(Images: Alex Garland for CHS)
What happens when one of the neighborhood’s leading spacemakers takes over a bookstore cafe? Last week we told you about the opening of Little Oddfellows, storied Capitol Hill food+drink entrepreneur Linda Derschang’s surprise next chapter.
Here is what she did with it and some of Derschang’s thoughts on the design, whether laptop lovers are still welcome at Big Oddfellows, and a bonus question about Seattle’s minimum wage.
The changes look great — how did you describe the look you were shooting for?
Once people found out that Little Oddfellows was moving into Elliott Bay Book Co., the biggest request I heard was to make the cafe lighter and brighter. I had also recently taken a trip to Copenhagen and was so inspired by their cafe culture and design aesthetic. These two things played a big role in how I approached combining the cafe and bookstore while still keeping the space tied to Oddfellows.
I’ve been a frequent laptop jockey in Oddfellows — is Little Oddfellows where I should head now or can I still bring my computer on dates to Big Oddfellows?
Little Oddfellows is definitely a bit quieter than Oddfellows, but computers are still welcome at either place — it just depends on what kind of work environment you’re after.
Not just a Little O thing but are you considering any changes around tipping and service charges across the Derschang joints?
At the moment, we aren’t considering making any changes.
I hope it’s not as snobby as the “big oddfellows.”
The few times that I have glanced into the old bookstore cafe, there were so many laptop jockeys taking up space that there did not seem to be any room for someone who bought food to sit down and eat.
Q: Not just a Little O thing but are you considering any
changes around tipping and service charges across the
Derschang joints?
A: At the moment, we aren’t considering making any
changes.
Yeah, no kidding. Like everything else she does, Linda is going to have to look around and see what everyone else is doing and then follow them.