(Image: Taurus Ox)
Taurus Ox won’t open for Tuesday service as the Laotian-flavored eatery gears up for greater than expected demand in its new home on Capitol Hill.
Khampaeng “KP” Panyathong and the crew at Taurus Ox served “twice as many guests as anticipated” last week as they debuted in the new space and needed to take a day off to replenish the kitchen and do some training as they settle in on 19th Ave E. Continue reading
(Image: CHS)
Location, location, location… A Capitol Hill food and drink family’s reshuffling has its centerpiece restaurant moving into a space on a quieter part of Capitol Hill where its most recently launched concept didn’t work out.
Taurus Ox, just finishing its third year of business on the Hill, is moving to 19th Ave E.
With plans to reopen in October, the chef-centric Laotian eatery from Khampaeng “KP” Panyathong is busy readying the former home of 19th Ave E Greek classic Vios as its new home after a move from the E Madison mixed-use building where it first opened in late 2019.
“The amount of food produced out of our little Lao restaurant this summer was bananas—safe to say we’ve logistically outgrown our space,” the Taurus Ox team posted about the change. “With that said, we gladly announce our very necessary expansion into our new home nearby on 19th Ave.” Continue reading
(Image: Prospect Congregational United Church of Christ)
(Image: historylink.org)
This essay was created by historian and writer Dotty DeCoster. It was first posted to CHS in 2009. We remembered Dotty here on CHS after her passing in 2015.
Did the folks who began the church that is now Prospect Congregational United Church of Christ know that the property they bought was part of the site of the proposed state capitol?
The chapel originally faced E. Prospect on a lot that is now on the southeast corner of E. Prospect and 20th Ave E. The current church building, built in 1924, faces 20th Ave E., although the address remains 1919 E Prospect.
The site of the proposed capitol was a single large block, bounded to the north by E. Prospect, to the south by E. Helen, to the east by 21st Ave E. and to the west by 19th Ave E. Continue reading
With reporting and photography by Alex Garland
In a shade of “good fortune”-toned red and with the blessings — and permitting help — of the couple that made the space home to a successful Capitol Hill restaurant for nearly 20 years, Money Frog is celebrating its grand opening this week on the still quiet but now just a tad more interesting 19th Ave E.
General manager Jin Lee says that she is trying to keep to a simple philosophy with the opening even as the young restaurant works to overcome paperwork challenges and to settle into its new home neighborhood.
“Things are 10x more expensive, sometimes it feels like things are 10x harder,” Lee said. “But it’s all about having fun.”
“Relax. We want to do this to have fun.”
It also helps to have a little help and guidance from the decades of experience of Thomas and Rebecca Soukakos who decided to downsize their restaurant efforts on the Hill and sold their much-loved Vios late last year to make way for the new Money Frog project. Continue reading
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Stevens Elementary has stood on Capitol Hill since 1906 (Image: Seattle Public Schools)
By Elizabeth Turnbull
As Washington slowly wipes away racist place names and removes the names of pioneers and figures dishonored by the revelations of history, an elementary school on Capitol Hill has started the process of renaming and shifting away from a tainted legacy. It has also received a gift to help it on its way.
Last week, families of Stevens Elementary and members of the school’s Racial Equity Committee met to lay out the steps to get closer to this goal.
“In my family, the name change topic has been a conversation for about 22 years,” said Michelle Martine, a teacher at Stevens Elementary and a member of the school’s Racial Equity Committee. Continue reading
UPDATE — SOFT OPENING: Money Frog has announced a “soft opening” on Wednesday, March 23rd from 4 to 9 PM.
KP Panyathong inside the space under construction earlier this year (Image: @khampaengpanyathong)
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CHS ended 2021 by telling you about one of the most fun Capitol Hill food and drink projects to look forward to in 2022. Three months later, Money Frog is taking shape and preparing for its debut on 19th Ave E. The crew behind the new restaurant and hangout is busy ironing a few things out.
“The name of the restaurant is Money Frog. It’s nothing to do with tacos,” Joe Ye tells CHS.
The fresh collaboration between Joe and Lucy Ye of Hangry Panda in Greenwood and Khampaeng “KP” Panyathong of Taurus Ox on E Madison have been unraveling the taco confusion and more since the announcement late last December from Vios announcing that much loved Greek cafe’s last service after 17 years in the neighborhood.
At the time, the announcement described the new project taking over the 19th Ave E at E Aloha space as a two component restaurant and bar concept but the vision has been honed.
Hopefully that will be enough to help iron out another wrinkle: irritated neighbors. Continue reading
Thanks to a CHS reader for the video
If you saw unusual tracks in the ice and snow across Capitol Hill over the last week, you may have been onto something.
CHS received reports Wednesday morning including video of at least one coyote on the move in the neighborhood.
Crows squawked and cars came to a careful stop in northeastern Capitol Hill as a coyote was captured on video crossing the street not far from Volunteer Park in an area where the canines have been spotted in the past making their way between greenbelts.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says it is checking with Region 4 biologists about any additional reports from the area this week. Spokesperson Chase Gunnell says, in general, coyotes are common year-round in Seattle greenbelts and parks — “whether people see them or not.” Continue reading
(Image: Vios Cafe)
Thomas and Alexander Soukakos in 2015 — “Vios, which means life, became a hub of community and nurturing for families across Seattle as Soukakos raised his son, then two years old. Nearly two decades later, with his son off at college and opening contemporary Greek Omega Ouzeri, Soukakos is ready to turn the page and begin the next chapter of his culinary career.” (Image: CHS)
Another Capitol Hill institution is preparing to serve its final meals. 19th Ave E’s Vios Cafe will grill its “last souvlaki” on Friday, making a New Year’s Eve exit after 17 years in the neighborhood. The restaurant space will welcome an ambitious new food and drink project in the new year.
Like the coming closure of Cafe Presse on 12th Ave, the changes on 19th are part of the lifespan of a successful restaurant with small-scale ownership. Owner Thomas Soukakos is ready to simplify his business life — and travel.
“The downsizing of this upcoming chapter gives Soukakos more time to focus on culinary adventures both at home, and in Greece,” an announcement from Vios on the December 31st closure reads. “With future group excursions in the works, he hopes to continue to share his passion for the Greek cuisine with his customers; taking groups and leading wine and food tours in his native country.”
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There will probably never be a moment when we get to say, “It’s over. We made it!” But a Saturday Hilloween weekend night with people crowding Broadway and Pike/Pine and filling Capitol Hill vaccination-required bars and restaurants felt like one of the moments along the way.
83% of King County adults are fully vaccinated. Proof of vaccination or a recent negative test is required. Happy Hilloween 2021.
Below, CHS shares images from the night from around Pike/Pine and inside a few venues where vaccination card carrying people celebrated the holiday. We also have some trick or treating advice to hand out. Continue reading
You might think, with Canlis alums and a Yakima winery owner as the new creative forces behind the neighborhood favorite, the new Volunteer Park Cafe would have three-star, four-course ambitions.
It’s a much softer affair.
“I’m just hanging out, doing my thing, trying to make a beautiful space for people,” Melissa Johnson tells CHS about the cafe that has reopened under new ownership and with an overhaul of the 1904-built cornershop house at 17th and Galer.
Baker Johnson and pastry chef Crystal Chiu have teamed up to create a new vision of the neighborhood cafe — “a fresh start,” Johnson says, “bountiful, and bright, and ever-changing.” Continue reading
