(Image: CHS)
We are truly sorry to let you know that the Capitol Hill Bauhaus had to close it’s doors. The plan was for this space to be our temporary home until the original space was to be ready for us to move back. Unfortunately, we are not able to move back to our original location.
“We talked to them. We asked for information and we waited.”
There are many ways to say goodbye. The way Bauhaus owner Joel Radin chose to do it with a wistful note full of what could have been left many with the sense that somehow the cafe that has been part of Capitol Hill since 1993 was being locked out of the dream-like scenario of returning to its original corner at Melrose and Pine.
But the developer of the Excelsior, the mixed-use, preservation-incented apartment project rising on the old Bauhaus block, tells CHS that Radin had every opportunity to make the plan a reality.
“We talked to them. We asked for information and we waited,” the Madison Development Group’s Tom Lee tells CHS.
While no deal had been signed, Lee said his company was awaiting the same kinds of information they ask for from any tenant to determine the health of a business and the fit for the project.
Lee said Bauhaus’s sudden implosion was a surprise for the development project, also.
“We were totally unaware,” Lee said Friday afternoon. “We were still trying to keep the lines of communication open.”
For Radin, the situation around Bauhaus indicates a serious financial situation as his cafes in Ballard and Green Lake are also shuttering as is his Zayda Buddy’s pizza joint on Leary Ave NW. There are no records indicating planned development pushed out the Capitol Hill cafe. Court documents show a series of tax warrants for relatively small amounts of state taxes for Radin’s businesses starting in 2014 but those appear to have been taken care of. Legal costs from a personal injury lawsuit involving a fall into a hole during construction of the Ballard cafe also may be a factor. It’s a sad turn for the Top Pot co-founder and coffee entrepreneur. After confirming the Capitol Hill closure with CHS Tuesday night, we haven’t been able to connect with Radin since to ask for his side of things around the sudden end for Bauhaus.
Went to @bauhauscoffee and found out they're unexpectedly laying everyone off today. Barista's shirt was on point. pic.twitter.com/RsY63MEfQ2
— Matthew Inman (@Oatmeal) December 11, 2015
In 2012, Radin told us he had never intended to expand. “Every time I saw the space, it felt like the right thing to do to put another Bauhaus there,” Radin said of the former Capitol Club building where Bauhaus Capitol Hill made its new home for the past two years. “It made complete sense with the look and the feel and where it is in the neighborhood. I don’t want to make Bauhaus a big thing, like I’d never put one in a mall. But this place is supposed to be a Bauhaus.”
Now, where Bauhaus used to stand, the new eight-story building with ten separate commercial spaces including the Melrose and Pine berth complete with a mezzanine just like in the old days is being prepared for an early summer 2016 opening.
“We’re out marketing the space. We will find a tenant,” Lee said.
UPDATE 12/13/15 1:57 PM: The abrupt closures are sad for customers but for workers who have lost their jobs, the end of Radin’s businesses is especially hard. This is from a fundraising site to help employees at Zayda Buddy’s:
On Wednesday, December 9th, The owner of Zayda Buddy’s and Bauhaus Coffee informed our team the doors to all of his businesses would would be closing. Everyone here at Zayda Buddy’s were told we could stay open through Sunday, the 13th and that would be it. The news came without warning, and we were all gathered at the bar and were told that we only had our jobs for 4 more days. As anyone could imagine, this was terrible news to everyone. All 15 of us. Jobless out of nowhere. And the timing couldn’t be worse. It’s no secret that working in the service industry can be difficult. Especially because the money can be very inconsistent. The nightmare we’re all facing now is that we have less than two weeks before Christmas and we might not have money for rent. When I say “we” I mean 15 people. So here I am. Asking the community for help so that our team can make it through the month.
Please note: We have not verified details of the funding account so please check with the creators before donating money. Also, we are not aware of fundraising underway for the Bauhaus Capitol Hill crew but let us know if you hear about anything.
Capitol Hill food+drink notes
- At least you get Charlie’s back. Here’s what it looks like:
Now also on your Broadway brunch roster, Lionhead, Sundays from 10 to 2:
Everyone else has eggs Benedict and french toast. We’ve got cumin lamb dumplings with pickled long beans, soy skin rolls filled with shrimp and pork, giant shareable 4 egg omelettes with yam and bacon, and congee with mung beans and maitake mushroom. Veronika is making a mean Sichuan Mary with baijiu and we’re even frying up our version of donuts – stuffed mantou with coconut cream.
Full menu here.- Soi starting brunch, too.
- Kessler’s Sports Bar’s diverse clientele:
- Omega Ouzeri has a new chef.
- Beef: Two years ago, a wave of artisanal seafood restaurants minted several new icons; focused on local products, places like the Walrus and the Carpenter and Westward are showrooms of local ecology as much as they are places to eat. Now Seattle’s restaurateurs are now looking to Northwest purveyors to provide locally sourced beef inside sleek, modern spaces. In the same way Seattle chefs deepened our understanding of aquaculture, they’re hoping to progress our consumption of red meat.
- Kudos to Stateside for a little “back of house” love.
- New menu at Scratch Deli.
- Cone & Steiner getting a Capitol Hill makeover.
- Now open with 44 taps of Seattle beer goodness: The Growl Store on E Madison.
- Chop Suey’s new chow — The Escondite
- Maybe Blue Moon Broadway really is haunted — or maybe the DeLuxe’s ghost is just visiting:
Camera 8 – Capitol HillAnyone know a Ghost Hunter? We think we have a ghost at our Capitol Hill location. For some time we have had a lot of “odd” experiences, missing utensils, employee belongings, extension cords and a number of other things that disappear and then we find them days later. We didn’t really think much of it until we got a call at 6:15 in the morning from a delivery driver who explained that there was a broken till drawer on the floor and he thinks we might have had a break in. We ran down to the store and when we got there we found the drawer on the floor, but there was nothing missing. We pulled the CCTV Camera Feed from the night before and what we found freaked us out. The front counter at Capitol Hill has (2) cameras directed at it, one from the front and one from above. As you can see from the video the till drawer shoots out of the cabinet, if you are familiar with these drawers you know they come with locks on the rollers to keep the drawer from coming out. Watch the video again and you will notice the light in the bottom of the frame starts to move right before the draw shoots out on the second video you see the signs above the counter start to move. In the other video you can see the reflection of something moving in the reflection of the lamp glass. We checked the alarm system and found that there was no entry between 11:03 PM the night before when the closing staff armed the alarm. There was not another entry until 6:03 AM when the delivery drive arrived and disarmed the alarm. The time of the drawer shot out of the cabinet was 5:04 AM. Here is a link to the second video: https://youtu.be/jFV2VJ-QsK0
Posted by Blue Moon Burgers HQ on Wednesday, December 2, 2015
| This week’s CHS food+drink advertiser directory | |
“But the developer of the Excelsior, the mixed-use, preservation-incented apartment project rising on the old Bauhaus block, tells CHS that Radin had every opportunity to make the plan a reality.”
Translated: “We told them it would be $25,000 a month for rent and then we didn’t hear back from them. We kept our lines opened and tried to work something out but they never did. We did everything we could to accommodate them.”
If you have proof that that’s what the offer was from the developer, then I will gladly believe you. Otherwise, you’re just speculating in your effort to discredit the developer. Not all developers are “evil capitalists.”
Bob, I just threw that number out there, but it’s just common sense. Especially, with the news of rent increases in general over the last several years.
A developer doesn’t have to be a greedy capitalist to have high rents. It’s just the nature of the beast.
Heck, a super popular bar in New York just closed because the new landlords has raised rent from $14,000 a month to 60,000.
Sodo Sopa is everywhere, so it seems.
Did you not read the part where they’re closing all 3 locations? Or do you propose that their rent skyrocketed on all 3 at the same time?
“For Radin, the situation around Bauhaus indicates a serious financial situation as his cafes in Ballard and Green Lake are also shuttering as is his Zayda Buddy’s pizza joint on Leary Ave NW.”
I don’t think your comment has much merit. Did you read the article past the first few paragraphs or did you stop as soon as your biases were satisfied?
eh. I’m all for believing that the developer is eeeeeevil, but it seems like more than a bad deal on space to take down four businesses over the course of a week.
“For Radin, the situation around Bauhaus indicates a serious financial situation as his cafes in Ballard and Green Lake are also shuttering as is his Zayda Buddy’s pizza joint on Leary Ave NW.”
Maybe you missed this portion of the post in your haste to be hip and snarky. Obviously there is something bigger and murkier going on with the financial situation of Bauhaus ownership. Hopefully all of those employees who just lost their jobs with little to no warning, find new work soon.
This isn’t a techbro, greedy developer or gentrification issue. The issue is a business that is not financially succeeding and closing up their chain of shops.
Sucks for the employees and customers.
I love that shirt!
Hey J. Looks like the “they’re hoping to progress our consumption of red meat” link is dead.
Fixed. Or click here :)
The closing of the other cafes doesn’t guarantee that the developer ISN’T all the negative adjectives commenters tend to hurl towards developers…but it certainly suggests that the developer wasn’t the x-factor no matter how compassionate or inconsiderate they may have been.
Sad for the employees.
“We’ve got cumin lamb dumplings with pickled long beans, soy skin rolls filled with shrimp and pork”
Seriously? Ill stick with the eggs benedict and french toast thanks
My goodness, the new Charlies is nice. Not the confined intimate hole it once was, but definitely on-point menu, drinks, and feel. It’s like you finally remodeled that basement and made it into a rec room.
Big ups to all for making this space happen. Only drawback was I tried to order moz sticks yesterday at happy hour, and they were already out! With a delicious pic of them from thursday prominently shown here, I’m not surprised!
You guys know you can buy those at Cash & Carry, right?
The cheese sticks still look good! Will be checking out the new Charlie’s soon.