Not every Capitol Hill drugstore is closing: Broadway Walgreens planned for remodel

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(Image: Broadway Crossing)

Capitol Hill has had a tough couple months when it comes to massive retail corporations and the financial woes of the drugstore industry but there is a small bit of good news for people who get their prescriptions filled at Broadway and Pine.

City construction permit paperwork indicates Walgreens is mounting an effort to remodel its Broadway store with a roster of upgrades including a 600-square-foot pharmacy expansion.

The project comes after competitor Rite Aid shuttered two Broadway stores including the Bartell Drugs in Broadway’s Harvard Market shopping center to end 2023 amid bankruptcy woes brought on in part by settlements in massive federal and state opioid lawsuits. Continue reading →

Bollards, banking, and big water pipes for smoking marijuana or other drugs: Happy 10th 4/20, Seattle

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The Reef, pre-bollards (Image: CHS)

This July will mark a decade since the first recreational pot shops opened in Seattle so Saturday will brings the 10th “4/20” of legal cannabis in Washington.

Whoa.

If you are high enough to get lost in that math, enjoy. For the rest of you, the city’s cannabis retailers will surely be rolling out sales and promotions to help you celebrate.

Capitol Hill’s first pot shop didn’t debut until late in 2015 as tiny Ruckus “defiantly” opened just off 15th Ave E. Its tit for tat tussle with the larger Uncle Ike’s chain’s efforts on Capitol Hill is now the stuff of cannabis legend.

After 10 years Ruckus is still there and the Hill’s clusters of shops have grown to include two Ike’s locations and a new cluster of shops on E Olive Way including The Reef. Continue reading →

Seattle plan would give city power to tear down problem vacant buildings used by campers and drug users

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The Vito’s building burning last summer (Image: Seattle Fire)

New legislation being proposed by the Harrell administration would put the power to demolish vacant buildings that become magnets for squatters and drug use in the hands of Seattle City Hall.

The bill proposed by Mayor Bruce Harrell will be taken up by the Seattle City Council as officials hope to give Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins new powers to “to take quick action to remedy derelict buildings that threaten the health and safety of our neighborhoods.”

The city says the number of vacant building fires has surged from 77 in 2021 to 130 last year including the massive blaze last summer that destroyed the First Hill building home to low-income apartments and Vito’s nightclub. That building had been shuttered for repairs following a previous smaller fire but had become popular with squatters and drug users. Continue reading →

New era? This Capitol Hill restaurant is ready to move on from its pandemic streatery

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A view out to the soon to be removed Barrio streatery

Some of the dining habits and street seating setups of the pandemic may never go away but times have changed enough for one Capitol Hill restaurant to move on from its COVID-era “streatery” and restore an increasingly rare feature along 12th Ave — street parking.

“We are selling our Streatery!,” Barrio Mexican Kitchen and Agave Bar announced this week. “Thank you to our guests, team, and neighbors for making covid a bit more bearable by enjoying this streatery with us, but the time has come to move on.”

Get your offers in now for the 60-foot long x 8-foot wide patio that the restaurant installed during the years of restrictions and precautions under a city program put in place to regulate the proliferation of street patios that sprung forward during the pandemic. Continue reading →

Bad Chancla, good talk: Chef José Garzón brings Latin flavor and ‘stories through food’ to E Olive Way

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Chef José Garzón is more than just a culinary master; he’s a storyteller whose dishes weave tales of culture, tradition, and personal history. As the concept generator of Garzon, Chifa Baby, Lola Supperclub, and, now, Bad Chancla on E Olive Way below The Reef pot shop, Garzón’s journey from musician to well loved chef is a testament to his passion for food and community.

Having played in bands from Sunset Lily to MxPx, Garzón has traveled around the world playing music and eating street food. Each of Chef Garzón’s culinary ventures offers a unique dining experience that reflects his diverse background and culinary influences. From his celebration of Latin American street food to Lola Supperclub’s homage to his beloved caretaker in Ecuador, Garzón’s menus are a fusion of flavors and narratives.
Joining with other local chefs, Garzon is hoping to be a part of the change in Seattle’s kitchen culture “the kitchen scene or whatever you want to call it. It’s so different these days. And a lot of people will tell you, it’s bad, but I think it’s great. It’s growing and it’s healthier. You know, chefs and management now care about days off. We care about your well being.” Continue reading →

Seattle City Council land use committee pulls an unusual move — voting no

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In a rejection rare for the body, the Seattle City Council’s land use committee Wednesday failed to pass legislation to launch a new Connected Communities pilot program in the city dedicated to creating 35 “community-led” affordable housing developments over the next five years.

Committee chair and bill sponsor Tammy Morales can still bring the proposal to the full council but it will carry the rare — and likely doomed — “do not pass” recommendation from her committee after Wednesday 1-3 vote.

The Seattle council’s procedures in recent years rarely resulted in the outright rejection of legislation at the scale of the proposed pilot — especially when carried forward by the chair. But the new council has been more likely to vote against bills under the leadership of council president Sara Nelson. Continue reading →

Groups will rally Saturday in the Central District for ‘more housing and better transportation’ in Seattle

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Seattle urbanists and transportation activists will rally Saturday, calling for “more housing and better transportation in Seattle” as city leaders move forward on a new 20-year growth plan for the city and a new $1.35 billion transportation levy vote this fall.

The Transportation and Housing Rally for a Healthy Future will take place Saturday, April 20th starting at 2 PM in the Central District’s Jimi Hendrix Park: Continue reading →

911 | Harvard Market overdose death, Madison Park Wells Fargo hold-up, slow truck chase arrest, Cal Anderson off-leash ‘brawl’

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See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt/Signal (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS 911 coverage here. Hear sirens and wondering what’s going on? Check out Twitter reports from @jseattle or join and check in with neighbors in the CHS Facebook Group.

  • Shopping center overdose death: Seattle Fire says it was unable to revive a man found unresponsive after a reported fentanyl overdose at the Harvard Market shopping center at Broadway and Pike Tuesday morning. SFD says its crews attempted CPR on the 41-year-old but were not successful and he was declared dead at the scene. Fire Chief Harold Scoggins has said the department currently responds to around 15 drug overdoses a day driven by a surge in fentanyl use. King County is adding treatment facilities, and relaunching its Seattle sobering center to take on the crisis. Continue reading →

Chicago-based dental startup Dentologie puts teeth in expansion with planned Capitol Hill location

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The Lincoln Park location (Image: Dentologie)

(Image: Dentologie)

The next startup ready to experiment with retail and service concepts on the densely populated blocks of Capitol Hill hopes to give the neighborhood’s busy young renters something to smile about.

Dentologie, a Chicago-based dental services startup backed and fronted by former Redbox CEO Gregg Kaplan, is making Seattle its first expansion market beyond the Windy City with plans for a new office amid the restaurants and shops of Capitol Hill’s very walkable Melrose Ave. Continue reading →

Council committee to decide on Connected Communities pilot program and 35 ‘community-led’ affordable housing developments

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The Seattle City Council’s land use committee is expected to make a decision Wednesday afternoon whether the city should launch a new pilot program linking community organizations with developers to create affordable “equitable development” in neighborhoods across the city. The program could help organizations like Habitat for Humanity or El Centro de la Raza more easily develop affordable housing projects on their Seattle properties.

Committee chair and legislation sponsor Tammy Morales calls the proposed Connected Communities pilot a “win-win” and highlighted the bill’s potential for streamlining a cumbersome process for community groups.

“The fact is many community-based organizations are seeking opportunities to help build affordable housing and develop vital commercial spaces and third places,” Morales said in an announcement of the planned Wednesday vote. “We just need to get out of their way. This legislation does that by cutting red tape and onerous regulations,” Continue reading →