The Herbalist, an herbal remedy retailer in Seattle since 1984, is ready to open its doors and join the thriving commercial strip of restaurants, cafes, and shops that has popped up around 19th and Mercer. We caught up with Tierney Salter, owner and “Medical Herbalist,” for a look inside the new natural pharmacy.

“It’s pretty much what you’d get at a normal pharmacy, made with natural ingredients. Real ingredients, rather, I’d say natural is an overused word these days,” Salter said.
Using an efficient color-coding system for healing the body’s many zones, Salter categorizes products on the “therapy wall,” helpful for customers looking to find a quick fix and fast for all kinds of ailments.

“I’d say one of our most popular products is our Sinutone, the Northwest is cold and damp, it creates upper-respiratory challenges,” said Salter.

People who have received prescriptions from their naturopath can create special formulas and custom blends. Extracts are made in The Herbalist’s Seattle lab. A map at the entryway marks her local herb sources for Salter’s in-house products.

“I’m one of my best shoppers, because there’s always something I need,” Salter said. Whether that’s something from her “purity bar” a bar that contains The Herbalist cleansing products, detoxing kits and deep cleanses, or a quick fix at the smoothie bar where you can also order some herbal tonics and therapy teas to go. “A lot of my clients put everything they need in one day in their smoothie,” said Salter.

The shop also features a beauty bar stocked with makeup, essential oils and some local beauty products like Fremont-based Oha’s hydrating mist.

“My objective is to try and figure out what people need, and the easiest way possible,” said Salter, who’s had plenty of practice over the last three decades.

She opened her flagship shop in Ravenna more than thirty years ago and launched a successful online business in the ’90s that has cultivated a loyal following of customers.

CHS first reported on Salter’s plans for coming to Capitol Hill last spring and her devotion to using fresh, locally-sourced herbs:

“It’s the difference between going to a farmer’s market and getting your carrots there or going to a big grocery store and buying some that came from Chile,” she said. “We source a lot of our herbs from the northwest, we get them fresh, and we immediately process them. The quality is there, and I think that’s why we’ve been around for so long.”

The Herbalist joins neighborhood apothecaries Rainbow Natural Remedies (15th Ave E) and Sugar Pill (E Pine) in serving the area’s herbal and alternative medicine needs.

For those who are uncertain of what natural remedies can do for them, Salter is looking forward to becoming a neighborhood resource. “I definitely like people to educate themselves so they are empowered to take care of their own health and make their own decisions with their health,” said Salter. “People tend to be more compliant when they make their own decisions.”

Aside from the foot traffic and younger clientele that comes with opening up shop on Capitol Hill, Salters says the neighborhood was a natural next step for her. “A lot of my clients come from Capitol Hill and Madison Park, if they want to go to Ravenna it can be challenging because of traffic. My idea is to open up these small pharmacies, in different neighborhoods in Seattle,” said Salter.

Another draw for Salter was 19th Ave E’s abundance of female-owned businesses — The Kingfish Cafe, Fuel, Talullah’s, Hello Robin, Molly Moon’s — already resident on the block.

The new shop is planned to open Friday. You can keep track on The Herbalist Facebook page.

Meanwhile, the 19th Ave business community is poised to add a new member. The Little Theater’s long run as a19th Ave performance space has ended. A new tenant has been posting updates via Instagram about the new yoga studio being built in the space:

Seattle Yoga We are a community rooted | art-centric yoga studio on Cap Hill in Seattle {19th Ave E + Mercer} opening doors late ’14. Grow wildly with us!