NWRBC '09
Originally uploaded by Lay-Luh

And he's not even from Seattle. Billy Wilson runs his own shop in Portland. Sunday, Wilson became a three-time winner of the Northwest Regional Barista Competition at this weekend's Coffee Fest tradeshow in Seattle.

Thanks to flickr user Lay-Luh for her picture of the top three finishers:
1st: Billy Wilson, BARISTA (right)
2nd: Andrew Milstead, Urban Coffee Lounge (middle)
3rd: Laila Ghambari, Urban Coffee Lounge (left)

Wilson was also NW champion in 2007 and 2008 and, as you can see in this picture from a big win down in Vegas in 2005, is used to getting large checks for his creations at latte competitions. Way to go, Billy. He'll now automatically advance to the national semifinals at the 2010 United States Barista Championship held in Anaheim in April.

Meanwhile, the list of finalists included baristi from Portland and Kirkland -- but nobody from Cap Hill made this year's finals.

Update 3:33 PM After reviewing the complaint, I note the following: 1) Chow Foods only recently sought registrations of "Chow" and "Chow Foods" - having done so on 8/21/09 and 2) Chao may have been able to avoid this suit - had they been more responsive to Chow Foods and forthcoming about their opening date. 

A major followup this afternoon to our Chow Foods responds to Chao story : CHS has learned that a lawsuit was filed just yesterday. An operator of neighborhood restaurants all across Seattle, Chow Food Management Services LLC , is suing  Yamashiro's LLC dba Chao Bistro-Bar  (the new restaurant that opened at 12th & Pike today).  We are working right now to get a copy of the full complaint, but a watchlist of newly filed lawsuits summarizes this one as alleging trademark infringement.

As promised, we asked Peter Levy of Chow Foods (owner of Endolyne Joe's, The Hi-Life, 5 Spot and Atlas Foods - and former co-owner of Coastal Kitchen), for comment on Chao (the new restaurant opening tomorrow at 12th & Pike) and possible confusion regarding whether Chao was a Chow Foods eatery.  Here is Peter's response in full:

Chow Foods is disappointed that Yamashiro’s LLC would elect to open a restaurant with the name CHOW Bistro.  When this came to our attention in mid‐August we contacted Yamashiro’s directly and indicated that the choice of this name would confuse customers, vendors, the media and real estate community and requested that they change the name of their soon to open restaurant.  

Yamishiro elected to dis‐regard our inquiries about this matter on two separate occasions and we were required to indicate  a possible legal action to finally receive a response from their legal representative.  

Yamishiro attempted to placate us by simply changing the spelling...

CHS had little information last week when we first reported that the Satellite Lounge had been evicted . Turns out, who we thought was the owner, Sylvia Kane, actually owns 1110 E. Pike, not 1118 where Satellite called home -- the King County Records for the 1118 address were grouped under Kane's name. Kane had been on vacation for the last week or so, so the eviction was news to her when CHS reached her this week. Kane helped CHS contact the owner of 1118 E. Pike, Steven Holman of Holman Real Estate.

Eviction notice posted on the Satellite's front door

According to Holman, the Satellite was not paying rent, and his company had asked them to leave. The Satellite's owner, The Real Comet Inc., declared bankruptcy, Holman said, which allowed the lounge to stay in the building until the court finally had the business evicted last Monday.

Harold Burton, listed as the 'registered agent' for The Real Comet in state records, could not be reached for comment. Kane told CHS she had heard that Burton had shown interest in another area building, but hadn't spoken to him for awhile.

As for the future of the Satellite space, Holman said he hopes to find a tenant that will incorporate the unused 5,000 sqft basement in a similar food and drink establishment. While it needs a safety and code update, Holman said the basement could serve as a dance floor, small theater, or music performance space. Craig and Laura Baker of Issaquah jazz club Bake's Place have looked at the space, Holman said, but it is still on the market. With prices in the neighborhood varying from around $25/sqft for street level to $15/sqft for below-ground space, the complete Satellite package including the basement could run somewhere around $12,000/month.

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The Coffee Co. - Breakfast
Originally uploaded by VirtualErn

Chao Bistro & Bar opens Friday September 25.  When CHS first encountered the owners a few months ago, this eatery was to be known as Chow.  When asked the reason for the name change, Christine Medina, Chao's PR Coordinator replied: "As far as the name change goes, Dave and his partners felt it fits more distinctively with the overall branding of the business. Chao is going for a very neighborhood-friendly feel, and 'chao' means both hello and welcome in Vietnamese."  Via Twitter, we learned that there will be a soft opening Wednesday.  

We learned via Facebook that you can email Dave Tran (dave at venomseattle dot com) or call their reservation line to secure a 25% discount when reserving a table for Friday.  According to Chao's press release (full text below), the Pan Asian menu will feature dishes such as Hawaiians Sweet Bread French Toast, Kalbi Tacos, Kobe Beef Chili, Lemongrass Crab Cakes, Banana BBQ Sauce Pork Ribs...

Fuel and High 5's Dani Cone

Some startups make silly stuff like community news software . Some make pie.

At Thursday night's invitation only party in her flagship 19th Ave coffeeshop, Fuel owner Dani Cone announced she's taking the High 5 Pie concept to another level. With tabletops filled with bottles of wine and, of course, platters of High 5 pocket pies, Cone held court as partygoers leafed through slick binders describing the startup's business plan and read about an interesting offer -- High 5 Pie is looking for investors.

At the heart of the concept is a High 5 Pie shop with a kitchen to turn out the pastries and a cafe for customers to hang out an enjoy the treat along with some Fuel coffee. There's no location for the new store yet but the plan describes the requirements for the space including a dense, urban population -- Capitol Hill, check -- and plenty of on street parking -- Capitol Hill, un-check. But at the party, Cone told CHS that the Hill she started Fuel on is also where she'd like to launch High 5. The plan calls for High 5 to be operating by January 1, 2010.

Before you start planning your 2010 of pie, High 5 needs to raise some cash. That's where the interesting offer comes in. Cone is offering up 36% of the company to outside investors. What's it cost to get a piece of High 5 Pie? You'll have to contact Cone yourself. We've been asked to remove the financial information from this post and we've complied because of some misunderstanding about the situation. (EDITED 9/18/09 10:15 PM)

Hard to say what the investment outlook is for pie but cool to see a local business looking to be more. CHS is currently reviewing its own business plan to examine synergies between truly local community news and information and pie.

Seattle Gay Scene with highlights of gay activities this weekend on Capitol Hill:

FRIDAY 9/18/09:

SATURDAY 9/19/09:

SUNDAY 9/20/09:

Go here for a complete list of all the gay happenings in Seattle this weekend.

$3 sangria at Dinette (avail Tue - Sat from 4 to 6 pm)

• New bar The Living Room will have a famed bartender
• Satellite Lounge ousted from its current location
• Hipster celebrity Casey Affleck & wife Summer Phoenix spotted at Plum
• 22 Doors reopens and it's all tapas (at least the veggie burger is safe)
• Tamara Murphy of Brasa joins list of Belltown Chefs opening joints on the Hill with Terra Plata
• Blogazar spots HGTV celebrity David Bromstad at Purr
• Chow Chao (to occupy spot at Pike & 12th where 1200 Bistro used to be) will open 9/25 

Founded by George DePasquale in 1994, Essential Baking Company was the first local, certified oraganic artisan bakery in Seattle.  It now operates two cafes: one in Wallingford and the other in Madison Valley.  It also supplies fresh baked bread and baked treats to a number of outlets on the Hill including Madison Market , Trader Joe's and most recently - the 15th Avenue Starbucks .  In fact, on a tour of their bakery in Wallingford, we learned that they daily go through a ton of starter to meet their obligations to restaurants and grocery outlets in town.  To celebrate their 15th birthday, Essential is offering a free taste of chocolate hazelnut cake all day today at both of their cafes.  

A King County Sheriff's eviction notice hangs on the front door of E. Pike's Satellite Lounge tonight.

The bar is dark and empty as the occasional person stops in front to read the notice and peer inside. Nearby hangs this hand-written note from a patron saying goodbye to the Capitol Hill bar.

The Satellite is owned by Harold Burton of The Real Comet, Inc. according to state records. The building at 1118 E. Pike St. is owned by Sylvia Kane, according to City of Seattle records. CHS has been told that Kane informed the Satellite last month that she was looking for a tenant to rent the space that would also pay to put the building's large basement to use.

The Satellite's Web site describes the lounge as "one of the longest  running bars located in the heart of Capitol Hill." Old timers, please weigh in with any history for the location you can share. CHS will update this post with what else we can find.

Please forward widely…

Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend October 10 – 11, 2009 

Seattle OUTProtest hasbrought togethera grassroots coalition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight people and organizations to organize a series of solidarity events to coincide with the National March for Equality this October. 

March and Rally

Forty years after the Stonewall Rebellion, we march in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and allies in Washington, DC to demand equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states and to show our public support for the Approval of Referendum 71 here in Washington state.

Sunday, October 11

2:00 pm:  Volunteer Park, 10 Ave E & E Prospect

5:00 pm:  Rally, Federal Courthouse, 7

Thinking Queerly:  Community Workshops on LGBT Issues

Community organizers and activists will present a series of workshops on a range of issues affecting the lgbt community including Stonewall and lgbt movement history,...

Male Golden Retriever found at 12th and Pike around 7pm 9/11/09. Seattle Pet License, no other tags, black collar, older dog. reply to gearhart24@yahoo.com

Slideshows are awesome. Remember in the TV series, The Wonder Years, when Ben Stein plays Kevin Arnold’s slideshow happy,  monotone 7

The World of Jewtopia comedy duo will be visiting Seattle to perform at a benefit for the Jewish Federation’s annual fundraising event, Laugh Your Way to Giving, to help raise much-needed funds for over 40 various non-profit agencies in Seattle, Israel and throughout the world.  Come and laugh your ass off.

September 16 // Beneroya Hall // $36

photo by Mark Eskenazi

I recently met with Becky Selengut, chef/owner of Cornucopia, a private chef and cooking instruction company.  I first became acquainted with Becky on Twitter as the quick witted @ChefReinvented.  We had drinks at one of Becky's regular stops, Poppy. (her favorite cocktail is a spicy Papi Delicious).   Many at Poppy stopped by to speak to Becky, including Poppy's owner/chef Jerry Traunfeld, since she had previously worked for him at the Herbfarm.  Dana Cree, Poppy's Pastry Chef asked Becky to taste a new dessert she was making - a spice cake with peaches and icecream.

After working in topnotch professional kitchens at La Medusa, La Spiga and the Herbfarm, Becky decided to forge a different career path.  She now teaches cooking classes, offers private chef services and will be publishing her second book on a subject she's passionate about - sustainable seafood (via local publisher Sasquatch Books).  She also blogs at Chef Reinvented and operates...

8 PM, Saturday, September 5th, at the corner of East Pike Street and 12th Avenue

If you've been to Bluebird, you've probably noticed our stage. This Saturday, come see it christened as local indie/folk band Lemolo performs live!

Unlike the opening of Tavern Law which yielded a treasure trove of opening night pictures and comments across Seattle's Web, Thursday night's opening of the re-imagined Pony bar on Madison leaves only a murky, mysterious trace on the Internet. One connecting factor between the two openings: Matt Goyer of the Urbnlivn condo blog got invited to both pre-opening parties:

The Pony site is triangular with no neighbors. Until Mark pointed all this out I never realized how awesome of a site it would be for a little boutique condo building (except it’ll be noisy), as every unit will be a corner unit.

For an interim project and a so-called trashy bar Mark certainly put a lot of effort into the space. The metal siding for the deck, with west facing views of downtown, is actually a bunch of old Seattle street signs he bought in bulk from the city. The seating looks to be old church pews. The wallpaper is all x-rated (as expected) and the fridges are from the old florist. Even if this bar isn’t your scene it&...

• Our favorite neighborhood bar and longtime CHS sponsor Bottleneck Lounge is hosting an expansion bash to celebrate its annexation of the space formerly occupied by the The Red Chair ($4 champagne)
• Now that Tobey Macguire sightings are old news (made his way to the Wild Rose even), India Arie at Plum anyone
• Bon Appetit includes Boom in its list of Top 10 New Asian Noodle Bars around the U.S.
• CHS reader and man about town kevinseattle recommends Poppy to Jewel and Traunfeld thanks him
• Spinasse's Jason Stratton picks two neighborhood staples as two of three favorite restaurants in Seattle: Machiavelli and Monsoon
• 22 Doors is closed until next Tuesday, but try of the other 15th Avenue White Russians
• Rover's will have a new casual sibling restaurant - say hello to Luc
• Fuel has a big announcement next week - guess comments welcome (coffee and pies are covered -what's next? a new location?)

(Photo: Caffé Vita)

Expect to cup Vita coffees from our Farm Direct partners around the globe - and sample chocolates from the award winning chocolatier. This week we will be sampling a Ghanian liquor, a Costa Rican liquor, and the Theo Phinney Coffee bar which is made using the Vita Theo Blend. Chocolate Liquor = unsweetened pure chocolate = the best way to understand cacao. 

l_f189c26fca8eb84be5e69aa55895ea08.jpg
Originally uploaded by galaxybubble

After a number of false starts, we have a definite opening date for Pony.  Mark Stoner, Pony's owner, emailed us to let us know that the resurrected Pony will open Thursday September 3, 2009.  Above is a poster from Pony's closing night on 11/28/07. 

View Untitled in a larger map

We spotted two liquor applications that will bring two new restaurants to Capitol Hill.  "The Living Room" will occupy a space recently vacated by the Anne Bonny at 1355 East Olive Way.  One of the individuals listed on The Living Room's application appears to be a local artist named Monika Proffitt.

Close by in a previously residential space, David Yuchasz, who has a real estate background and another relative are seeking a license to serve liquor at 1515 Bellevue Avenue, Apt 101.   

22 Doors closed for remodeling on August 30, 2009 post-brunch (at 3 pm).  They will reopen on Tuesday September 8, 2009 with a remodeled floorplan.  While the bar area will remain relatively intact, they plan on eliminating most of the booths and will create a stage area in the right corner (as you enter).  The color palette will change, and they plan to embellish the ceiling.  As well, they will have a brand new dinner menu with small plates - all under $12.   

Victrola Coffee is providing a live stream of images from tonight's pre-qualifying Barista Jam Latte Art Smackdown that CHS wrote about earlier this week. Without commentary from the judges, it amounts to little more than latte porn. But it's kinda getting me all perked up and ready for my day just looking at it. Here's a slideshow of pours marked 'winner' in the stream (which I assume means that particular cup won in its round of foam vs. foam battling). I've sorted the images by 'interestingness' for your enjoyment. I'll have to check in with Victrola to find out who was declared the victor.

UPDATE:
Here's the list of finalists:

Top ten results from the smackdown on Saturday night. (Listed by points earned)

1. Winner Chuck Lambert #7 - Victrola - won the tournament and received the highest score with 84.25
2. Kelleen Blanchard #3 - Victrola - 75
3. Michael Lewis #1 - Victrola - 75
4. Jeremy McDermott #2 - Victrola - 76
5. Stephen Robinson #24 - Victrola - 76
6. Tom Pikaart #4 - Tougo - 78
7. Alex Negranza #27 - Why Not Coffee - 78
8. Laila Ghambari #13 - VCL - 78.25
9. Nick Harberg #23 - Zoka Coffee & Tea - 82.5
10. Winner Chuck Lambert #7 - Victrola - won the tournament and received the highest score with 84.25

Thierry Rautureau, "The Chef in the Hat" and Rover's owner/chef will be opening a more casual French eatery in February 2010 called "Luc" (named after his late father).  The location will be adjacent to Rover's current location at 28th and Madison - on the Northeast corner.    Thierry is offering up the chance to invest in the new restaurant by buying gift certificates that will grow in value over time.  Here are the details from the email announcement:

As some of you have already heard, I am beginning a new restaurant project. Named after my late father: Luc.  More casual than Rover’s,  LUC is a Bar/Kitchen/Luc 2 Go in the heart of Madison Valley.

Here is where you come in.

To open LUC, I've developed an idea, albeit a crazy one. To finance LUC we would like to pre-sell gift certificates in $1000 amounts. These gift certificates will be distributed over 3 years with an added value of about 30%. Read below for more details and for how to participate. Also, all of...

The Chapel Bar
Originally uploaded by The Shifted Librarian

Sometimes, CHS reports news that happened 3 minutes ago. Sometimes, it happened last year. We haven't seen anybody write about this so, therefore, it's still news: Chapel has a new owner.

On August 21, Chapel's Change of Corporate Officer Application was approved by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. We spoke to Elizabeth Harazim, Chapel's Marketing and Promotions Manager, and she stated that the change in ownership happened last year and they had been delayed in notifying the liquor board.

The state corporation filing for Chapel lists Medina resident Charles Knox as the 'registered agent' of Chapel Bar, Inc.

Harazim said that Chapel will be stepping up its efforts to host more events (e.g. djs, fire eaters, comedy, and other performances).

Joe Bar
Originally uploaded by Kamala Dolphin-Kingsley

CHS broke the news a few weeks back that Starbucks was set to open yet another 'neighborhood coffee house' in the 700 Broadway building.

Now we know what they plan to call the joint. Starbucks passed along this internal memo detailing some of the strategy around the next of their concept shops to hit Capitol Hill. 

Hey Joe Bar, meet your new neighbor Roy Street Coffee & Tea.

Here's some explanation of the strategy behind the name and more from the Starbucks memo:

We shared details of the e-mail with the owner of the independent coffee house that also makes its home on Roy Street. Joe Bar's Wylie Bush said the details only make him sad to see what Starbucks has become. "I have to give Starbucks some credit," Bush said. "They spurred coffee in Seattle to begin with. Now it's sad. It's so depressing."

So far, Bush says, there have been no signs of the infamous note-taking Starbucks employees casing Joe Bar for inspiration for the new shop's design. "As soon as I start seeing green walls I might get a little more bummed out," Bush said.

Bush said he hasn't talked to anybody from Starbucks about the new shop yet and he doesn't yet have any plans for changing his business. He's also torn by the situation -- it's bad for his business but good for that area of Broadway not to have an empty retail space. "The last thing I want to see is another coffee shop on Broadway," Bush said. "At the same time just having that space filled is better."

Bush said he also worries about his younger clientele having to make decisions based on price and being lured away if Starbucks is able to undercut Joe Bar on the price of a cup of coffee. "People make their choices," Bush said. "Hopefully the small indies can survive when the big corporations are mimicking us to the point that you can't tell the difference."