UPDATE: Buyer found!
Just as Capitol Hill is about to be inundated with craft spirits, the only (beer) bottle shop on the Hill is going out of business. According to an e-mail passed on to us by Chris Furniss of http://weeklygeekshow.com, Pike Street’s owner Anthony Yap is closing down for good.
“Pretty bummed,” Furniss writes CHS. “They had an awesome selection.” Back when we talked to him about his decision to put the shop up for sale in August 2010, Yap said adding new inventory was part of the fun of the business.
“This is a business for somebody who loves beer — and they have to know their beer,” Yap said. “It’s my hobby and I love beer.”
At the time, Yap was asking for $25,000 from somebody who wanted a head start on launching a shop. The price excluded, by the way, the nearly $50,000 in beer on stock in the 3-year-old store.
As for inventory, no word on any liquidation sale from the sudsy supplier yet. The shop hasn’t been open lately but we’re hoping to hear back on any plans for beer deals. And, of course, a chance to say goodbye.
…the beer man said. Can someone please start up a new craft beer shop on the hill? I don’t mind going to QFC but they don’t have nearly the International selection that PSBW had…
Kleenex please.
What a bummer, I loved visiting this place for quirky beers. The employees were always super nice too. Best of luck to the owners & workers for the future. In the meantime there’s the Madison Co-op for quirky beer selection for peeps who don’t want to go to QFC (though the selection isn’t as expansive).
Nooooooooooooooooooo
I really hope there is a liquidation sale. I would go and spend a good portion of my paycheck if given the chance to stock up. I’m really sorry this place is shutting down.
… the sentiments above. this store is great. will be missed.
Sounds like a perfect location for a new Top Pot.
This shop had so much potential, yet it failed because of a lack of interest!!! Of all the neighborhoods in Seattle, Capitol Hill is the LEAST craft beer friendly. I live here and find it necessary to drive all the way to Federal Way to visit 99 Bottles just to enjoy their magnificent selection. I stopped going to Pike Street Beer & Wine because they stopped getting in fresh products, largely in part to the fact that No One cares about craft beer on the hill. Do you wanna know where the good stuff is?!?! Naked City in Greenwood. Uber on Aurora. 99 BOTTLES in Federal Way. Oh, and Portland, OR. Get with it Seattle.
Why go the whole way to Federal Way to go to a bottleshop? Go to Bottleworks in Wallingford or Full Throttle in Georgetown. Hell, even Whole Foods Westlake has a fine selection.
Honestly, I found their selection pretty underwhelming, and their prices not very reasonable. Having moved to Seattle in the last year, I actually find beer stores here generally pretty underwhelming compared to other places I’ve lived, which is really surprising given the PacNW’s place American craft brewing. I’m told a lot of that has to do with so many WA-based breweries only putting out kegs. I can’t help but wonder if there are some limitations on selection at the distributor level as well.
However, to say that no one cares about craft beer on the hill is kind of absurd. Hopvine is constantly rotating through great beers, almost exclusively from the NW (with the odd bit of CA and CO thrown in.) The Stumbling Monk is great for Belgian and Belgian-inspired. That’s just off the top of my head…
But yeah, for stocking the fridge at home, pickings are slim…
Obviously most businesses fail because of, well, lack of business. But Pike Street Beer just wasn’t on the radar of many people in the beer community. Go back and look at the events from Seattle Beer Week ’10. See any Pike St stuff?
Nope. Why did SBW shun this beer-y beacon? It mystifies me to this day.