Three months after we first told you about two new businesses moving into the ex-beauty-school space on the south edge of The Junction, they’re open! After soft-opening during West Seattle Summer Fest, Rosanne Zhu and Chris Tanghe are now announcing their businesses’ official debut:

The day has arrived! Upwell Wine & Coffee and Walter’s Wine Shop are now open for business 7 days a week on California Ave SW near the Alaska Junction.

Coffee shop hours are 7 am-3 pm where you can always grab a coffee brewed with Herkimer beans or experiment with a rotating roaster that changes every 8 weeks. Our initial partner is Seattle’s own Elm Roasters from Pioneer square. All pastries made in house and starting at 9 am there will soon be a daytime menu featuring made to order breakfast and lunch items too.

Coffee service ends at 3 and Thursdays through Saturdays, Upwell transforms into a wine bar with 12 wines by the glass and an evolving menu of seasonal dishes, tinned fish, and other goodies.

Walter’s Wine Shop opens at 11 and has wines from around the world featuring sustainable practices and a spectrum of styles. Wine classes start in a few weeks on Wednesdays and the wine club will follow suit. Free delivery to West Seattle will commence when the online shop is up in August.

We look forward to meeting the West Seattle community!

Upwell/Walter’s is at 4811 California SW.

Thanks to everyone who has sent tips after getting notification from Bank of America that it plans to close its Admiral branch (one of its three West Seattle branches). This announcement comes with more than half a year of lead time – the notices, and the B of A website, say the closure date is February 11, 2025. This will be the second bank closure in Admiral in less than a year; the Wells Fargo branch at California/Admiral closed last March (and the building remains up for sale). And it’s the latest of several local branch closures in the past few years- most recently, the Sound Credit Union branch in The Junction closed last month; the Washington Federal branch in Morgan Junction closed three years ago; and Chase closed its in-store branch at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) half a year before that. We’re following up with B&A regarding the Admiral closure notice. (For history fans – when we got here in the early ’90s, the building was a diner.)

Scone fans! We just got word from West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy; WSB sponsor) that the Fisher Scone Wagon is visiting right now:

West Seattle Thriftway has the Fisher Scone Wagon in our parking lot until 4 pm today! We’re kicking off our annual Local Taste celebration with one of the most iconic local tastes there is. Folks can buy a freshly baked scone or strawberry shortcake.

If you’re new to the region … Fisher Scones are best known from the annual State Fair in Puyallup.

3:20 PM: Though the store told us 4 pm, a reader who went to check it out says 3 pm, so if you’re just seeing this now, you may have missed it. However, it’ll be visiting McLendon Hardware in White Center 9:30 am-3 pm one week from today (Wednesday, July 24), not far!

4:14 PM: Thanks for the tips. The list is out today of stores that would be divested if Kroger and Albertsons go through with their mega-merger, and it includes three West Seattle supermarkets: Admiral Safeway and both QFCs (Westwood Village and West Seattle Junction). The three grocery stores are among 124 in Washington – and 400+ more in other states – that would become property of C&S Wholesale Grocers if the megamerger goes through, meaning an ownership change, not closure. Besides federal review, legal challenges to the merger are still in play.

4:33 PM: The QFC stores’ involvement is not a surprise, as C&S was named last September as the potential new owner of the QFC brand name if the merger won approval. No specific store list, however, had been made public until now.

Three notes about West Seattle businesses:

(Photo courtesy Lana Bear)

HOSTE TURNS ONE: The Admiral District shop at 2332 California SW is about to celebrate its first anniversary, and is inviting you to the party. This Saturday – July 13 – from 11 am-7 pm, stop in and congratulate them. Special extras that day:

SourBaby Bakery is bringing cake (with gf options!) from when we open till sold out. Then Frankie + Jo’s will be scooping ice cream 4-7 and BB’s Bottle Barn pouring wine + beer and a house cocktail from 3 pm till closing.

We have a super-special gift with purchase over $200 featuring a bunch of our favorite things! (Monastery, Flamingo Estate etc.) Limited supply so come on down to snag one! Contents worth over $150!

Proprietor Lana Bear opened her shop in July 2023, billing it as “vintage and modern goods for all.”

HEGGE CHEVRON CHANGES: We’ve received multiple tips about changes afoot at the longtime family-owned service station on the northeast corner of 35th and Holden. Today, Doug emailed after calling them about an oil change and finding out the station has shut down its service department because it’s in the process of being sold. We went over to inquire, and they confirmed that they’re still selling fuel but no longer offering services due to the sale process. The Hegge family has continued to own the station for the 14 years since the sudden death in 2010 of owner-operator Mark Hegge.

HOMESTREET BANK TEAMS WITH MENASHE & SONS JEWELERS: Every month, HomeStreet Bank‘s West Seattle branch (4022 SW Alaska; WSB sponsor) showcases a local business. Last month and this month, it’s Menashe & Sons Jewelers:

Every month the showcase business participates in a prize drawing – our photo is from Jack Menashe‘s visit to the branch to help draw the first monthly winner, with the assistance of HomeStreet team member Sharon (wearing a crown because they were celebrating her birthday that day). If you stop by the branch this month, you can put in an entry for the net drawing!

(Photo courtesy Charcuterie by Annalise)

Annalise Johnson has set the grand-opening date for the new Morgan Junction storefront of her business, Charcuterie by Annalise. She’s been remodeling 6032 California SW (next to Alki Arts, in the former Youngstown/HeartBeet space), and a ribboncutting is planned for 11:30 am Saturday, July 27, followed by an open house. Annalise’s business isn’t new – it’s been a mobile business for three years, with what she describes as “beautiful and delicious custom charcuterie spreads for every occasion.” With the new storefront, she’ll expand to “a unique food experience destination for the community, with scrumptious charcuterie boxes and charcuterie sandwiches for lunch pickup as well as curated gift baskets, cheese tastings, educational demos, and collaborations with other local woman-owned small businesses.” She’ll also use the back of the space as her prep kitchen for catering orders, which can be picked up there too. Her hours for what she describes overall as an “edible art food experience” will be 11 am-6 pm Wednesdays through Sundays.

While out on an errand last night, we noticed a change at 5633 California SW, former home of Seattle Yarn (which moved to Admiral) – this is now the new home of West Seattle’s only comic-book store, Tails to Astonish. The shop opened three years ago at the south end of The Junction in a storefront set back from the street, where burglars struck multiple times; the new space has more visibility and, the proprietors tell us, “about twice as much space compared to the old store.” They’re open and almost done with moving everything; if you want to stop in for a look, Tails to Astonish is open until 7 pm.

The West Seattle Glass Float Hunt started in 2022 and this will be its third year. This year, it’s open to any business that buys at least one of the locally crafted floats to offer as part of the scavenger hunt. Here’s the announcement organizers asked us to share:

Who’s ready for a West Seattle scavenger hunt? Back by popular demand and now in its third year, the 2024 West Seattle Glass Float Hunt kicks off on August 1, 2024 and will be held during the first two weeks of that month.

This year’s event will be bigger than ever, as all West Seattle businesses are invited to participate and hide multiple floats. The West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invite everyone to search for glass floats hidden throughout West Seattle, both inside beloved local businesses and outdoors. The West Seattle Glass Float Hunt brings joy to the community and helps promote the businesses who are the backbone of our neighborhood. Last year, the float finders reported spending thousands of dollars in West Seattle by staying to shop and dine. Local businesses reported a jump in new visitors and clients, and one even sold out of a promotional item during the Float Hunt.

Each 2024 glass float is individually hand blown by Avalon Glassworks in stunning, swirling greens to represent the water surrounding beautiful West Seattle. Each 4-inch sphere is stamped with a heart and “WS” on the sealing bottom. Float hunters should look high and low for beautiful glass balls peeking out through the mesh of a knotted net bag. Each float will be labeled so the finder can register it via the West Seattle Junction Instagram account and tag the business sponsor where the float was found. This helps congratulate the finders and celebrate our businesses!

West Seattle businesses can join the fun by ordering their floats today! The last day to purchase is July 4, 2024.

The prices for businesses are $100 for one float, $180 for two, $240 for three.

A new business is getting ready for its grand opening in North Delridge – a new community makerspace called Solder and Bubblegum, “a place where people of all ages can attend workshops and clubs to learn more about electronics, video game development, cosplay and all sorts of other nerdy stuff.” Solder an Bubblegum’s Jason Sturgeon explains that their new space in West Seattle Corporate Center (4025 Delridge Way SW, Suite 140) will have scheduled classes as well as open time – before and after the classes to start with, and “dedicated project hours” by year’s end. They’re planning a Grand Opening event on June 22 to “allow people to interact with some activities that represent the work we’re planning to do, check out the Makerspace in its current form, and ask questions about the space and plans for the community.” Jason explains, “Makerspaces are known as great places to find equipment that might be difficult to otherwise access and some level of technical support to help use them. We’re working to provide both of these things, as well as a strong community that centers around thoughtful classes, clubs, and workshops.” They’ll be offering memberships, with fees “structured to provide multiple levels of access to the space, including a lower-cost option accessible to most folks, and higher tiers for folks looking to help grow and expand the capability of the space for community benefit (as well as to help provide support for lower income folks).” Classes will be open to non-members too. All in all, Jason says, “The vision of Solder and Bubblegum is to be something truly different and unique.” Set your calendar for noon-4 pm Saturday, June 22 to visit and find out more.

Four quick biznotes:

DAISO’S OPENING WEEKEND: You might see some commotion at Westwood Village tomorrow morning – the good kind. It’s opening weekend for the long-anticipated Daiso store, starting at 9 am Saturday and 10 am Sunday, with incentives for the first 100 people to spend $30, as noted on the door signage, so lines are likely. We first reported last July that Daiso was on the way.

KNEIGHBORHOOD KNIVES: Back in April, traditional whetstone-using knife sharpener Genevieve brought her Kneighborhood Knives sharpening business to Hotwire Coffee (4410 California SW), and she told us it was her most successful pop-up ever. So she’s coming back Monday (June 3), 8 am-3 pm. Just show up with your knife/knives, and she’ll sharpen them, $10 each.

HOMESTREET BANK X M & M BALLOONS: Every month, HomeStreet Bank-West Seattle (41st/Alaska; WSB sponsor) spotlights a local business or nonprofit. This month, it’s been M & M Balloon Company, whose co-proprietor Susan Lindsay visited the branch Thursday:

She’s pictured above with HomeStreet’s Andrew Tento. As happens each month, branch visitors can enter a free drawing for a prize from the spotlighted business, so Susan chose the winning ticket for a balloon arrangement.

NEW WELLNESS SPA: One of West Seattle’s newest small businesses emailed us to announce they’re open. Emma Hetnar has opened the private wellness spa Revitalize in Highland Park. She explains, “After overcoming my own battle with chronic illness, I was inspired to create a space where others could come to relax and heal, using the same equipment that I used in my personal healing journey. These treatments have played a pivotal role in my own healing and I am passionate about sharing their transformative benefits with others.” They’re explained on the Revitalize website, which is also where you’ll find information on contacting the spa for appointments.

Two more window signs of note:

TOP POT DOUGHNUTS: When we reported a month-plus ago that Top Pot Doughnuts was returning to West Seattle, we noted that sources had told us the location would be the ex-Wildflour/Flying Apron spot at 4709 California SW. Thanks to Anne for the tip that proof has appeared in the windows today:

Our photographer talked to Top Pot employees working in the space today and they said they’re hoping to be open “in a couple months.” A company spokesperson told us by email “summer.”

PEARLS: We noticed this sign, and empty windows otherwise, while passing Pearls (4800 Delridge Way SW), and stopped for a closer look:

No further info so far. We’ve added it to our watch list for future reopening.