Another new business location that just turned up in city permit filings this week already has put up signage. Thanks to Stacy for the tip on that; we went by 3902 California SW this afternoon to see the site for forthcoming Delphinium Delicatessen. It’s planned for the space inhabited by West Seattle Tattoo before that business joined the exodus to The Junction. Here’s a closer look at what the signage says:

(If you can’t read the fine print, it promises, “A specialty market with fine groceries and goods.”) On its early-stage website, Delphinium also promises “whole-wheel cheeses.” The site plan shows a kitchen – might that mean prepared food? We have a message out to the proprietor to find out more.

Thanks to Desiree for the tip! That sign in the window of the former Row House space at the AJ Apartments (southwest corner of 42nd SW and SW Oregon) uncloaks the new tenant: Arthur Murray Dance Studio. If you’re of a certain age, you might recognize that as a name with decades of dance-teaching history worldwide. Here in West Seattle, the studio owners are Tina Marie and Gretchen Malone. Tina also co-owns the Downtown Seattle location; when we asked her why expand to West Seattle?, she replied, “We have a few students that currently live in West Seattle and have often thought that there must be more people that could use some dancing in their lives! We’ve come to find those people!” First lesson in the new space is Thursday (February 17). They’re teaching 30 styles of dance, with private lessons as well as group classes.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Friday the 13th will be Meghan Hogan‘s lucky day.

That’s when she’ll officially reopen Dream Dinners West Seattle on the lower east-facing side of Jefferson Square (4701 41st SW).

We reported in late October on the flooding from a plumbing problem in the nearby CVS store that affected her meal-prep business and other neighboring businesses.

We didn’t realize until recently that Dream Dinners and neighboring School of Rock have remained closed for repairs since then.

Earlier this week, we visited Meghan as she, husband Mark Hogan, and employees continued cleaning the store to get ready for reopening, following weeks of work replacing everything from ceiling tiles to drywall to flooring to equipment.

While it retains the name of what was once a national-franchise business, Dream Dinners West Seattle went indie last year (not long before the flooding shutdown). And while their model, pre-pandemic, was primarily for customers to come in and assemble meals from prepped ingredients, it now remains mostly take-and-bake (or take-thaw-and-bake). And what they offer from a menu that changes monthly is more than dinners – also lunch and breakfast dishes and desserts. You order online, then arrange to pick up.

The first week is sold out, but beyond that, Meghan is hopefully their customers will return, and that they’ll acquire new ones. They got some help from a Dream Dinners store in Vancouver, WA, filling orders and meeting customers nearby twice a month, but that wasn’t anywhere near the volume they had been doing. “We’d love the community to come back and support us,” says Meghan, with hope. Not just support her – but also their staff, all part-timers, all of whom are coming back to rejoin the team with the reopening. (“All West Seattle kids!” Meghan notes.) Some were helping out during our conversation this week (which followed a staff meeting). The store – which the Hogans bought in 2019 – has a two-decades-plus history.

If you haven’t tried Dream Dinners before – or if you have – Meghan says you should know that it’s not a subscription service, and that the order sizes have changed – you have smaller and larger options; it’s not just family-sized. And the monthly menu usually has meatless options. Most items cook in 30 minutes or less, though they also have crock-pot-type offerings. The menu of options changes monthly, so if nothing sounds good one month, check back the next! The pickup/storefront-open times include some evening and Saturday hours, so you have multiple options. You can get Dream Dinners food delivered, too.

But even if you do, Meghan hopes you will remember there’s a local difference – her and those “West Seattle kids” on staff – “There’s a face” behind your order, someone who prepped your meal in West Seattle, “not just somebody dropping a box off at your door.” She’s thrilled, meantime, to be reopening her door to you again,

PHOTOS BY DAVE GERSHGORN FOR WSB

The West Seattle Junction Association‘s first-ever Sweet Stroll this afternoon was sweet indeed – the $20 tickets for tastes at five Junction venues were sold out days before the event. Photojournalist Dave Gershgorn captured some scenes for WSB. Above, A La Mode Pies was the starting spot, where ticketholders could pick up “passports” to get stamped at all five participating businesses for an entry to a prize drawing. The pie tastes they were offering were raspberry crumble a la mode and cookies & cream:

Across the street at Panterelli Patisserie, proprietor Jacques Nawar was serving profiteroles:

Two doors west, Molly Moon’s Ice Cream offered a mini-flight of seasonal flavors:

The Junction’s most-famous purveyor of sweets, Bakery Nouveau, served Sweet Stroll-ers their choice of traditional croissant, sakura petit-four, or brownie:

And at Top Pot Doughnuts, it was a double-chocolate treat – hot chocolate doughnut and mini hot chocolate:

Wondering what’s up next in The Junction? Here’s this year’s event schedule so far – if you’re a fan of the twice-yearly Wine Walk, first one is set for May 15.

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.