mailed its proprietors last week to ask how their timeline is looking; they are currently hoping to open in the first half of next month, if all goes well with finishing touches and required inspections. (For those wondering what Shadowland will serve, we had some info in a September update, second part of this post.)
Ah, wine country: The rolling hills of Napa … Sonoma … Walla Walla … Puget Ridge. Yes, as in, the eastern highlands of West Seattle, home to South Seattle Community College and its award-winning winemaking program. Back in June, when we shared the news that SSCC’s Northwest Wine Academy had received a medal at the Seattle Wine Awards, some readers asked when its next wine release was scheduled. Last night was the night; our WSB videographer dropped in to talk to a couple of the program leaders, wine program coordinator Regina Daigneault and wine program winemaker Peter Bos:
At last night’s event, the academy offered its 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2006 Merlot for sale, $20 each, and offered pre-sale of its 2006 barrel-fermented Chardonnay and 2006 no-oak Chardonnay (each $18) and 2006 late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc ($15). It also announced two upcoming happenings we’re adding to our Events page pronto: the Holiday Barrel Tasting on December 7 and 8, and the Gifts from the Earth food/wine event on January 26, touting “30 Washington wineries and 15 celebrity chefs.” If you want to check on wine availability following last night’s event, e-mail Regina here.
From our frequently updated Events page (keep sending us your additions!):
ROADS/TRANSIT PROP 1 FORUM: The new and growing group Sustainable West Seattle is putting this on tonight at Camp Long, 7-9 pm. Not sure whether you’re voting for or against Prop 1? Go hear what supporters and opponents have to say, and what victory or defeat could mean for West Seattle.
WINE RELEASE PARTY: The award-winning winemakers at SSCC are releasing their newest creations tonight, 6-9 pm.
NIA FOR THE BEGINNER: The increasingly popular workout known as Nia is offered at several West Seattle locations (local instructors are blogging here), and starting tonight, beginners can check out a special series of classes at High Point Community Center, 6-7 pm.
A month after the liquor-license-application notice went up, a new sign is in the window at the future location of The Bohemian (3405 Cali, next to Spiro’s). It promises “espresso & tea, fine food, wine, & spirits, art & music.” The construction permit application is still under review.
Brand X may be giving away music, but Tully’s is giving away money. To a good cause, that is. Starting today, through the end of the month, Tully’s is donating part of the proceeds from several items — including an Alki Bakery-created cookie — to the battle against breast cancer. (Tully’s has two WS locations, Fauntleroy/Cali and Alki across from the Bathhouse.)
The listed phones for both Coyotes on Alki (923-2554) and Chuck & Sally’s Tavern (932-9830) are now both disconnected. You suppose it’s safe to speculate reopenings are unlikely?
TONIGHT: A Drink for the Kids, a rolling-location fundraiser for the Vera Project, stops in West Seattle tonight, 6-10 pm @ West 5. Famous WS-residing participants promised: Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Dow Constantine of the KC Council. More on ADFTK here; more on Vera here.
LATER THIS MONTH: We mentioned Friday that the Gee situation had forced West Seattle Helpline to find someplace new for its Oct. 18th winetasting/auction event. The new location has now been revealed online — Tuxedo and Tennis Shoes Catering is hosting the event @ The Hall at Fauntleroy.
Finally, another live cam to add to our WS cams page! Hotwire Online Coffeehouse proprietor Lora Vickrey e-mailed us to announce Hotwire’s new baristacam. Unless you’re on a Mac (which unfortunately in this case we are), you can check it out here — Lora notes you likely will be prompted to download ActiveX in order for the live video to work.
More news from beverageland: The T(ea) Gallery, the friendly teahouse at 2707 Cali in the business block just south of Lafayette Elementary, is opening a second location! Not in West Seattle, though — this one will be downtown, on the north side of the Seattle Municipal Tower, open 7:30 am-4 pm weekdays starting on a TBA opening date in mid-October. The original Admiral shop‘s hours will stay the same (Tues-Thurs nights, all day Sat-Sun). Congratulations to T(ea) Gallery proprietor Tracy (who also has just posted about this at her official store blog)!
New WS liquor-license filing that just bubbled up: Pioneer Coffee Roasting Company is seeking a beer/wine license for 2536 Alki, the onetime Alki Mail & Dispatch building between Coastal & Slices. (Hard to see from the angle below, but there’s a Pioneer Coffee sign in the window closest to the plywood.)
We have notes out to Pioneer and to property owner Tom Lin to ask what they can tell us about what’s planned there; the city business license for Pioneer Coffee Roasting at the address is under the category “miscellaneous food stores.”
We e-mailed Cafe Rozella owner Ricardo Guarnero to ask about a blurb in the newest City of Seattle Neighborhoods Newsletter saying that he was thinking about moving the coffee/culture hotspot. Ricardo responded quickly to say, no, he’s not moving, because: “We like the spot we have and are committed to the White Center community, which we treasure.” (Technically, Cafe Rozella is on the border, if you consider there to be one, between West Seattle and White Center — it’s within the city limits.) He also wants everyone to know: “We have just published the Rozella Review, a journal of writings and poems by White Center residents and would-be WC residents. The reaction has been very positive. If anyone wants to take a look at one or even buy one ($10) they can drop by the cafe.” If you can’t get to Cafe Rozella sooner (or even if you can), tomorrow night is a fantastic time to drop by. CR has live music every Friday night but tomorrow night, when Jovino Santos Neto performs at 7 pm, CR is also part of the monthly Music Nights in White Center event; read more here about who’s performing where at other nearby venues.
Stopped by the new Pacino’s Coffee on Delridge to check out an e-mail tip from a Pacino’s customer who stopped by two days running, found it closed, and wondered what was going on. There’s now a printed sign on all of its windows saying CLOSED FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS/SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE/THANKS FOR YOUR BUSINESS/SEE YOU SOON.
Thanks to the tipster who e-mailed us about a liquor-license application posting going up at 3405 Cali (formerly Leslie’s, next to Spiro’s Pizza & Pasta). We combed through the online files and found this one had appeared on the state liquor-ap listing site August 29th, for a restaurant & bar at that address to be called The Bohemian. Didn’t find any obvious background from web-searching the names on the application, but did find this website — registered to the same company name that’s on the liquor-license ap. We’ve e-mailed the contact listed on the website and we’ll let you know if we hear anything back.
(… to paraphrase the line that’s 40 seconds into this cool old song.) In this case, the passing of time to which we refer involves Chuck & Sally’s Tavern north of Morgan Junction. It’s been more than two weeks since a reader first e-mailed us about a hand-lettered sign at C & S saying CLOSED FOR A FEW DAYS/COOLER PROBLEMS; today, that sign is still there. Tried calling; got only a fax tone. E-mailed the property owner; no reply yet. That corner (Cali & Graham) is jumping these days, with future townhouses on the NW corner and a condo conversion on the SE corner (the future “Strata”), so some tavern fans have been wondering about the future of the little blue building The Stranger once fondly called a “TV-laden little dive.”
-Fans of WS-based Schooner Exact Brewing Co. will find some news in the brewers’ first web update in 2 months.
-Starting this Wednesday, Hotwire Coffee launches a monthlong celebration of its 5th anniversary in WS. The Hotwire site promises special deals to celebrate.
-And on the megacorporate side of the coffee fence, the construction-permit filing is in for the impending Jefferson Square Starbucks.
Pacino’s Coffee (5605 Delridge, barely half a mile south of the new Bubbles on Delridge) is now open. They’re offering all drinks @ $1.49 (plus tax) to celebrate their grand opening, at least as of when we stopped in a short time ago. Notable interior feature: a mural on the back wall (photo @ right from mural artist Alexi’s MySpace site).
The facade of the former Neilsen Florist shop in The Junction continues to evolve toward the space’s new identity as Shadowland.
Its proprietor tells WSB “things are moving along well” — they’re now drywalling inside, and hoping to open in about a month, though he adds it’s been tough to nail down a date (so many factors outside a would-be entrepreneur’s control, as we have learned while watching other new WS businesses-in-progress).
One loose end from our report on Starbucks moving into Jefferson Square is now tied up: Starbucks says it’s moving into the Infinity Espresso spot (not the former Washington Federal spot), and hoping to open around the holidays.
We reported 2 days ago that Bubbles on Delridge was expected to open by the end of the week … and indeed it has … just got this photo, GRAND OPENING sign and all, while en route to check the fire investigation (more on that in a few minutes). A reader writes to tell us the hours for Bubbles on Delridge are 6 am-8 pm M-F, 8 am-8 pm Sat-Sun.
We’re told the new Bubbles on Delridge, cousin to Bubbles on Alki (across from Seacrest, aka Water Taxi Central), is expected to open before the end of the week. Further south on Delridge, there also appears to be progress at Pacino’s Coffee, which now has window signs proclaiming it will be serving Pioneer (and according to this MySpace page, will feature a mural).
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