West Seattle, Washington
06 Sunday
The Morgan Junction business district continues to blossom, and Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor) is celebrating its third anniversary as a big part of it. That’s proprietor Mark Bremen in our top photo; his shop is in the second and final day of its anniversary celebration “Garage Sale.” SGS is a sports-consignment store and more – as you can see above, it’s also a place to get Seahawks fan gear (a fun thing to shop for, on this bye-week Sunday). And as mentioned in our calendar listing, if you bring an item for the West Seattle Food Bank Backpack Program, you’ll get a 10% discount beyond what they’re already offering during the anniversary sale:
Second Gear Sports is open until 5 pm today – treats for shoppers, too! – at 6529 California SW.
One more hour to go wish Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) a happy 12th anniversary! Proprietors Frances and John Smersh have been open at 4540 California SW in The Junction for 6 years, after 6 in Admiral. As the party continues until 8 pm, don’t miss the upstairs pop-up shop with work by 7 Click! Staffers.
Champagne, too.
Three West Seattle biznotes this evening:
UNCORKED CANVAS: This “paint and sip” studio is expanding to Westwood Village, adding to its original Tacoma location. It’s taking over long-vacant space A8 on the breezeway across from 24 Hour Fitness. They expect to be offering sessions here by mid-month.
INSTRUMENT RENTALS/SALES ADDED: Just announced:
West Side Music Academy, on the corner of California and Dakota, now has band and orchestra instruments for rent or purchase, as well as all books and accessories your kids will need for their school programs. Office hours are M-F 3-7 but they will happily meet you there for an appointment if those hours don’t work with your schedule. Call 206-937-2343 or email info@westsidemusicacademy.com
ORIGINS, NEXT WEEK: We reported back in August that the first recreational-marijuana shop to open in West Seattle, Origins, was moving from 14th/Roxbury to 4800 40th SW on the east side of The Junction. It was supposed to open this week but the multi-day grand-opening party, with food trucks and music, now is tentatively rescheduled to start October 13th. A spokesperson says the 14th/Roxbury store will remain open with “merchandise,” no pot.
(L-R, Dave Winters from Swedish Automotive; Todd Ainsworth from WS Autoworks; Howard Andersen, Automotive Technology Instructor; Duncan Burgess, SSC Technical Dean; Doug Clapper and Todd Jones, Automotive Technology Instructors)
Not only is South Seattle College the home of the West Seattle Car Show, it’s also the beneficiary! We just got final word of how this year’s show is helping SSC’s Automotive Tech program:
Swedish Automotive and West Seattle Autoworks would like to extend their thanks and appreciation to their fellow West Seattle businesses, community members, volunteers, car show registrants, and other generous corporate sponsors for supporting the 2016 West Seattle Car Show. Because of that support, we were able to donate $3221.29 to the Automotive Technology Program at South Seattle College! That is $1304.85 more than last year’s donation of $1916.44.
West Seattle is fortunate to have a place such as South Seattle College and we look forward to working with them next year.
Didn’t make it to this year’s show? Here’s our coverage.
P.S. Swedish Automotive, West Seattle Autoworks, and South Seattle College are all WSB sponsors, and we have been a WS Car Show co-sponsor since its start.
Congratulations to two independent West Seattle businesses (both WSB sponsors) that are celebrating anniversaries this weekend. Here’s what’s in it for you:
12 YEARS FOR CLICK! DESIGN THAT FITS: On Saturday (October 8th), Click! Design That Fits will mark a dozen years in business – six years in The Junction after six years in The Admiral District. Click! co-proprietor John Smersh says the party will include “in-store specials, drawings for gift cards, snacks and beverages, and something fun and new this year: A pop-up shop of works by our talented Click! staff!” Drop by and help Click! celebrate, 5-8 pm Saturday – see the Click! website for even more info. (4540 California SW)
3 YEARS FOR SECOND GEAR SPORTS: Saturday and Sunday, it’s a two-day party and “garage sale” for Second Gear Sports in Morgan Junction:
We’ll have discounts, treats, and a local donation opportunity. If you scored great deals at last year’s garage sale, get ready to do it again at this once-a-year event!
Some highlights include:
-Enjoy Starbucks coffee, cupcakes from West Seattle’s own Stuffed Cakes on Saturday, and Top Pot doughnuts on Sunday
-Donate a “backpack program”* item to our West Seattle Food Bank bin, and we’ll give you an extra 10% off already-great deals and discounts
-Special discounts throughout the store and bins marked at $1 and $5Second Gear Sports recently remodeled, with more gear to serve your needs. Come check it out! We also have a new vehicle for pickup and delivery service — ask us about it! There’s something new every day, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you!
*WS Food Bank hands out backpacks with the following items so kids can have food stability on weekends:
– Shelf stable soy, almond or cow’s milk
– Juice boxes or cans
– Applesauce/fruit cups (unsweetened)
– Whole grain cereal/oatmeal
– Canned tuna or peanut butter snack packs
– Cup O’ Noodle/Ramen
– Individual meals (soup, Spaghetti O’s, ravioli, etc.)
– Healthy snacks (granola bars, 100% fruit leather, raisins, pretzels, dried fruits)
The party/garage sale runs 10 am-6 pm on Saturday and 11 am-5 pm on Sunday. Second Gear Sports is at 6529 California SW.
Today we’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor, West Seattle Performing Arts, now open in The Junction. Here’s what they would like you to know about what they’re offering:
(Main studio at West Seattle Performing Arts)
West Seattle Performing Arts, owned and operated by West Seattleites Armando and Christine Juarez, offers four decades of experience in the performing arts. They harbor a deep love of education; arts education is their specialty. They are now raising their 3rd generation in West Seattle and are highly motivated to provide the best training in the performing arts they can.
Armando is vice president of the West Seattle Eagles and they have been members of Holy Rosary Parish for 23 years. Christine has served on the dance faculty at Cornish College of the Arts for 23 years, running their national summer dance programming, and she has also directed the dance program for Vashon Center for the Arts on Vashon Island for 20 years. Now: “The time has presented itself for us to work in our own community.”
But, Christine Juarez says, “This is not just a neighborhood studio. We have designed a space that is a pure canvas for artists to study and create. We are offering a Performing Arts School. Faculty in Dance, Theater, Music, and Art are all housed within our vision. We believe in the power of collaboration and our faculty are already excited to create works together. Rock Band vocal and instrumental recording, 3D Costume Design, Guitar, Hip Hop, Theatre Games and Improv, Ballet, Contemporary Modern, Jazz, Tap, Power Barre, Men’s Daybreak Stretch, Wiggle and Groove music for tots – those are only a few of the classes we are offering this fall.” Adult classes are listed here; teen classes (13-17) are listed here; classes for children (18 months-12 years) are listed here.
West Seattle Performing Arts has two open, bright studios and one multi-purpose studio, new dressing rooms, bathrooms, and lobby. The walls don’t need much color because the work of the artists in these studios will color them for us. Lobby walls will show art work; windows into the studios allow observers to peek inside classes.
We offer the best instructors in the Pacific Northwest. We are distinguished by our experienced faculty, who hold degrees and professional experience in their fields. West Seattle Performing Arts offers a national standard of training. Our faculty are wide-ranging not only in
experience and disciplines, but they span color, culture, and an inclusive perspective on life and the arts.
West Seattle Performing Arts is at 4210 SW Edmunds, 206-935-3777, and online at westseattleperformingarts.org. Rolling registration for fall classes is under way.
We thank West Seattle Performing Arts for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
West Seattle Junction notes:
PARKING-LOT WORK: On an errand this morning, we discovered that the southwestern most free-parking lot is closed today for pavement work.
The work should be done tomorrow, according to Lora Swift, director of the West Seattle Junction Association. If you can’t tell from the photo, this is the lot on 44th SW just north of SW Edmunds.
(AFTERNOON UPDATE: WSJA says the work will be done by 5 pm today.)
COFFEE SHOP SOLD: By the way, Swift – whose position leading the WSJA just became permanent – is out of the coffee-shop business. She has sold Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW; WSB sponsor) after 16 years. You might know its new owners from their other business, Flying Apron, the vegan/gluten-free bakery whose goods have been among Hotwire’s offerings for 6+ years. The coffee-shop name is staying the same.
COFFEE SHOP FOR SALE: Meantime, across the street, Red Cup Espresso (4451 California SW) is up for sale. Co-proprietor Samir Baillie tells WSB, “I have recently accepted another job, and my wife Breanna wants to concentrate on her other growing business, so we are desiring to pass the torch on to another coffee enthusiast! They can contact us at: westsidecoffee.redcupespresso@gmail.com – please, no walk-in/phone inquiries!” Samir and Breanna bought Red Cup five years ago.
GLOW MEDISPA OPEN HOUSE: After moving to The Junction over the summer, Glow Medispa (4409 California SW) is having an open house tomorrow, 4-8 pm, to officially introduce itself to neighbors and other interested community members. More info here.
(WSB photo: WSOJ co-proprietor Christine coworking with husband Marco)
Seattle Coworking Week continues, and so does the celebration at West Seattle’s only coworking center, Office Junction (WSB sponsor):
–Free coworking continues 9 am-5 pm today, tomorrow, and Friday, just bring your laptop; drop in for an hour or two, or all day. Coworkers range from entrepreneurs to telecommuters – great way to skip the bridge!
–Weekly community meetup noon-1:15 pm today – tour WSOJ while you’re there
–Amateur Standup and Storytelling Night 7-10 pm tonight: “Not entirely sure what to expect
from this one? Neither are we. Bring your standup routine, spoken-word-mind bender, funny story, or improv idea and let’s just see what happens! We will provide drinks and light snacks.”
–Costume Pub Crawl in Morgan Junction Friday night, meet at Office Junction 7:30 pm “dressed up with your favorite funny hat, feather boa, Superhero suit, or just some animal ears.
West Seattle Office Junction is at 6040 California SW.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 8:14 PM SUNDAY: Thanks to Richard for the tip – signage now up at Admiral Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) alerts customers to a temporary change in hours, starting tonight. Interior remodeling work is getting under way, so the store – usually open 24 hours – will be closed overnight starting at 10 pm on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. The sign explains it:
(In case you can’t read the gold-stamp text at left, it says the coffee shop on the south side of the store will open at 5:30 am.) We’ll be following up with Metropolitan Market management tomorrow for details of the remodeling work and how long it’s expected to last.
ADDED MONDAY MORNING, 8:28 AM: Thanks to the neighbor who shared a letter that Met Market distributed to neighbors over the weekend to let them know that the construction work would be starting. It says the work will result in “new offerings” including “house-made pizza … a new Asian Wok station … and Gelato.” The note also says the work is expected to last until November 11th. We have an inquiry out this morning with store management in hopes of finding out more about the changes.
Another milestone in West Seattle Nursery‘s expansion project – as you might have noticed if you have gone by along California SW, the greenhouse is now going up. WSN’s Marie McKinsey sent the photo and tells WSB, “The office building is pretty much complete and now the greenhouse is being built. We hope to see the carbonite ‘glass’ panels added within the next couple of weeks.” Ventana Construction is building the expansion, and the architect LD Arch Design (both are WSB sponsors). As reported here last year, the expansion on the existing nursery’s north side is also expected to include a new classroom, gift/house-plant shop, and coffee bar.
(Empty Terminal 5, steps away from site of today’s lunch – WSB photo)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tough questions for Port of Seattle/Northwest Seaport Alliance leadership at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting that just wrapped up at port-owned Jack Block Park.
Top topics: The proposed Terminal 5 expansion – and whether it would go forward without a tenant being signed – and the Hanjin bankruptcy.
(WSB photo, L-R: Commissioner John Creighton, deputy CEO Kurt Beckett)
First to speak, Port Commissioner John Creighton, who made note of the recent one-year anniversary of the teaming of Seattle and Tacoma in the Northwest Seaport Alliance. He said that from a variety of standpoints, “it’s really worked wonderfully. … We had to change what we were doing, to remain relevant …”
As for the Port of Seattle itself, Creighton declared it to be “at a good place … we still have a lot of challenges, but they’re good challenges,” such as “growing like gangbusters at the airport.”
(WSB photo)
Rather than go home and kick back after work, some members of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce have hit the street.
(Laura Schneider from Meeples Games [WSB sponsor] & Katie Krause from Daystar)
They’re cleaning up trash along California SW, starting at SW Charlestown and heading south to The Junction, until 6:30 or so. You’re welcome to grab a bag and join them – look for the people in the bright-blue T-shirts, as shown in our photo.
Labor Day weekend means last-minute back-to-school shopping for many families. But you don’t have to take a trip to the mall – West Seattle’s independent retail stores have a lot to offer – including My Three Little Birds (WSB sponsor) in south Morgan Junction. Kids’ clothes, shoes, and backpacks are plentiful right now. And the shop’s unique features, proprietor Jennifer Young points out, is the “Mom-Made” section, with locally made items. “As a store we also focus on supporting local business by selling the goods of 13 local vendors, the majority of which are West Seattle-based artisans,” Young says.
“As a mom who started her own business to support her family, I love to pay it forward and support other talented moms by giving them a great place to sell their own creations,” Young adds. Lunch containers, water bottles, and books are in stock at My Three Little Birds too. The shop is at 6959 California SW and open 10 am-5 pm tomorrow, 11 am-4 pm on Sunday.
Fall means back to school AND back to sports. West Seattle’s sports-consignment store, Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor), has recently remodeled to add more retail space and new fixtures so that more of their items are easier to browse and discover. The new fixtures were obtained from three regional Sports Authority stores that shut down – it’s enabled SGS to get more merchandise up off the floor and higher up for visibility as well as accessibility.
Also, Second Gear Sports has launched pickup and delivery service for large items, via their new wrapped vehicle that you might have seen around town.
SGS is at 6529 California SW and will be celebrating its third anniversary this fall.
As first reported here August 2nd, Seahawks star Richard Sherman‘s first Wingstop opened earlier this month at Westwood Village, and a “grand opening” was planned this weekend. We checked back yesterday but aside from some freebies (5 free wings per person until 6 today and again 1-6 tomorrow), they had no official word on if or when Sherman himself might turn up. This afternoon, he did make an appearance, as evidenced by his Instagram selfie published around mid-afternoon.
Meantime, in The Junction …
Musicians from two legendary rock bands visited Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor) on Friday, and TRG’s Instagram feed showed the proof. Cheap Trick was in the area for a concert last night in Auburn.
The biggest development under construction in West Seattle, The Whittaker, has just announced four more commercial tenants.
The two-building mixed-use development at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW has of course long since announced its first and biggest tenant, Whole Foods Market (opening in about a year, fall 2017, we’ve reconfirmed).
According to Weingarten Realty, joining Whole Foods will be:
MOD PIZZA – This chain was founded in Seattle in 2008 and has since expanded nationally; its story is here, and its menu is here. Its nearest Seattle location right now is downtown.
BECU – The financial institution formally known as Boeing Employees Credit Union has long been rumored to be opening a full-service West Seattle branch, and this is finally it. (Its membership eligibility is explained here.)
CITYMD URGENT CARE – This health-care organization started back East and is expanding.
T-MOBILE – The cell-phone provider.
All will front on Fauntleroy Way; you can see the locations on the site-plan graphic atop this story. These tenants, too, are expected to open in fall of next year. Meantime, for restaurant fans, it’s been pointed out to us that Whole Foods’ presence in the building – with a lot of takeout food – means the rest of the development is restricted to 6,000 square feet of additional food uses. MOD Pizza will take 2,500 square feet, so The Whittaker has one more restaurant space, between 2,300 and 3,448 square feet, with the location shown in the graphic.
P.S. In case you’re wondering, The Whittaker will have 276 offstreet parking spaces for its businesses, separate from the spaces for its 389 apartments.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:28 PM: Notes today on the first two recreational-marijuana stores licensed in West Seattle:
NEW LOCATION FOR ORIGINS? We reported back in March about the opening of the first West Seattle recreational-marijuana store, Origins at 1416 SW Roxbury. According to a filing with the State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Origins is now looking to move into the heart of West Seattle – The Junction. It’s asking the licensing board for permission to relocate to 4800 40th SW, a building on the southeast corner of 40th/Edmunds that’s had two early-stage development proposals in the past two years and also currently houses a fitness business. We have a request out for comment but have yet to hear back.
NAME CHOSEN: Origins was the second West Seattle marijuana store to be licensed, but the first to open. Now there’s a name for the first one to receive its license – 5440 California SW will be Canna West Seattle, according to its website. It’s been six months since we reported on the licensing of this shop, but we don’t know yet when it’ll open – we’re awaiting a reply here too.
ADDED 7:45 PM: We’ve heard back from Canna:
… It took a very long time for the city to permit the project. We finally got the permits last week and plan to begin renovations ASAP.
The project will take several weeks, so we will be temporarily opening in the space across the street at 5435 California Ave SW (previously Alternative Medicine Collective), which will eventually be the Canna Glass and Accessories Shop. We plan to be open at this location in four to five weeks.
(AMC was a medical-marijuana dispensary; the dispensaries that did not get recreational licenses had to close by July 1st, and that’s led to a few other vacant storefronts in West Seattle, including two at 35th and Roxbury.)
(Photos courtesy Elite BJJ of Seattle)
Congratulations to Coach Sonia Sillan of Elite Brazilian Jiu-jitsu of Seattle (5050 Delridge Way SW; WSB sponsor) for her achievement in her first competition as a purple belt. At the recent IBJJF Seattle Open, she took third place in her division (at right in the top photo). From sister school Elite BJJ of Redmond, black belt Professor Jessica Dos Santos took second place in her division and first in open weight class – she’s in the next photo along with Elite BJJ founder/head Professor Miriam Cardoso:
Elite BJJ of Seattle is one of the local organizations and businesses you’ll see at tomorrow’s Delridge Day festival (11 am-3 pm at Delridge Community Center park) – look for their booth! (And look for one more big Delridge Day preview here on WSB – a festival co-sponsor – this afternoon.)
The big brick building at 200 SW Michigan [map] – once part of Boeing Plant 1 – is starting a new chapter in its history. Next week it opens as Seattle Mart, a new name and new home for dozens of wholesale showrooms that had been part of the Pacific Market Center in a Georgetown building now occupied by a pet-insurance company. Those independently owned showrooms (see the tenant list here) in turn serve independent retailers. Pacific Mart management tells WSB that the tenants are mostly wholesalers who don’t carry inventory, with the exception of a few cash-and-carry businesses. Seattle Mart will be open Monday and Tuesday as well as by appointment. Its grand opening will be part of Seattle Market Week, with most festivities on Saturday, August 20th, 2-8 pm.
Thanks to Miranda for the tip: Another music shop is opening in West Seattle. Tomorrow is grand-opening day for David Goad Violins (at ActivSpace, 3400 Harbor SW). The shop handles “sales, rental, repair, and restoration of stringed instruments … violin, viola, cello, and bass as well as bows.”
Skin Care by Casey (WSB sponsor) has moved to a new location, with more room, which proprietor Casey Rasmussen says means more comfort for clients. Skin Care by Casey is now in The Junction, on the lower level of the West Seattle Professional Building, at 4509 44th SW. Above is the new treatment room; they’re also proud of their new waiting alcove. More parking, too, Casey points out. So next time you’re looking for the kind of services they offer, you’ll find Skin Care by Casey in a brand-new space – private and quiet, down the courtyard stairs.
12:30 PM: Thanks to Alice for the tip: Another West Seattle power outage, this time in an area that wasn’t affected by the big one overnight. The Seattle City Light map shows 110 customers in the Jefferson Square area of The Junction lost power around noon, and “equipment failure” is listed as the cause.
12:50 PM: We went to Jefferson Square to check on ground-level correlation with the outage map. The original tip (and also a note from Jonathan – thank you) were about the office building being out; our crew reports that the businesses on the north and east sides of inner JSq are out but Safeway tells us they never lost power. There’s an estimated restoration time just before 4 pm, but as we always warn, those are just guesstimates – this morning’s outage, for example, had an estimated restoration time of 10 am, but SCL got the power back on at 4:35 am.
3:23 PM: We just checked for the first time in a while … the outage is over.
1:39 PM: Thanks to Brad at West Seattle Cyclery for being the first business to mention to us that there’s a multi-state Comcast Business phone outage right now. We’ve verified through Twitter:
Business customers may be experiencing issues w/ phone svc. We are aware & working to resolve. For updates visit: https://t.co/XNCSSB4luL
— Comcast Business (@comcastbusiness) July 12, 2016
Brad says Comcast told him it might take until at least 3 pm for this to be fixed. He’s encouraging his store’s customers to e-mail instead – service@westseattlecyclery.com. Let us know if this is affecting you and if you have an alternate way for customers to get through.
3:45 PM: Some local businesses have commented below on how to reach them (if you’re seeing this from the WSB home page, get to the comments by either clicking the word “comments” under the headline, or clicking the headline to open the full story page). Meantime, Comcast’s most recent update, from a little more than an hour ago, says they’re still working on it.
4:45 PM: Junction True Value texted a few minutes ago to say their service is back.
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