Quick notes about West Seattle businesses with extended breaks this post-holiday month (let us know if you’ve heard of others!):

CLICK! DESIGN THAT FITS: You CAN shop at Click! Design That Fits in The Junction (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor) this weekend, but then the shop’s taking an extended break starting January 4th. Read about it on the Click! website.

WEST SEATTLE PRODUCE COMPANY: No, the shop at 4722 Fauntleroy Way SW is NOT closed permanently, as one reader who contacted us feared. WSP is taking a break until January 16th and still searching for a new location, while awaiting word on when it’ll have to clear out from this one. The CVS drugstore project for the site continues to proceed but doesn’t have final approval yet, as, among other things, it still requires at least one more Southwest Design Review Board meeting (no date set yet). WSP originally opened in April 2010 across the street, where The Whittaker is now under construction.

SPEAKING OF PRODUCE STANDS: Just a reminder that Tony’s Market at 35th and Barton is temporarily closed too, its traditional break after the end of Christmas-tree-selling season. It usually reopens in late winter/early spring (it was later than usual last year because of renovations including parking-lot work).

(Some of Meeples’ Star Wars merchandise, photographed on Shop Small Saturday)
Going to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at a premiere event tonight? Or sometime soon? You can indulge your “Star Wars” fandom outside the theater, too, with a stop at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) this weekend. In case you haven’t already seen it in the WSB Event Calendar, here’s the announcement from Meeples proprietor Laura Schneider:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Ok, so not long ago, but This Weekend…

And, not far away, but right in your neighborhood…

Meeples Games is having an all-out Star Wars celebration! This is your chance to check out some of these awesome Star Wars games you’ve heard so much about. You can watch, learn to play and get in the action!

Here’s the schedule:

Saturday 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Star Wars X-Wing Demonstrations

Saturday 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Star Wars Role Playing Game

Saturday 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Star Wars Armada Demonstrations

Saturday 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Star Wars Imperial Assault

Sunday 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Star Wars X-Wing Trench Run Demonstration

Sunday 4:00 pm: – Meeples is closing for us to all go see the movie! Woo!!

Meeples is at 3727 California SW (upstairs).

P.S. The new “Star Wars” movie will be at The Admiral, so you don’t have to leave WS to see it.

Two quick West Seattle Junction biznotes:

SOUND CREDIT UNION OPENS: Six months after we reported that Sound Credit Union would open a branch at 4730 California, SCU says it’s now open, with “a 24-hour deposit-taking, walk-up ATM, (and) Saturday hours.” It’s the Tacoma-headquartered credit union’s third location in Seattle, 24th in all, and its membership is open “to anyone who lives or works in Washington State.”

DUMPLINGS OF FURY SIGNAGE: Thanks to Kathleen for the tip via Twitter that the sign on the upcoming eatery at 4302 SW Oregon was going up this morning. We went over at midday for a photograph:

When last we checked in with the proprietors, they were hoping to open around the first of the year.

West Seattle’s newest paid-parking lot is also the first one, so far as we can tell, that’s not in one of the Junctions. Thanks to WSB commenter WSince86 for the tip about the change for the lot behind Spiro’s Pizza at 3401 California SW. We asked Spiro’s for comment; their reply only confirmed that the lot is free to Spiro’s patrons during the hours the restaurant is open. You’ll find that in the fine print on the sign, but the rest of the time, it’s pay to park, and payments must be made by phone – no pay station, no money box. This neighborhood, like other parts of the West Seattle core, is densifying; the lot and restaurant are in the area that was part of the 2007-initiated rezone that among other things facilitated the development of Springline, the block-long apartment building now under construction to the north in the 3200 block of California SW.

This weekend marks 20 years in business for salon ef-fekts’ (5409 California SW). We found this out from staff member Brooke Wood, who e-mailed to say that proprietor Missy Wheat deserves a congratulatory shout-out. Here’s the item and photo Brooke shared:

She and her husband John have run and owned salon ef-fekts’ since 1995. Missy graduated cosmetology school from South Seattle Community College in 1989 and has been doing hair and working in West Seattle ever since. She opened the salon in ’95 with just her behind the chair; with her hard work and dedication, she has built her salon into the still-thriving salon it is today. She loved educating and pushes everyone to do their best and try their hardest in business and everyday life.

Besides being a kick-butt boss, hairdresser, educator, and caregiver, she also does so much for the community, from collecting food for the West Seattle Food Bank, toys, and back-to-school stuff for Treehouse, to local school auctions all year long.

Thanks to everybody who shares updates about business anniversaries, whether it’s your own or someone else’s – as a small local independent business ourselves, we know how much work it takes to keep going – editor@westseattleblog.com is our all-purpose mailbox for tips and info; thanks!

Many reasons to shop The Junction for Black Friday/Shop Small Saturday – including the 4th anniversary celebration deals at Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor)! In our photo, that’s TRG proprietor Frank Gross, who started his business online, then after about a year moved into a California Avenue storefront between the Admiral and Alaska Junctions, and then five months ago took over an even-bigger storefront in The Junction, at 4736 California SW, where you’ll find TRG today. Today, tomorrow, and Sunday, you’ll find these specials at Thunder Road:

*15% off all guitars and amplifiers in stock

*Free shipping in the US

*Beginner acoustic guitars starting at $199

*15% off all new pedals

Stop in to wish Frank and crew Happy Anniversary! They’re open until 6 today, 10 am-6 pm Saturday, and 11 am-4 pm Sunday.

(Photo courtesy Mystery Made)
For 2+ years, Mystery Made has toiled quietly in Admiral: “Generally, we’ve kept the blinds up and just kept our heads down with work,” as proprietor Cory Côté puts it. But now, in time for the holidays, they’ve added something new and invite you to check it out:

We run Mystery Made. Mystery Made is a small design agency here in West Seattle (2727 California Ave) driven by three close friends with years of experience in action sports and brand design. As of last Friday we’ve opened up the front space to be the home to a small brick & mortar men’s-geared shop as well. We’ll also be selling online, but obviously nothing compares to the honest tactile experience so come check it out and try something on. There’s limited space so we’ve curated a small collection of some of the brands we’ve been liking such as the Roark Revival, Electric, Imperial Motion, Field Notes Brand, Draplin Design Co., UCO gear, Volta Sound Co. and our very own Mystery Made goods. We also currently have a curated collection of mounted photography of our good friend and associate photo editor for Snowboarder Magazine, Mike Yoshida. His imagery truly captures the experience of the Northwest winters in the hills.

Mystery Made’s storefront is open 2-7 pm weekdays, noon-6 pm Saturdays.

A busy round of biznotes, starting with a throwback photo and the reason for it:

DISCOVERY SHOP TURNS 25: The nonprofit shop at 4535 California SW in The Junction, which is a WSB sponsor, is having its quarter-century birthday tomorrow:

The Discovery Shop, a resale store benefiting The American Cancer Society, will celebrate 25 years in business on Saturday, November 21 with refreshments and special sales throughout the store. While you won’t find any acid wash jeans or MC Hammer pants so popular when the store first opened, you will find quality, gently used men and women’s contemporary clothing from retailers such as Nordstrom, Chico’s as well as antiques, collectibles and housewares.

In the same West Seattle location since opening November 1990, the Discovery Shop is a story of retail success and longevity, quite an accomplishment for a store run entirely by volunteers! And thanks to their dedication throughout the years, this one store has generated over 2 million dollars for cancer research and patient treatment programs. The volunteers, who do everything from sorting and cleaning donations, merchandising and pricing to ringing sales and bookkeeping, are the heart and soul of the store. Currently, more than 70 volunteers help staff the store seven days a week, including a few who have been volunteering since the early days.

How long ago was it that the store rang up its first sale? Well, it’s the same year Microsoft released Windows 3.0, Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson threw a no-hitter in the Kingdome where the Seahawks also played and the cult hit Twin Peaks premiered on TV. It was also the year in which smoking was first banned on all domestic flights. “With the continued support of the West Seattle community, we are looking forward to another 25 years selling quality, unique donated items. But most importantly, providing hope for a cure,” says Board Chair Winni Field. “Thanks in part to the Discovery Shop and American Cancer Society, 14 million cancer survivors are celebrating birthdays this year!”

THE WESTY TURNS 1: The sports bar in Westwood is also having an anniversary party tomorrow:

We want to take this time to thank the West Seattle Community for the overwhelming support throughout our first year here at The Westy. We want to invite everyone to come help us celebrate our first year this Saturday, November 21st.

To celebrate we will be offering our Happy Hour drink specials all day long. We are continuing our tap takeover featuring Reuben’s Brews and in addition will be tapping a few limited kegs that we have acquired for a special occasion. We will also be releasing our first limited batch of two barrel-aged cocktails. One such cocktail features two spirits with recipes created by us, and will be available as a component flight to try both spirits on their own, a mini-unaged variation, and the barrel-aged version. Available while supplies last. Beginning at 7 pm we will begin hosting Skee Ball tournaments, which are free to enter and will have some great prizes. Everyone in attendance will be entered in a raffle for prizes being given away throughout the day.

We wouldn’t be here today without all of your support and can’t begin to thank you all enough. We look forward to this Saturday and many future anniversaries to come.

The Westy is at 7908 35th SW.

OUR SECRET GARDEN … is a new flower/antique shop having its grand opening at Junction 47 tomorrow, 3 pm-7 pm. The building announcement via Facebook says: “You can find them located on the south side of the East Building, overlooking the pathway from California Ave to 42nd Ave.”

WEST SEATTLE LANDSCAPING … is closing its bricks-and-mortar store, say owners Jeff Detweiler and Andrew Rupp, who sent this announcement that their last day will be Sunday, and a closing sale is under way now:

West Seattle Landscape and Stone Supply (aka egreen landscaping and materials ) will be closing the store at 9010 Delridge Way on November 22nd. “After 12 years of selling and delivering landscape supplies and stone to all our many friends and customers in West Seattle, we’ve lost our battle to create a good outcome with a property with multiple issues and are closing the store. We’ll be having our closing sale Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Friday 12 – 5, Saturday and Sunday 10-4. I have a lot of bagged decorative gravels, and pebbles, tons of Basalt rockery rock, paver samples, etc. etc. all at big discounts! The GOOD news is that while the store is closing we’ll still be in business as a web and phone-based delivery-only service. You’ll still be able to get all the products we’ve been selling for 12 years, along with some new ones we never stocked at the store! Our new website should be up and running at www.westseattlestone.com by January 1. Until then, you can still find us at egreenlandscaping.com, and our phone will remain 206-763-7625 as well. I really want to thank all of our loyal customers who have supported us for 12 years, and hope you’ll continue to do so in our new venture going forward.

MEANDER’S KITCHEN … is apparently closed for good – “in (the White Center) locale,” per its Facebook page, three months after the “closing or not?” kerfuffle. Thanks to the reader who e-mailed to point this out.

P.S. Go browse the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide to preview which businesses are having holiday open houses this weekend (and to find tons of other holiday-season events and info)!

Two biznotes from Morgan Junction:

SEATTLE LOGO PRO MOVING: After 5+ years in The Junction, off the midblock breezeway on the west side of California between Oregon and Alaska, apparel/accessories biz Seattle Logo Pro is moving to the former Pilates Al Dente storefront at 6521 California SW, same building that’s home to WSB sponsors Mailbox West and Second Gear Sports. Via Facebook, SLP says it’s expecting to be in its new spot by early December.

Speaking of SGS …

‘MORGAN JUNCTION SHOPPING EXTRAVAGANZA’ TOMORROW: What started as Second Gear Sports’ third annual “Ladies Night” has expanded into a “Morgan Junction Shopping Extravaganza” tomorrow (Thursday) evening, 7-9 pm, in partnership with three other Morgan Junction businesses – My Three Little Birds, Lika Love, and Nurture by Nature – for a fun way to jump-start your semi-early holiday shopping. Full details of who’s doing what are in our calendar listing.

West Seattle has no state-licensed marijuana stores yet, but when it does, these new rules might govern where they can go. Here’s the announcement today from the mayor’s office:

Mayor Ed Murray today proposed new rules to accommodate the expected increased number of state licensed retail marijuana stores in Seattle. The proposal would adjust land use rules to allow the siting of state-licensed stores more equitably and fairly throughout Seattle while also limiting the possibility of clustering retail stores on a single city block.

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3:55 PM: The radar was right! No rain as the businesses of The Admiral District host West Seattle kids for trick-or-treating. Just come on over to California and Admiral and the surrounding area – west to 44th, east to 41st, and north/south for a ways.

Get treats, and tell your friendly local businesspeople “thanks”! Or, in the case of those handing out treats at Brookdale, your friendly local residents:

It’s on until 6 pm.

4:18 PM: Above are the ladies of Admiral Bird, where we’re based while doing some as-it-happens updating. Below, the space shuttle landed in the pumpkin patch of the Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) costume contest, concurrent with trick or treating:

We’ve also seen a Blue Angel, 10 months early!

Continuing with the aviation theme:

And … Teletubbies?

More costumed proprietors … Parris and Kent Sadow at Atomic Boys:

Under the really big hat, that’s Dr. Keith McDonald at A Kids Place Too Dentistry for Children (WSB sponsor):

Eek! Alki Bike and Board is haunted!

4:46 PM: We found The Incredibles!

So – you think West Seattle traffic is bad on the streets? Check out the sidewalk near-miss:

Excellent Halloween soundtrack at The Bird, by the way. “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” “Thriller,” “Somebody’s Watching Me,” more. And a bit further south on California, it wouldn’t be Halloween without the Wiseman’s Appliance freezer – portrayed by Molly:

More later.

P.S. Lots more Halloween Eve fun to follow – including the nearby Hiawatha Community Center Carnival, 6:30-8:30 pm – check out the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide.