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 →
The Capitol Hill “new American” restaurant that replaced ye oldeCanterbury Ale House is struggling with the oldest of business challenges: taxes and rent.
Meliora, which has been “temporarily closed” since February while the ownership said it was undertaking a restart of the concept, is behind on three months’ rent and owes more than $30,000, according to a notice posted last week by the building’s landlord.
Meanwhile, a King County Superior Court filing shows the business owed the state more than $40,000 in unpaid taxes. Continue reading →
An important deal for the stability of the 15th Ave E business core has apparently fallen through.
Large “for sale” signage has been put up on top of the plywood panels covering the shuttered Coastal Kitchen following last month’s announcement that the restaurant and its building had been sold.
CHS reported in early February on the announcement from the Sound Restaurant Familycompany that includes the Mioposto pizza chain as well as a roster of South Sound venues including The Poodle Dog in Fife that it had a deal to sell the Capitol Hill Coastal property to new ownership bringing a new concept to the building that has housed the restaurant for more than 30 years. Continue reading →
City construction permits show the first commercial tenant has been lined up for the opening-soon Capitol Hilltop mixed-use building on 15th Ave E. Rudy’s Barbershop, about to be displaced by another development from Hunters Capital on the other side of the street, is making plans to join the five-story, nearly 70-unit mixed-use apartment building with underground parking for 21 vehicles that has reshaped the corner of Capitol Hill’s 15th and Mercer where the old Hilltop Service Station used to stand.
The short move up the street into a new 1,100-square-foot barbershop ten barber stations, two hairwash sinks, and a new waiting and retail area will help add some stability to the street’s coming changes.
Rudy’s current 15th Ave E location is set to be demolished to make way for a coming mixed-use project that will also replace the street’s shuttered QFC grocery. Continue reading →
There are more powerful actions they can take but neighbors opposing a proposed sixth floor on the mixed-use development being planned for the old QFC block of Capitol Hill’s 15th Ave E got their say Wednesday night. Several neighbors supporting the plan and increased housing options on the busy commercial street on the edge of Capitol HIll’s single family-style house core also spoke up.
Around thirty residents voiced their opinions on the proposed mixed-use development as planners from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection took notes and coordinated the brisk Wednesday evening meeting.
While many criticized the idea of a six-story building rising above 15th Ave E, there were also plenty of attendees during the virtual meeting who expressed support for increasing housing density amid the city’s ongoing housing and affordability crisis.
“I live less than a mile from this proposed project. I think this is a great project. It should be approved as proposed,” said one. “This project is located in, and will add to an already existing business area.”
Capitol Hill developer Hunters Capital — whose mixed-use development up the street replacing the old Hilltop Service Station will wrap up construction later this year — is requesting a departure from area zoning for its QFC project to allow an extra sixth story of height. Continue reading →
Wednesday, the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections will hold its public meeting on the land use application for the mixed-use development being planned to rise on the site of the former 15th Ave E QFC.
Capitol Hill developer Hunters Capital is requesting a departure from area zoning to allow an extra sixth story of height. Continue reading →
Seattle’s Singh restaurant family is used to success. Their Rasai is celebrated for its take on “progressive Indian” in Fremont.
Things haven’t worked out as well for Meliora, the “New American Restaurant” and cocktail bar opened to give a new, calmer life to the former Canterbury Ale House space on 15th Ave E.
After just over a half year of more than half empty seats, the restaurant has been temporarily closed for a restart:
We have temporarily closed our door for essential maintenance and enhancements in our unwavering commitment to providing you with the best possible experience. This break is aimed at ensuring your future visits are even more enjoyable.
Horizon was giving away its remaining stock for free last weekend on 10th Ave (Image: CHS Facebook Group)
Let’s close this current chapter of neighborhood classics saying goodbye. Another of the longest running businesses on Capitol Hill closed quietly last weekend. It wasn’t a restaurant, cafe, or bar.
Horizon Books was proudly established on Capitol Hill 53 years ago making it contemporaneous with fellow class of 1971 business licensees Country Doctor Community Health Clinic, architect Roger Newell, and Vogue Coiffure Beauty Salon on our list of the oldest businesses in the area a few years back.
The bookseller that made its name on Capitol Hill long before Elliott Bay Book Company was transplanted to 10th ve quietly turned the page and liquidated its stock last weekend, handing out free books to anybody who stopped by its underground 10th Ave space home to “the largest and finest used books collections in Seattle.” Continue reading →
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The people have spoken. A new mixed-use development set to rise on the block currently home to the empty 15th Ave E QFC, a collection of businesses including a Rudy’s Barbershop and local favorite ShopRite, and a handful of apartments will be the subject of a public meeting later this month after a petition drive and neighbors opposing the project’s plans for a sixth floor gathered signatures to force the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections hearing.
“I’m concerned about the impact of such a huge structure on the small businesses and parking in this neighborhood,” one of the signees writes.
“I oppose a building of 6 stories,” wrote another.
The special meeting comes as a new addition to the months and years of planning required for Capitol Hill firm Hunters Capital to develop the property which also must pass through the city’s design review process.
The project is planned for the busy 15th Ave E commercial strip on the edge of Capitol Hill’s northeast core of valuable single family-style homes.
CHS reported here in October as the proposal was approved by the East Review Board in its early design guidance phase. Hunters and the Runberg Architecture Group are proposing to transform the old QFC block into new apartments, businesses, and plaza space they say would give the neighborhood a vibrant streetscape with a mix of trees old and new, small retail spaces to add to the street’s eclectic mix, and 170 new homes. Continue reading →
Coastal Kitchen will close this month after more than 30 years of business on Capitol Hill as the restaurant’s ownership says it has sold the 15th Ave E property to make way for a new restaurant.
The Sound Restaurant Family announced the planned closure and sale Friday. The identity of the buyer has not been revealed and is not yet public record. The 4,249-square-foot restaurant and the 1924-era building it calls home were recently listed for sale for $2.5 million.
“The 15th Ave E neighborhood in Seattle’s Capitol Hill is a vibrant and diverse area known for its unique character and community atmosphere,” the listing reads.
“We are so grateful to have been a part of Coastal Kitchen for these past eight years,” owners Dan and Jonathan Tweten said in a statement sent to CHS. “It’s been an honor to be part of this neighborhood and community, and we will miss it.” Continue reading →
