West Seattle, Washington
23 Friday
By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
“I’m super proud of the team,” says Bakery Nouveau owner William Leaman, after coaching America’s baking team at this year’s Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, an industry competition in Paris for countries from around the world. The competition took place Tuesday and Wednesday, with winners announced late yesterday. South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and France were the medal winners, followed by Denmark and America. Ten teams competed in the finals.
(Photos by William Leaman) Defending its gold medal from 2024, France earned bronze this time.
As we reported last week, Leaman’s been juggling running his 3-location bakery business, including the flagship store in West Seattle (4737 California Ave SW), with coaching the 3-person Team USA at bi-weekly practices in Chicago. He was tapped to coach after being part of the winning team in 2005. At this year’s Coupe du Monde, each of the 10 teams had to produce many of the same breads, pastries, and savory “snacks” on the single competition day, plus a unique artistic piece showing an invention from their country, many with elaborate details.
South Korea’s 1st Place entry
Denmark’s whimsical Lego theme came in 4th place
Leaman says the pressure was high and the space was limited on competition day. “They did a great job, especially in a space that was half the size of what they were used to working in. That was probably the biggest challenge and then all of the noise, different countries, so many of their fans, air horns, yelling, screaming all in the last couple of minutes to be on time.” Adding to that, a live audience and a cadre of judges watching all day as they worked.
Team USA’s entry came in 5th
To finish in the top half of the field is testament to the team’s focus and talent. They started practicing long after some of the other teams, and they all have day jobs, making practices less frequent than ideal. Leaman says some teams had either sponsorships or government support that allowed them to practice and work on their design and techniques full time for many months. “Our biggest challenge was artistic, and a super short runway to prepare.” Despite that, the jury was impressed. “We had high marks in flavors for our products,” he says.
Some of those flavors will be headed to the Bakery Nouveau locations soon. Leaman says one of the “snack” sandwiches they made for the competition will be on the menu — look for the new Black Cod Miso sandwich on brioche later this year.
Tyler and Katie Blanchard wanted to ensure that O’Neill Plumbing – founded in 1917 – would remain a family-owned business.
So they bought it.
Tyler worked for the Morgan Junction-based plumbing company (a WSB sponsor) for 15 years before becoming co-owner wirh Katie, whose previous career was in health care, with a focus on nursing.
They live in West Seattle, where Tyler was raised and has deep roots, including grandparents who are West Seattle High School alumni.
Nothing is changing at O’Neill Plumbing with their acquisition – the name, the staff, etc. will all remain the same, say the Blanchards, who took over in November. “It’s an honor to take over something that’s been here for more than 100 years,” Katie said. “To carry on that family-owned legacy is really special to us.”
In a day and age when many independent plumbing companies are being absorbed into “conglomerates,” the Blanchards point out that O’Neill Plumbing remains a family-owned company – just, a different family!
Imagine hundreds more people in this photo with West Seattle Nursery owner Marcia Bruno (center), office manager Marie McKinsey (right), and Solid Ground development director Briana Stevenson (left):
(WSB photos)
Those hundreds would be the West Seattle Nursery (WSB sponsor) customers who donated $5,589.37 to Solid Ground during the holiday season – donations that were a seed in their own way, exceeding WSN staff’s hopes, then multiplying with a $1,000 matching donation from WSN plus a match the nonprofit obtained, growing the grand total to $13,178.74, all because of those generous customers. WSN also donated dozens of packets of garden seeds to Solid Ground today – that’s what’s in the box:
The seeds will grow into a variety of produce – peas, beets, cabbage, herbs, even rutabaga. At Marra Farm in South Park, Solid Ground grows about five tons of produce each year to donate to people experiencing food insecurity. Stevenson said they’ve also started a garden at the 31-unit shelter they operate for domestic-violence survivors. Solid Ground also supports a network of 27 food banks. Bruno explained that WSN chose them as this year’s beneficiary after she was impressed by their presentation to a West Seattle Garden Tour committee in which she participates, helping choose WSGT’s annual grant recipients: “They just do a lot of stuff!” Then her staff took over pitching the “add a donation to your purchase” campaign, tracked by a thermometer decorated with apples and peppers:
Observed Stevenson, TV’s “Mister Rogers” advised “Always look for the helpers.” And you could add the importance of recognizing them – as McKinsey explained, “We want to acknowledge the generosity of our customers and thank them publicly.” This is the second year that West Seattle Nursery has done this kind of holiday-season fundraiser – exactly one year ago, we were at the nursery to cover Erin Rubin accepting the seasonal donation results for her nonprofit Mode Music and Performing Arts.
P.S. If the sunshine has you in the mood to garden, WSN is awash in winter blooms:
(And ask about the purple cyclamen!)
In the spirit of the Wine Walk, the West Seattle Junction Association has announced its first-ever Sweet Stroll, and your ticket awaits!
Grab your sweet tooth and your walking shoes! The West Seattle Sweet Stroll is your chance to spend a cozy Sunday afternoon sampling desserts from some of the Junction’s most-loved spots — all for just $20.
From pies and doughnuts to ice cream and pastries, you’ll stroll at your own pace, collect stamps in your Sweet Stroll passport, and enjoy exclusive samples from A la Mode Pies, Molly Moon’s, Top Pot Doughnuts, Bakery Nouveau, and Panterelli.
It’s fun, it’s delicious, and it’s the perfect excuse to treat yourself (and maybe a friend). Tickets are limited — don’t miss this sweetest walk of the winter!
The Sweet Stroll is set for 2-5 pm Sunday, February 1st, and ticket(s) are available here while they last.
(WSB photos)
West Seattle’s newest business has opened. As of 8 am, the new UPS Store at Westwood Village is open for its first day on the breezeway across from Fitness 19. Proprietors Tami and Mike Lindquist had already welcomed. their first customer by the time we stopped by around half an hour after they opened.
As noted in this preview, they’re offering a variety of services. That includes about 400 mailboxes – not all self-serve like these – others are in the back:
The Lindquists own three other UPS Stores around the region. The new one will be open until 6:30 pm if you want to visit on Day One.
(WSB photo, this morning)
On New Year’s Eve, we reported on the death of a beloved figure in the South Delridge/White Center community, Lee’s Produce owner Nam Suk Nasatka. Readers had noted the produce market has been closed at times in recent days and wondered about its status. We went over today and found it was open again; they tell us they’re going to do their best to keep it open, in her honor. Meantime, cards at the store have the time, date, and place for her Celebration of Life:
The 1-5 pm gathering on Sunday, February 1, is planned at The Cove in Normandy Park (1500 SW Shorebrook Drive). Ms. Nasatka had worked at Lee’s for more than 40 years, and after the first 10 years, became its owner. She was 75 years old.
(WSB photo)
Roman and Perla have already run out of their last batch of tortillas at Milpa Masa on what will be the last day of business for their Sunrise Heights tortilleria for a while. Thanks to Christopher for sending the link to Milpa Masa’s announcement that they’re closing indefinitely after today. An excerpt:
…As some of you may know, we were forced to shut down our wholesale business at the end of 2024 due to equipment limitations and space capacity issues. Wholesale was the backbone of our operation, and losing it had a significant financial impact on us. Transitioning to a retail-only model and opening three days a week helped to some extent, but ultimately kept us from moving forward.
Our current space is not equipped with the infrastructure needed to cook and serve hot food, something that would have made a meaningful difference. However, we were hesitant to invest further in a space we knew we would quickly outgrow. With that in mind, we turned our focus toward finding angel investors who shared our long-term vision and values. Unfortunately, we underestimated how challenging it would be to find the right kind of partners aligned with what we are building.
While we will continue that search, we’ve reached a point where, without securing the necessary funding, we can no longer afford to keep the business open. Our hope is to pause, and not end Milpa Masa until we can raise the capital needed to grow into the next stage of the company.
If you know someone who may be interested in investing in a values-driven food business centered on heirloom corn, craft, and long-term impact, we would be incredibly grateful for an introduction.
We went right over to Milpa Masa’s 3416 SW Webster HQ after getting the tip today; they told us they’ve already sold out of tortillas and just have some salsa left to sell, so they might not stay open until their usual 2 pm closing, but expected to hang around a while for goodbyes.
(Google Street View image of 4457 Fauntleroy Way SW)
Almost two years ago, we happened onto city filings suggesting a Sherwin-Williams Paint store was planned for the ex-Midas space at 4457 Fauntleroy Way SW. It’s been empty since 2019, after an abrupt shutdown initially suggested as temporary proved to be permanent. At the time we found those filings, a spokesperson for the Mercer Island investment company that owns the site told us the plan was just a possibility. They had bought the 11,000-square-foot site in 2023, three years after it was listed as a prospective mixed-use development parcel. Now the Sherwin-Williams plan has reappeared in files, including a sign-permit application, which tends to mean it’s a done deal, as was the case when the paint giant built and opened a store next to The Home Depot in Delridge in 2013. We’ll be following up regarding the timeline.
The latest West Seattle business temporarily shut down by a pipe break is 2 Fingers Social. The bar’s proprietors first posted on social media that they were closed by “flooding,” then updated with the discovery of a “broken pipe 20 feet down” that they expect will keep them “closed for a while.” They elaborated, “It’s a huge project. They have to dig a 10 x 10 by 20ft deep hole in the sidewalk/street to fix it; also the flood damage fixes on the inside need to be completed.” They’ve raised some money via donations so far but say they’re getting bids for the “huge project.” Their building at 9211 Delridge Way SW – as we noted when 2FS opened in 2017 – had previously been home to businesses including a payday-loan operation and a medical-marijuana dispensary. (Thanks to Ian for the tip on 2FS’s woes.)
PawsVIP recently moved into 9064 Delridge Way SW and is a new WSB sponsor, which means they get to tell you about what they do:
What We Do:
PawsVIP is a locally owned dog day care and boarding facility. We’ve been running our first location near SeaTac since 2019, and West Seattle (9064 Delridge Way SW) is our second home.
Our Services:
At our West Seattle location, we offer day care, overnight boarding, and exit baths for pups heading home after a day of play.
Our Tukwila location has all of that plus full grooming and airport layover services for families moving or traveling with their pets.
Both locations have a 24/7 vet on call.
What Makes PawsVIP Different:
We’re a locally owned business. We’re all pet lovers. We’ve been doing this since 2019. We’ve learned what works, what doesn’t, and how to build a team that genuinely cares. We’ve focused on building a place where people want to stay, because your dog deserves to see familiar faces, not strangers every week.
We provide top quality care for your pet. We remember their habits, preferences, and their playmates. We want them to have fun and be taken care of while you’re away.
We also do our best to provide top quality service for pet parents. We’re communicative and transparent. We work to provide seamless experiences and accommodate your schedule by operating 5am to 9pm, seven days a week.
We’re structured and safety-focused. Kenneled facility, play groups organized by size and temperament, trained staff, 24/7 vet access. We don’t cut corners.
We know transparency matters. We post photos and videos daily because pet parents shouldn’t have to wonder what’s happening with their dog. Check out our Instagram and you’ll see real dogs having real fun.
Our Team:
Everyone on our team is a pet owner. We go home to dogs, cats, you name it. This isn’t just a job for us.
All staff go through background checks before hiring. From there, we train on dog handling, dog behavior, and animal safety. We take the time to do it right because we know the care your dog gets comes down to who’s actually with them.
We’ve tried to build a place where people want to stick around, learn, and grow. When staff are happy and invested, the dogs feel it.
Meet the team: pawsvip.com/team
Soft Opening Offer:
$9.99 day care through January 15, 2026. Trust is earned, and we want people to come see the space and meet us before committing.
Contact PawsVIP:
Email: petcare@pawsvip.com
Phone: 425-230-0344
Book online: pawsvip.com/west-seattle
We thank PawsVIP for choosing to advertise their business by sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB. Interested in joining our sponsor team? Please email WSBadvertising@wsbsales.com for information – thank you!
A big post-holidays thank you from Dave Newman State Farm Insurance Agency (3435 California SW; WSB sponsor) after this year’s generous response to their annual holiday-season warm-clothing drive:
Thank You, West Seattle Community!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to our incredible community for the overwhelming support of our recent clothing drive benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank‘s Helpline. Your generosity truly made a difference.
Thanks to your contributions, we were able to deliver four to five full loads of donations, including brand-new, unopened socks and underwear for both men and women, as well as thoughtfully donated hand-knit caps. These essential and heartfelt items will provide comfort, warmth, and dignity to those in need.
A special thank you to Roger Tanner for his help with loading and unloading donations. His support played an important role in making this effort a success.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who donated, helped, or supported this drive in any way. This experience was a powerful reminder of how much people care about one another and the strength of our local community.
We are proud to support the West Seattle Food Bank’s Helpline and thankful to be part of a community that truly shows up for its neighbors.
(WSB photo)
We first told you about plans for an expanded Pilates studio in the former Bel Gatto space in Fauntleroy’s Endolyne business district last year, and the owner’s hope that it would to be ready by summertime. As the new year starts, Lagom Studios owner Melina Moore says she is still waiting on permits for the new space, but is optimistically seeing the delay as an opportunity, bolstered by a good interim solution for more space.
Lagom Studios has been steadily outgrowing their original space at 4507 SW Wildwood Place for the last few years, running private and group pilates classes in a narrow storefront wedged between two others. They signed on to add the neighboring Bel Gatto space (9253 45th Ave SW) to the footprint of their business with a goal of having both more space for classes and some added amenities, including a Finnish-style dry sauna.
As the months rolled by with no permit in hand for the new space, Moore says the space directly next door, formerly Guided Ground massage (4509 SW Wildwood Place), unexpectedly became available to rent. This freed up room for a row of Pilates machines required for group classes, and enough room to stretch out—literally—during private lessons in the original space.
“I really believe that it’s been nice having a later timeline,” says Moore, who has been able to talk with clients about what they value, build community with interactions between the overlapping group and private lessons and to design things like the sauna so that it’s right-sized. “Somewhere between 5-8 people can be in there. I like to keep to it 5, so that you can actually connect with others.”
In the meantime, she’s making the temporary studio on Wildwood feel like home, with new artwork from West Seattle muralist Kristina Tamaria, and she is mostly at peace with the extended time it’s taking to expand. “We’re working with the city for permitting, so it’s on its own timeline. It will happen at the right time.”
(WSB photos)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“I want to do other stuff.”
That’s the simple reason Greg Whittaker is open to turning over his two outdoor-focused West Seattle businesses to a new owner “if the right person comes along.”
He’s founder and proprietor of Alki Kayak Tours and Mountain to Sound Outfitters, both of which he describes as “fun” and “profitable.” M2SO was bustling with skiers seeking gear and services when we sat down to talk on Wednesday afternoon, two days after the shop’s email newsletter revealed he’s “looking for new ownership.”
When he said to himself that he wants to do other things, “I felt a release of pressure,” Whittaker acknowledged. “I don’t need to [sell the bsinesses] – I can keep operating them.” But he thinks a new owner would be best for his businesses’ future. “I’m reaching out to West Seattle because this store is a West Seattle benefit,”
That’s evident during our visit – the snow has finally started piling up in the mountains, and the ski resorts are open. Not only does Mountain to Sound sell skis, boards, boots, and other items needed by skiers and boarders, it offers servicing too. And the shop has a long history, as the marquee outside serves to remind passersby as well as customers:
Over those 16 years, he’s proud of the fact that his shop has played a role in getting many local youth interested in skiing – some of whom work in the shop now. And Whittaker says he has the seasonal rhythm down to a science, even when nature throws a curveball like this year’s late start to the season: “I know the formula. Do early events like ski swaps” – M2SO has one every October – “be ready when it snows … it always snows.” They also sell and rent camping gear. “We have the building blocks for someone to take over if they want to.” The shop has thriving relationships with specific manufacturers/dealers, which isn’t something that comes easily, Whittaker explains – it’s hard work.
And Alki Kayak Tours, which he’s been operating seasonally at Seacrest Boathouse for more than 20 years, is “service-based” – focusing on rentals and tours, rather than retail. (AKT had a big boom time back in the pandemic days.) “The whole puzzle works together.” Whittaker’s businesses are tenants at both spots, though he owns part of the Triangle building that houses Mountain to Sound at 3602 SW Alaska.
So what might that “other stuff” in his future be? He says he is first and foremost an entrepreneur, so he would continue in that vein. By means of background, he says he has “been a ski bum forever” before going into the “kayak business” and was an “environmental manager” after that, so his next business might be along those lines – “I know how to speak governmental language!” he notes. But first, if and when he finds that new owner, it’ll be time for some self-care and “a breather …. for 20 years I’ve worked seven days a week.”
He’s not complaining, though: “I’m lucky and blessed and very thankful for the West Seattle community and the culture we’ve created around the activities we all love.”
And right now, those activities are roaring to life, so we wrapped up our chat and he jumped in to help as more customers were coming through the doors. He expects to formally announce the sale plans soon.
We’ve reported before on the library-building work done by West Seattleite Alina Guyon and her nonprofit Libraries For All – from projects far (like this one in India) to projects near (like this one for Mary’s Place). Now she wants to let you know how West Seattle businesses helped her with a project in north-central Washington;
A new library was recently built through the nonprofit Libraries for All, and one of the best parts of the project was getting to do it by shopping local. While the library itself is located in the Methow Valley at Room One’s Teen Center for at-risk youth, the heart of the project came together right here in West Seattle, thanks to a few incredible small businesses.
Pegasus Book Exchange helped thoughtfully curate a book collection tailored specifically to teens, making sure the shelves were filled with engaging, age-appropriate titles young people would actually be excited to read.
Terraplanted helped select plants that would thrive indoors with minimal maintenance and no direct sunlight, bringing warmth and life into the space.
The Missing Piece rounded out the library by helping choose board and card games perfectly suited for a teen audience—encouraging connection, creativity, and fun. This library came together smoothly because of the knowledge, care, and generosity of these local businesses, and it’s a great reminder of how far community support can reach when we choose to shop local.
You can learn more about this project at libraries4all.com.
Alina’s work dates back almost a decade to her Girl Scout days!
When Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor) proprietor Frank Gross announced on New Year’s Day that his store (and “roommate” The Bass Shop) will move to the Admiral District, he noted that TRG’s current space already has a new tenant lined up, NW Fitness Project. We’d actually reported six months earlier on NWFP’s tentative plan to take over a different West Seattle space. That didn’t work out but they’re thrilled about moving to Morgan Junction, and have provided more info:
(NW Fitness Project photo: L-R, co-owners Matthew Holland, Alec Bulat, Jeremy Stewart, Norah Davis, Kyle Davis)
The “small-group fitness studio” was founded in Fremont eight years ago and is adding three new owners as it expands. Their lease for the TRG space at 6400 California SW starts May 1st, and they hope to open in June. TRG’s Gross will continue to own the building he’s leaving, and NW Fitness Project co-owner Kyle Davis says, “Having fellow small business owners as our landlords for this first expansion feels exactly right.” He adds, “We’re not expanding because we can – we’re expanding because our community has grown organically into West Seattle. Many of our long-term members have moved to the area, and we have [ownership] team members like Jeremy Stewart who live there. This isn’t about aggressive growth; it’s about following our people.” Stewart, Alec Bulat, and Norah Davis are the new owners that NW Fitness Project is promoting from within. Stewart, who will also be West Seattle’s general manager, says, “We’re proving you can create meaningful career paths for trainers while building something that lasts for clients.” In the months ahead, they invite interested community members to visit the Fremont location for trial classes – “small group” meaning 10 people maximum – and/or connect with the proprietors via norah@nwfitnessproject.com.
We reported last month that the proprietors of the new UPS Store at Westwood Village announced they planned to soft-open this coming Monday, January 5. They’ve sent us an update saying they’ve had a slight delay and are now hoping to open a week later than that, on January 12. As noted in our mid-December report, it’s their fourth UPS Store in the region, and they plan to offer a variety of services (including the always-in-demand shredding).
(Added: WSB photo of Ashcroft Building today)
Starting off the new year is this announcement of a new home for Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor) and The Bass Shop. They’ll be moving from Morgan Junction to the historic Admiral District building that Mud Bay is vacating for its move across the Admiral/California intersection. Here’s the announcement we received this morning from TRG proprietor Frank Gross, who recently bought the 2611 California SW building:
I am thrilled to announce Thunder Road and our roommates The Bass Shop will be moving to the historic Ashcroft Building located at 2611 California Ave SW in the Admiral District here in West Seattle early this spring.
This move nearly triples our current square footage and sets the stage for what I believe will be the very best version of what we do. The building has great bones and our goal is to create an inspiring and visually captivating environment for everyone who walks through our doors.
2026 marks our 15th year in business, and I can’t help but feel extremely grateful to this community, and the community of guitar enthusiasts worldwide that we consider customers, colleagues, friends and family. None of this would be possible without the incredible support from West Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest. Your loyalty, passion for guitars, and your belief in what we do has put gas in our tank and guitars on our walls and we are forever in debt to you.
Fun West Seattle 1990s era knowledge bomb: When I was a kid this very building we are moving into was the original Alki Bike and Board. Stu, the owner of this establishment, was nice enough to let me put a K2 Shovel BMX on layaway for an entire summer. Come August I must have mowed every single lawn in West Seattle and made enough to pay off the bike. Stu’s kindness and compassion for a young kid who wanted a proper bike was never lost on me and inspires me to this day of how to treat people and run a business.
As for our existing storefront, our new friends at NW Fitness Project will be taking over that location this spring. Here is some info from them about their new location: NW Fitness Project, a celebrated Fremont-based boutique fitness studio specializing in personal training, strength based small-group training, and running coaching, is beyond amped to be moving in for their second location. Known for their “person over program” philosophy and commitment to sustainable, long-term fitness, NW Fitness Project has built a loyal community over eight years through adaptive training that meets each person exactly where they are.
We’re thrilled to pass the torch to fellow small business owners who share our commitment to community investment and are excited to see them serve West Seattle’s active, health-focused residents.
Follow our journey as we restore this 100 year old building and make it our own, one guitar at a time. Look out for moving announcements early this spring.
With love & gratitude,
Frank Gross
Owner & Founder, Thunder Road Guitars
This will be Thunder Road’s third move to ever-bigger spaces in the past 11 years – from 3916 California to The Junction in 2015 and then from The Junction to Morgan Junction in 2019.
That’s the burglar who broke into West Seattle Nursery on Christmas morning, as reported here over the weekend. Today the nursery has provided that image as well as an update on its recovery:
We’ve repaired our back gate, cleaned up glass from the two doors that were forced open (one to our Garden Center and one to our Greenhouse), and secured the damaged doors with bolted wood. Please excuse the slight draft until we are able to replace our doors.
We’re still taking inventory to determine everything that was stolen, which includes all our jewelry, some tools, a laptop, our walkie talkies, and even a garbage can used to carry items away. If you have any information on who the person in the picture is, please let us know. They were masked, but they appear to have long dark hair and black Adidas Samba shoes.
While this thief may have stolen items and broken our doors (and our spirits for a moment), we are grateful that all of our customers and employees are safe. Thank you to the employees who helped clean up the glass, temporarily secure the doors, and continue reviewing our missing inventory. Please be safe out there!
According to the police report – incident # 2025-376533 if you have any information – security video indicated the burglar arrived just before 5 am Christmas Day. Owner Marcia Bruno told us this was their first burglary in years; our archives show one in summer 2019.
By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
2026 may finally be The Hydrant‘s year.
More than 10 years after “coming soon” plans were first announced to open The Hydrant at 4541 California Ave SW in The Junction, one of the business owners tells WSB the actual opening date may finally be nigh. “It really is imminent,” says Beya Mark.
Mark and her husband Cliff own and run Next-to-Nature, the pet product store next door at 4543 California Ave SW as well. While keeping that business going, they have worked on and permitted the build-out of The Hydrant space as a bar and coffee shop where people and their dogs are welcome. Mark describes the decade-long quest to open the space as a “very trying period,” particularly because they were paying rent the entire time. She says the extended time led to all kinds of speculation about the source of the delays and what she says were outlandish suggestions about why it could possibly take so long. “We’re not a drug front,” she laughs. “We’ve been pretty quiet about the whole thing because there is so much speculation out there,” she adds.
The reality, she says, is that there were fire code and permitted-use issues to work through, including adding a sheetrock barrier between the two businesses, and a lot of back and forth around what the city would require. “It was bizarre because we would get one opinion and then another, and they disagreed on what we needed to do.”
But they have gotten far enough along to be able to rent the space out for private events and use the retail area as a “pop-up” space for Next-to-Nature products during the Christmas shopping season. It will remain open for retail into the new year.
When The Hydrant opens for its intended purpose, hopefully early in 2026, Mark says, “We want to be a meeting place [and] cater to the coffee crowd, who want to come in and work with their pups.” They will serve wine and beer, mocktails and coffee, along with offering retail items that might appeal to their customers. “It’s mainly going to be community-focused, with merchandise for humans and pets, geared toward the outdoorsy lifestyle.” Mark says they will focus on French and Washington state wines and ciders, with space for up to 25 offerings on tap. They also hope to partner with nearby restaurants so that food can be ordered in, with the possibility of even collaborating with a food truck on the alley side.
While a firm opening date is still elusive, Mark says people and their pups won’t have to wait much longer for the long-promised place to gather. “We are in the final phases of the permitting,” Mark says confidently, adding that they are still “moving forward and staying positive.”
That’s a frame grab from a video Easy Street Records posted on social media, reporting that the person seen in the video broke the glass in their front door at noon Christmas Day, on a rare closure day for the shop. From the post: “For many of us in the retail industry, these kind of moments are really discouraging, but, especially on Christmas. Windows, glass, entryways…these are typically not covered by insurance. These are out of pocket expenses.” We recently reported on some of the other West Seattle businesses that have been victims of similar crimes, looking at whether a city fund set up for “storefront damage” has been much of a help.
As a side note, we’ve spent some of this quiet post-holiday following up on court cases, and happened onto a familiar name, a West Seattle repeat offender; turned out he’s been in jail since last month for breaking a business window in SODO. It’s been more than four years since we’ve had cause to mention Ryan J. Cox, but we saw his name on the jail roster and looked up documents to find out why. He is charged with malicious mischief for breaking a window at Krispy Kreme in SODO, estimated worth $2,200. He’s currently awaiting a mental evaluation to see if he’s competent to stand trial; according to documents on file, his “last known address” is in West Seattle, near Southwest Library.
Five months after Row House closed on the north end of The Junction, a new rowing studio in its south end is about to open its doors. We received an announcement from Row West that it’s set soft-open dates for Saturday and Sunday, January 3 and 4 – next weekend – 8 am to noon both days. Row West is at 4740 44th SW, across from Junction Hardware, and plans to “offer inclusive indoor rowing classes designed for all fitness levels.” It’s launching in part with the help of a successful crowdfunding campaign last summer.
(Photo added Thursday evening)
ORIGINAL REPORT: Thanks to “Prop” for the tip about multiple police vehicles at WaFd Bank on the north edge of The Junction early this morning. Archived police radio indicates they were investigating a burglary. Security monitoring via video feed reported an intruder in the bank before 4 am, described only as “unknown-race male, all-black clothing, ski mask.” No one was inside when police searched the building, but a large window on the SW Dakota side of the bank building had been broken; SFD was called to board it up. No word on what if anything was taken; we’ll be requesting the report narrative. If you have any information, the SPD case # is 2025-375888.
ADDED SUNDAY: We received the report narrative from SPD today. This was the heart of it:
… Officers and XXXX determined the unknown suspect entered the building through the north window. Then, the suspect smashed a hole in the wall (XXXX), into a small room that accessed the back of an ATM. The back of the ATM appeared undamaged/untampered by the suspect. It appeared the suspect exited the building the same way he entered, through the north window he originally smashed to gain entry. …
Thanks to Nathan for the tip that Delridge Uptown Espresso is closing. As soon as we got that note tonight, we went over to see if a sign was posted, as sometimes happens after closure announcements, and found the sign. you see above, saying that December 30th – a week from today – is the official closing date. It’s in a spot that will be disrupted if and when Sound Transit builds the Delridge station for West Seattle light rail, but even in the fastest-moving scenario, construction is still two-plus years away. The shop and other Uptowns have been operated since 2018 by Fonté, which took over after the sudden death of Uptown owner Dow Lucurell. We’ll be checking with them tomorrow about the reason(s) for the Delridge closure and the future of Uptown’s West Seattle Junction shop, which will be one of three remaining Uptown cafés; the mini-chain had six locations when Mr. Lucurell died. (Added: The previous two closures were Queen Anne in 2021, Pier 70 in 2022.)
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