West Seattle, Washington
13 Monday
Three Admiral biznotes tonight:
WEST SEATTLE COMPUTERS MOVING: This shop is moving from The Junction to Admiral, effective next Monday (October 30th), when it will open at 2735 California SW (across the street from Hiawatha Playfield, next to Freshy’s Coffee). Along with providing “a full range of technology services including PC and Mac repair, data recovery and virus removal,” the announcement says WSC is “beefing up our Help Desk, business support, and express services.”
COPPER COIN ANNIVERSARY: This Thursday (October 26th), Copper Coin (2329 California SW) celebrates its fifth anniversary by offering this deal, according to general manager Gregg Graham: “Our classic house Deluxe Burger or our new brunch sneak-peek Brioche Breakfast Sandwich for only 5 bucks all day long! We’ll also be pouring an assortment of delicious seasonal draft beverages, with plenty of fresh hop selections from the likes of Bale Breaker, Goodlife, 10 Barrel, Mt. Tabor, Double Mountain, et. al., plus some pumpkin ales too!”
PIZZERIA 22 CHANGES: Cary Kemp e-mailed this update:
I recently bought out my partner at Pizzeria 22 and am now the sole proprietor! We are very grateful for the support we received from our former partner and are excited to implement some new additions to our private dining space, our menu and events, like a late=night happy hour starting in November.
We also recently acquired the bust of a water buffalo we call “Wilma” and she is now hanging above our oven at Pizzeria 22. We import fresh D.O.C. bufala mozzarella and our customers have really enjoyed its rich, creamy texture and bold flavor.
Pizzeria 22 is in its seventh year at 4213 SW College.
P.S. Reminder that the Admiral District merchants’ trick-or-treat day is Halloween this year – Tuesday, October 31st, 3-6 pm, as previewed here.
Got word today from QFC that it’s planning an event Wednesday morning to celebrate the completion of its $2.8 million Westwood Village remodeling project. At 8 am, they will hand out gift bags to the first 200 customers, with “a coupon for a ‘free breakfast’ (a dozen eggs, package of bacon, muffins, and carton of orange juice) as well as a QFC gift card. The gift cards will be for $5, with one for $300 mixed in.” The celebration also will feature free cake and coffee, with a ribboncutting at 8:30 am.
(WSB photo showing Easy Street and Corner Pocket at the Hamm Building, March 2016)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tonight, as it does several nights most months, Easy Street Records is hosting an in-store concert.
As usual, it’ll be in the space where Easy Street operates its wildly popular café by day. But if Easy Street proprietor Matt Vaughan had his way, he’d have some extra space for events like that by now – downstairs, in the space that was long known as the Corner Pocket.
Vaughan sat down with WSB yesterday afternoon to talk about his hopes of taking it over – which, he says, hit a sudden and mysterious roadblock. So far, other key players in the saga are declining comment, so we’re telling Vaughan’s story, which he contacted us about so that you would know where things stand.
First, the Corner Pocket backstory:
The abrupt shutdown of the Corner Pocket happened last December, as we first told you during breaking-news coverage of a police raid there. Read More
Three quick biznotes:
KOKORAS GREEK GRILL: Readers noted that the newest incarnation of this Morgan Junction restaurant at 6400 California SW has been dark for more than a week. Weekend before last, a handwritten sign on the door said it was closed due to “employee conflict.” Then that disappeared. We tried calling and only got a recording saying the mailbox was full. A tipster this week said it appeared the space was being emptied. We stopped by today and noticed someone doing work inside, and asked him. Remodeling, was his reply, but that’s all he could say.
FLEURT: Remodeling is also what’s happening at this Junction shop (4536 California SW). From proprietors Sam and Keonii:
Wanted to let you know that each year at this time we do a mini makeover and refresh the shop for the holidays. Our work began (Tuesday) and we hope to be open again no later than Friday this week. We are super-excited for our new look and another new business venture that we will be announcing soon.
MATADOR: Just up the block from Fleurt, Matador (4546 California SW) sent word they’ve launched a beverage happy hour. 4-6 pm daily and featuring beer, wine, well drinks, and specialty cocktails, according to general manager Kyle Martin.
One week from today – on Monday, October 23rd – you’re invited to hear the results of last summer’s Delridge Business Survey, a collaboration between local organizations (right) who sent out volunteer “ambassadors” to talk with North Delridge business owners and entrepreneurs:
Calling all Delridge businesses and interested community members!
Please join us for a (rescheduled) mixer and to hear the results of the Delridge Business Survey that finished in August 2017.
Meet at Ounces Taproom and Beer Garden (3809 Delridge Way SW)
Monday, October 23rd
5:30 pm — Mixer
6:00 pm — Presentation of ResultsThis is a chance to meet business leaders working in North Delridge and hear about challenges and opportunities for businesses in this neighborhood. We need your feedback to start prioritizing how we can work together to grow the local economy and support Delridge businesses.
For the second consecutive day, we’ve received an announcement that another business has opened in The Whittaker (WSB sponsor). This time, it’s West Seattle’s first freestanding BECU branch. The credit union’s newest branch is 2,500 square feet, with five employees and one manager, per the announcement, which also says:
At the new location, BECU members can open accounts, apply for loans, and take care of financial transactions. Consistent with BECU’s operating model, the West Seattle location will offer an innovative “tellerless” layout, which empowers members to access their accounts in ways most convenient for them, including ATM, online banking, and mobile banking. Member consultants will be available to assist with these transactions, as well as provide one-on-one support for opening accounts and more complex services like mortgages, personal loans, auto loans and business services.
The branch at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW will be staffed 9 am-6 pm weekdays and 9 am-1 pm Saturdays, and has two 24-hour ATMs.
Congratulations to West Seattle Autoworks (7501 35th SW; WSB sponsor) on seven years in business! We stopped by this morning for a photo – co-proprietor Todd Ainsworth is at center, with Sam Smith and Jesse Coffin. Todd and Chris Christensen opened WS Autoworks in October 2010, and have a gift for customers to celebrate the anniversary:
It’s been a pleasure and an honor to make our homes and our business in West Seattle and we’d like to thank you for your support!
If you make an appointment with us online during the month of October, receive a free travel mug, cup, or T-shirt! It’s just one small thing we can do to say “Thank You”!
With longtime West Seattleites at the helm, WS Autoworks supports the community – among other efforts, they co-present the annual West Seattle Car Show, which is a benefit for the South Seattle College Automotive Technology Program.
9:27 AM: The West Seattle gift shop Alair won’t be open regular hours today, its manager tells us, because they are dealing with damage done by burglar(s) and have to do repairs. The break-in happened around 5:45 am today. Alair has been open 10 months at 3280 California SW. If you have any information for police, you can refer to incident number 17-367299.
11:41 AM: Alair proprietor Shandon Graybeal says the burglar(s) “took a lot” – including jewelry, purses, and her register – but she is now open for the day, until 6 pm. We’re also adding, above, a security-camera image from the burglary (though the burglar’s face is covered, maybe you’ll recognize the clothing, or …).
Thanks to Olivia for the tip – she saw the sign by The Swinery‘s door while passing by en route elsewhere. We checked it out, and here’s what’s up: The sign is an alert that if you walk in, you might be filmed by Lando Productions. They tell us they’re working on a new Food Network show – so new, it doesn’t even have an official title yet (and they’re not at liberty to disclose its working title). The crew is one of two working in different regions to gather footage – they’re on the West Coast, another is in the Mountain Time zone. They’ll be there again tomorrow and possibly part of Wednesday. The only impact to customers is that sandwiches and fries won’t be available today until after 1 pm because the crew is working in the area where those are prepared. Otherwise, the shop (3207 California SW) is open.
Catching up on some of the new businesses that are on the way … we start with two Westwood Village notes tonight. The space next to Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor), from which NK Nails moved to take the former Jamba Juice space on the east side of the center, will become a haircut shop called SportClips, according to notices posted on the door. It’s a chain geared toward men – in particular, men who like watching sports on TV, which SportClips promises will be “everywhere” in its shops. The notice on the door says they’re hoping “to open around end of October, beginning of November.” … And on the south side of the center, along Barton, another nationwide company is setting up shop – the long-vacant space that back in 2013 had a Panda Express penciled in is now becoming a branch of ATI Physical Therapy.
Tonight’s the night you can congratulate Frances and John Smersh on 13 years in business with Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) – originally opened in Admiral, then moved to 4540 California SW in The Junction seven years ago. Tonight’s centerpiece – a pop-up in the Click! loft with creations by Click! team members, including this work by Chayse:
Adia, Elyssa, and Michelle are part of the pop-up, too.
You’ll also find some of Frances’s 2-D work (she’s branched out from jewelry) – look for even more during the next West Seattle Art Walk on October 12th. Tonight’s party is on until 8 pm, with treats and in-store specials as the Smershes celebrate another year of selling cool stuff from furnishings to accessories and beyond (including locally themed items you won’t find anywhere else) as well as art and wearables.
It was a beautiful and busy night for the first-ever West Seattle Junction Wine Walk, a perfect pairing of wineries and merchants. The idea was so popular, tickets sold out long before the sipping started. Tonight’s participants included West Seattle wineries – north Morgan Junction’s Viscon Cellars (top photo), whose team poured at CAPERS (where ticketholders began their night) and south Admiral’s Welcome Road Winery , featured at Carmilia’s Boutique (below):
Music mixed with wine at Thunder Road Guitars, whose featured winery was Nine Hats:
Click! Design That Fits – which celebrates its 13th anniversary this Saturday – hosted Treleaven/Red Earth Wines:
Menashe and Sons Jewelers had Coral Wines pouring:
Along with the winery/merchant teams, the Junction Association’s volunteers helped power the night:
Joanie Jacobs coordinated them:
Yes, there will be a second Wine Walk, West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Swift tells WSB – next May. (Watch for other opportunities to explore The Junction in the meantime, such as the monthly West Seattle Art Walk on second Thursdays, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on Sundays, and the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival coming up October 29th!)
Tonight’s other pairings are all listed here. And our customary disclosure – the businesses and wineries mentioned above include WSB sponsors: Viscon Cellars, Welcome Road Winery, Thunder Road Guitars, Click! Design That Fits and Menashe & Sons Jewelers.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
WSB has just confirmed that the West Seattle Whole Foods Market is back on.
WFM spokesperson Susan Livingston confirms that to WSB this afternoon via e-mail: “We are moving forward with our West Seattle location at The Whittaker and will share more information on timelines for the opening once details are finalized.”
We inquired today after seeing WFM featured in the graphic shown atop this story – it’s the latest online map of which businesses are going where at The Whittaker (4755 Fauntleroy Way SW; WSB sponsor).
It’s been six months since the revelation that Whole Foods was backing out of West Seattle again, though its official statement at the time was that “Whole Foods Market has decided to delay indefinitely the opening of our West Seattle store.” The company overseeing the businesses in The Whittaker, Weingarten Realty, subsequently said that WF was working with it to find a replacement tenant.
Less than three months later came the news about Amazon buying Whole Foods. We tried multiple times after that – before and after the deal closed – to get a comment about whether the new ownership might lead WFM to reconsider the West Seattle store location; no reply.
Until now, the space has continued to be shown on the online Whittaker site map as available – you can see that in our August story about the signing of another tenant, Orangetheory Fitness. And then our routine check last night showed Whole Foods was back on the map – Weingarten pointed us to WFM for comment, and we just got the confirmation quoted above.
It’s been almost five years since Whole Foods was originally announced as the anchor tenant for The Whittaker (even before the mixed-use project got that name). That in turn was two years after WF announced it was no longer going into the project across the street that at the time was an inactive excavation site dubbed “The Hole,” since sold and finished as Spruce, with LA Fitness in the space where the grocery store was to be.
At The Whittaker, Whole Foods will join already-signed businesses T-Mobile (which is now open), BECU, MOD Pizza, CityMD, and Orangetheory Fitness. As spokesperson Livingston told us, there’s no timeline just yet – but we’ll continue to follow up. Before the March announcement, the company had told us two months earlier that it was expecting to open the store in summer 2018.
Until 9 tonight, there’s a party in Fauntleroy’s Endolyne business district – the grand-opening celebration for Treo Organic Salon. It’s in the 45th SW/SW Wildwood corner space where Salon Fauntleroy closed earlier this year, next to The Original Bakery and two doors down from Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor). Treo’s proprietor is Sarah Griffiths:
Sarah explains, “We are partnered with Green Circle Salons which allows us to recycle used foil, hair clippings, and much more, reducing our waste by 85-95%. We also work with a new charity every year donating a portion of all sales and services to the cause. This year we are working with the White Center Food Bank. We will happily take food donations on their behalf as well.” That includes at tonight’s party.
Sports consignment (and more) store Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor) is turning 4 years old, and you get the gifts – a weekend-long celebration. Here’s the announcement:
Come celebrate Second Gear Sports’ 4th anniversary sale, Saturday, 9/23, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 9/24, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will have deals throughout the store, treats, and early shopping for holiday gifts (new Seahawks gear, Sock it to Me sock line, and more!).
On Sunday, we’ll have two special West Seattle guests ready to answer questions about bicycling and skiing from 11 am to 1 pm:
Marilyn Meyer, the “bike whisperer,” is a retired teacher with a passion for getting kids on two wheels. She has taught bunches of local kids to ride a bike in just one hour! Find out how to get your child pedaling.
Brian Allen, ski instructor at Summit at Snoqualmie, is a seasoned “snow pro” with adults and kids, alike. Learn more about starting your child on the slopes, or ramping up your own ski experience!
Second Gear Sports is in Morgan Junction at 6529 California SW.
Late last night, several people messaged us with links to a Facebook post in which a person identifying himself as an employee of private-ambulance company AMR said his employer had been banned from parking ambulances at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) while crews awaited their next call.
As we often mention in breaking-news coverage, AMR is called in when people are not injured seriously enough to need transport by city-owned-and-operated medic units (those units are based at fire stations – West Seattle has one medic unit, Medic 32, based at Fire Station 32 in The Triangle). AMR doesn’t have a headquarters facility in our area, so you will often see a between-calls ambulance crew parked somewhere – we’ve seen them on the street and in supermarket and restaurant parking lots.
We told the people who messaged us last night that we’d look into this today. (Online comments suggested it had been circulated to TV stations hours earlier, and this story ensued late last night.) Today, Thriftway – a locally owned independent store – published this message on its own Facebook page:
AMR is a privately owned for profit company held by Clayton, Dubilier and Rice, a private investment firm worth approximately $17 Billion. In an effort to lower costs and increase profits AMR’s management has instructed their employees to operate their business out of West Seattle Thriftway’s facility.
This action consisted of parking for several hours at a time and taking up several parking stalls due to the size of the vehicles limiting spaces for our customers at peak business hours. Over the last two years several requests have been made by West Seattle Thriftway to not use prime parking during peak business hours and has been met with little compliance from AMR staff.
Contrary to what has been posted, West Seattle Thriftway HAS NOT banned anyone from shopping with us and we fully support all of the fine EMT’s, Nurses, and Emergency Professionals.
What we cannot support is an outside company’s desire to increase their bottom line profit by impacting our ability to operate our facility efficiently and provide our customers with parking during peak hours.
We are open to discussing use with AMR during non-peak hours if compliance could be assured.”
If you have any questions, we welcome your email: http://westseattlethriftway.com/contactus.html
We also spoke by phone with Thriftway’s owner Paul Kapioski, who reiterated to WSB that he has been trying to work with AMR on this for two years “and getting very little response for them. … We simply wanted to ask them to not impact customers during our prime times … I hate to tell anybody they can’t park here, but it’s a private business, running their business out of our lot.” Meantime, we have a message out to the media-relations department at AMR (whose website says the company’s in the process of being sold) asking if they have encountered similar situations elsewhere
ADDED: Here’s the response we received from AMR spokesperson Jason Sorrick:
In the 10 years I have been with the company, I cannot recall ever dealing with such a request. We post vehicles and move locations similar to police officers, and select locations based on easy access to freeways and main roads. We also tend to choose areas that are well lit at night and visible to the public to help keep our emergency crews safe while they are waiting for their next call.
Businesses are generally welcoming to our crews, and appreciate the patronage of our employees. Places like Starbucks understand our role in the community and are very accommodating to emergency personnel. If a business owner has an issue, they can simply contact us and we will be more than willing to change our posting.
Two notes about this Thursday (September 14th):
COMMUNITY CENTERS CLOSED: Citywide, Seattle Parks‘ community centers will all be closed this Thursday. The note on the Parks website:
All our Community Centers will be closed Thursday, September 14th for a division retreat. School Age Care programs will be open as normal.
(Added – we verified with Parks that Southwest Teen Life Center will be part of the day-long closure, too.)
DELRIDGE BUSINESS-SURVEY MEETING POSTPONED: The event to release results of the Delridge Business Survey, originally announced for this Thursday, has to be postponed due to a key participant’s illness. No new date yet; we’ll publish an update when one is announced.
11:08 AM: Just look for the A-board outside Great American Diner and Bar, where the first-ever Westside Job Fair is on until 1 pm. At the front door, you’ll check in with these friendly folks – Julie, Bethany, and Denise – and they’ll point you toward the tables where more than 30 local business owners and managers have been interviewing candidates since 10 am:
Steady stream of people – and the first person who came to the job fair was hired on the spot, we’re told, by Junction TrueValue! So if you’re looking for work, or thinking about changing jobs, this is the place to be – 4752 California SW. The West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce are presenting the Westside Job Fair, and we’re here as the event’s media sponsor. (Local businesses get free job listings in the WSB Forums, so if you’re looking for an employee OR looking for an employer, that’s the online place to go.)
12:01 PM: More than 100 jobseekers had signed in as of the start of the third hour, WSJA executive director Lora Swift tells us!
Got your resumés ready? Just hours until the first-ever Westside Job Fair – with 30+ businesses interviewing candidates on the spot. In most cases, you’ll be dealing directly with the decisionmakers – talking to the owners of the businesses that are looking for help. Just show up between 10 am and 1 pm at Great American Diner and Bar in The Junction (4752 California SW). It’s the first-ever job fair presented by the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, with co-sponsors including WSB. (Local businesses get free job listings here year-round.) See you there!
Now that it’s Labor Day, we’re just two days away from the first-ever Westside Job Fair, where more than 30 local employers (listed here) will be waiting to talk to you about working for them here on the peninsula. (Imagine not having to deal with bridge backups!) 10 am-1 pm Wednesday (September 6th), the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce are presenting the job fair at the Great American Diner and Bar, 4752 California SW, and we’re proud to be the media sponsor, since we’ve been working for years to help connect local businesses and workers via free job listings. So if you’re looking for work, or thinking about a change, we’ll see you Wednesday!
Looking for something to listen to on this holiday? Mike Powell usually podcasts about “action sports” – but as a longtime West Seattleite, he interviewed one of our area’s most legendary entrepreneurs, Easy Street Records proprietor Matt Vaughan, who has some unforgettable stories to tell – not just about his own achievements, but also family members, from his surf-clothing-inventing grandma to his rock-promoter mom. Mike sent us the interview link; we listened to it last night, and thought you might be interested:
Matt and Mike’s hour-and-a-half discussion includes a little bit about the prospective Easy Street takeover of the old Corner Pocket space, and a whole lot more – from his time as a teenage rock photographer, stretching across the 30-plus ensuing years of adventure.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
As Delridge grows and changes, one thing has remained the same: Its lack of a grocery store.
What is now the Delridge Grocery Cooperative has been working on that for years. And its board members were heartened to see the latest sign of interest – a full room at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center for the co-op’s “town hall” this past Wednesday.
As noted in our preview published two nights earlier, the centerpiece of the meeting was the unveiling of the Delridge Grocery Co-op “market study,” professionally conducted research that had to be done before they apply again for the loan that’s needed to get the store open in its long-reserved space at 5444 Delridge Way SW.
There to hear about it, and ask questions, was a roomful of people from longtime co-op members to former board members to current board members, even newly interested neighbors saying they “just want to help.”
And it will take all that help, and more, to make the dream of a store finish coming true. “When we cut the ribbon, I’m riding in on a white horse,” joked Delridge Grocery board president Andrea Wilmot.
Here’s what was reported, asked, and answered during the hour-plus-long meeting:
Three biznotes to share:
SUPREME PROGRESS: Thanks to the texter who let us know that signage starting to appear on the exterior of the future Supreme, pizza, pinball, and more from Ma’Ono and New Luck Toy chef/co-proprietor Mark Fuller. We stopped by and got a peek as remodeling continues:
This space is the former Pellegrini Market (4521 California SW).
STARBUCKS WEST SEATTLE DRIVE-THRU REMODELING: Back in March, we reported that online records showed remodeling work was on the way for the drive-thru Starbucks at Fauntleroy/Avalon/35th in West Seattle. The company wouldn’t comment. But now a sign’s up alerting customers that the work is starting.
Thanks to Anna for the photo.
ALKI URBAN MARKET: A few months back, a reader told us the convenience store at 2820 Alki SW, open almost 10 years, was going to close at summer’s end. We tried but couldn’t get the owner to confirm. Now, at summer’s end, it apparently has indeed shut down – after reader tips, we went over to look, and while there’s no sign on the door, the store is dark and the shelves are empty. No indication in public records of what’s happening in the space next.
| 9 COMMENTS