Author Archives: jseattle

About jseattle

Justin is publisher of CHS. You can reach him at [email protected] or call/txt (206) 399-5959. Follow @jseattle on Twitter or be best pals on Facebook.

Vroom! Phê revs up Capitol Hill Vietnamese coffee ambitions with new auto row-inspired cafe

Posted on by
7

Any echoes of its more recent than you might expect auto row past are mostly drowned out by the buzz of customers eager to try the signature banana pudding matcha lattes and pho as Vietnamese coffee joint Phê has joined the Capitol Hill cafe scene.

“Indulge in meticulously crafted coffee, matcha, and brunch favorites, all prepared with the finest ingredients. Nestled in a minimalist, industrial-chic space,” the new cafe’s hype reads. “Phê offers a unique experience that tantalizes your taste buds and elevates your senses.”

The new cafe debuted this month in one of the more unique — and hard to fill with a tenant — spaces created by the recent wave of Pike/Pine redevelopment. CHS reported late last summer on the plans for Phê along E Pine on the ground floor of a new building built a decade ago with a street-level commercial space meant to echo the old 15th Ave Garage that called the block home until its mid-2010s demolition. Continue reading →

Police: One arrest after man busts into Pike/Pine cafe with scooter, sets fire

Posted on by
6

Police and firefighters were called to the area around E Pike and Broadway overnight after a series of small arson fires including one reported to have been set inside a cafe in the area after a break-in.

SPD says it took one man into custody in the string of destruction that started around 3:15 AM with a report of a large fire set in a parking lot along E Union where a 911 caller reported a man fanning the flames with a blanket and adding items to the bonfire. Continue reading →

Already keeping most of its tactical comms secret from scanners, Seattle Police Department radio will ‘enhance encryption’ in 2026

Posted on by
4

Starting next winter, the Seattle Police Department will fully encrypt its most sensitive radio communications, officially ending an era of public monitoring that officials say has become increasingly dangerous.

SPD announced Tuesday that it will make the upgrades and “enhance encryption to radios used for tactical communications” in early 2026:

In Quarter 2 of 2026, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) will enhance encryption to radios used for tactical communications among our personnel. Encrypting radio communications means radio transmissions can only be heard internally by the intended audience. The primary reason SPD has chosen to encrypt radios is to enhance the safety of community members and first responders, and to protect the public’s sensitive information from being shared to a wide audience.

The department’s leadership says it will continue to leave its main “dispatch” channels for each precinct “open for the public to hear via radio scanners.”

CHS regularly monitors the broadcasts for our neighborhood reporting. The Tuesday announcement makes official practice that has already been in place since changes made during the 2020 protests as SPD began selectively digitally encrypting its tactical channels during a variety of incidents and scenarios. Continue reading →

Woman reported in critical condition after struck by driver at Boylston and Pine — UPDATE: Fatality

Posted on by
10

A person in the street was struck and sent to the hospital in critical condition after reportedly being hit by a driver Tuesday morning on Boylston just south of E Pine.

UPDATE 2:07 PM: SPD reports the woman has died of her injuries.

According to police, the 49-year-old woman was apparently sleeping, “laying in the roadway” when the driver exited her parking garage onto Boylston:

She did not see the sleeping pedestrian laying in the roadway and drove over her. The driver stayed on scene and cooperated with police. A Drug Recognition Expert evaluated her and found no signs of impairment.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators at (206) 684-8923.

The death is the third vehicle and pedestrian related fatality in the area in June. CHS reported here on the death of two residents backed over and killed in a smoking shelter behind a First Hill senior community earlier this month.

Original report: Seattle Police and Seattle Fire were called to the scene by a 911 caller just after 6:30 AM. The driver was initially reported to have left the scene. A later East Precinct radio update reported that the collision was not a hit and run.

Seattle Fire says it treated a woman in her 40s along the west curb of Boylston and rushed her to Harborview in critical condition.

Boylston between Pike and Pine was closed to traffic during the response.

There were no reported arrests.

 

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻 
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍 

 
 

A smaller closure on Broadway, Revival closing shop after decade on Capitol Hill

Posted on by
14

(Image: Revival)

While we sort out the real estate dealings and corporate grocery priorities behind the planned closure this week of the Broadway Whole Foods, there are a few smaller Capitol Hill retail losses to contend with.

The Revival vintage and fashion shop is closing on Broadway — but not because a long awaited affordable housing development is ready to dig in on the block.

Owner Ashley Busacca her decade of doing business on Broadway is ending as she is expecting a second child and ready to kiss the uncertainty of small retail in the neighborhood goodbye. “It’s been a wild ride,” Busacca said. Continue reading →

No Kings, no arrests as 70,000 march from Cal Anderson Park

Posted on by
23

With reporting by Alex Garland

Crowds were measured by the mile Saturday as demonstrators marched from Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park in Seattle’s contribution to a weekend of “No Kings” protests across the nation.

Officials estimated more than 70,000 here stretched across one and a half miles of city streets Saturday afternoon as the demonstration flooded out of Cal Anderson onto E Pine and into the city headed for the Seattle Center.

it was one of the largest gatherings in the state since a sea of people stretched miles from Cal Anderson for the Women’s March in 2018.

Seattle officials were ecstatic to announce there had been no arrests.

The protest comes five years after the Black Lives Matter protests and the formation of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone that filled the area around Cal Anderson in June 2020.

Meanwhile, twelve miles away in Tukwila, police and “an ICE Special Response Team” fired painful pepper spray balls at demonstrators seeking to disrupt an “Intensive Supervision Appearance Program” check-in. Continue reading →

The Broadway Whole Foods is, indeed, closing — UPDATE

Posted on by
68

That’s the 2018 price, by the way

Company officials say “performance and growth potential” are behind the planned closure of the Broadway Whole Foods grocery store.

“Like any business, we regularly evaluate the performance and growth potential of each of our stores and make decisions to position the company for long-term success,” a Whole Foods spokesperson told CHS Saturday morning.

The company says “all team members will transfer to roles” at other area Whole Foods Market locations. The final day of business is planned for June 20th. Clearance sales begin now.

“Our stores remain an important part of our growth strategy, and we currently have more than 100 new stores in the pipeline and continuously explore new sites,” the spokesperson for the Amazon-owned grocery giant said.

UPDATE: Amazon’s exit coincides with the sale of The Danforth development. Bellevue-based property management firm Kennedy Wilson announced the $173 million acquisition of the apartment tower headed into the weekend. The property had been acquired by seller Vanbarton Group for $209 million in 2019. Amazon apparently decided to seize the opportunity to exit its lease.

CHS reported here on the October 2018 debut of the much anticipated two-level, 40,000-square-foot addition to the Capitol Hill-area grocery scene. Continue reading →

‘It’s crazy out there’ — In challenging times, Capitol Hill restaurant Cook Weaver shifting to more proletariat menu

Posted on by
26

(Image: Cook Weaver)

Food is political. Capitol Hill’s Cook Weaver is making a shift to give the people what they want — and what they need:

There is no way to say how sorry we are for everyone who is being harmed and targeted by this administration. We know that this moment requires a response at all levels: the personal, the communal, the political. For our part, we want to nourish our community, bring people together for joy, pleasure, and rejuvenation, and celebrate the culinary context of the Pacific Northwest. So, we are making a change.

Next week, the E Roy restaurant just off North Broadway is making changes it says will focus on a more affordable, more flexible menu, “so that we can serve more people and meet our community at this moment.”

“In this iteration we will offer a place to have a few dishes with wine. A cocktail with friends.
Or a full dinner,” Cook Weaver’s announcement of its new “neo-bistro format” reads. “And, we will continue to offer Chef Zac’s curated tasting menu for our guests who desire that expansive culinary experience.” Continue reading →

911 | E Pike stabbing, 20/Union hit and run, hate crime assault suspect busted after club to club chase

Posted on by
Reply

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 reports from @jseattle or join and check in with neighbors in the CHS Facebook Group.

  • E Pike stabbing: A man was stabbed in the stomach, arm, and back and a male and a female suspect were chased down by police after an assault in the middle of E Pike nightlife crowds early Thursday morning. According to SPD’s brief on the incident and East Precinct radio updates, police were called to the area in front of Big Mario’s to the reported stabbing around 12:10 AM. SPD says witnesses reported an altercation between several men during which the female suspect stabbed the victim. The woman and and a man fled the area on foot but were quickly apprehended. Police say they chased the female suspect down after a brief chase near 12th and Madison where she also reportedly tried to ditch a knife. Police recovered the weapon and took the 37-year-old woman and 31-year-old man into custody after they were identified by witnesses at the scene. Police say the victim was treated at the scene and transported by Seattle Fire to Harborview in serious condition.
  • E Union hit and run: Police were unable to track down the vehicle after the driver of a SUV struck a woman crossing 20th and Union last Thursday. The victim fortunately suffered only what Seattle Fire described as a minor injury. The 6:30 PM hit and run had several witnesses near Chuck’s Hop Shop. Police were looking for a black GMC with no plates last seen northbound on 18th Ave. There were no arrests. Continue reading →

Cyberattack at massive grocery distributor hitting Capitol Hill-area stores large and small

Posted on by
1

(Image: Amazon Fresh)

Shopping in Capitol Hill-area grocery stores has become wacky enough that shoppers may not have noticed that a cyberattack targeting massive distributor United Natural Foods is causing bare spots on shelves and inventory problems at local stores. Continue reading →