Monthly Archives: August 2009

Calf and Kid’s Sheri Lavigne profile

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Sheri Lavigne’s inspiration for Calf & Kid, the cheesestore she plans to open at the Pearl later this year, is the Bedford Cheese Shop located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.


Hipster Cheese Shop
Originally uploaded by A.J. Kandy
Like the clerks at Bedford Cheese Shop, Sheri intends for Calf & Kid employees to be knowledgeable about cheese.  They should be able to suggest cheeses for a cheeseboard, pairings with wine and offer tasting notes (with free samples).  She intends to start with a portfolio of about 80 cheeses and hopes to grow this to about 150 cheeses.  Sheri expressed an interest in stocking both Northwest cheeses as well as cheese from other parts of the U.S.  Having just returned from the American Cheese Society Annual Conference in Austin, she seemed particularly impressed by the artisan efforts of Wisconsin cheesemakers.  She cited Montgomery ‘s Cheddar, gooey cheese and fresh cheese as types of cheese she would like to highlight at Calf and Kid.  She hopes to dedicate a portion of the retail space to tastings and “Meet the Cheesemaker” events.  When asked about her reasons for opening the store on Capitol Hill, she mentioned that she and her husband reside in the neighborhood and felt that, “Capitol Hill needs a great cheese shop really badly”.  Indeed, since the closing of the excellent James Cook Cheese Company in Belltown back in 2002, Seattleites have had to venture down to Pike Place Market to find cheese mongers.  If you wish to sample some of Sheri’s cheese selections skills, contact her for information on her collaboration with Poco Wine Room in a wine tasting on 9/17.

Back to school? Police, copter search for suspects near Holy Names – UPDATE

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UPDATE: 11:57 AM:
Two people were reported on the roof of Holy Names Academy attempting to enter the building early this morning around 2:00 AM, according to Seattle Police Department spokesperson Mark Jamieson. King County Sherriff’s Guardian 1 helicopter was available to assist in the search to provide an aerial view and use its infrared system to look for the suspects, Jamieson said. According to Jamieson, arriving officers caught one of the suspects inside Holy Names and placed him under arrest on investigation of burglary. The person arrested was a juvenile male and Jamieson said he didn’t yet have details about whether the boy was attempting to steal something from the all-girls school or if we simply apprehended inside the building. Both scenarios can lead to burlglary charges, Jamieson said.

ORIGINAL REPORT 2:42 AM:
A manhunt is underway in the neighborhood surrounding Holy Names Academy at 21st Ave E and Aloha. Unconfirmed but information from the scanner indicates that there has been a burglary at the school and police are searching for two suspects. The helicopter search began around 2:35 AM.

UPDATE 2:50 AM:
The helicopter left the area around 2:45 AM. Will verify the scanner details as soon as possible.

UPDATE 9:50 AM:
Call out to SPD. More when we hear back.


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Blotter: Honey Hole hate crime report, armed driver vs. biker, park beating, wiener patrol

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Catching up on our blotter duties, here are some of the more interesting cases handled by the SPD in the East Precinct in the past two weeks. A few have been touched on by other outlets but fairly certain you won’t find the actual reports the journalists are getting their information from anywhere but here. And from the East Precinct front desk, of course.

  • CHS noted that there had been no police report filed in this alleged hate crime that occurred the first night of the Capitol Hill Block Party when the Seattle PostGlobe first reported on it. Since that time, the victim contacted police to report the beating and the assault is being investigated as a bias crime. Police are seeking the five suspects. Here is the incident report:

  • A man was arrested in an armed robbery at Summit and Howell in which a twenty dollar bill was taken from the victim. The alleged knifepoint robbery occurred on Sunday, August 2 around 5:30 PM. The victim described the suspect to police as a black male in his late 30s wearing a black shirt and black shorts. The police found a man fitting the description nearby shortly after the attack. 44-year-old Mark Antonio Smith was arrested and booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery after the arresting officer found a springblade knife, alleged drug parephenalia and a credit card belonging to somebody else in his pockets. Smith said he was selling fake crack and did not pull a knife on the victim, according to the SPD report.
  • This one is a little older and was covered by the Seattle PI’s 911 blog but they didn’t include the report document. A 50-year-old South Seattle woman with a concealed weapon permit got into a heated exchange with a bicyclist at Madison and 12th Ave. The biker says she waved a gun at him. She said she was just getting her cell phone out of her purse. Here’s the report:

  • This SPD incident report involving a man beaten and robbed in Cal Anderson Park by a group of assailants was first reported by the Slog: Roving Gang of Hooligans Assaulting People In Cal Anderson Park? CHS hasn’t found other reports of this type from the SPD but we’ll follow up to see if the department has more information or has stepped up patrols around the park.

  • This officer knows his beat. Not sure I would notice a new hot dog vendor in the Pike/Pine crowd. This incident occurred on East Pike:

On 08-02-09 I stopped to contact a new hot dog vender (sic) in the area. I had not seen this vender before and asked to see his business license. The owner, told me he forgot it at home. He identified himself to me using his Washington State driver’s license. He said he would stop selling and go get it. I also told him I would need to see his SFD permit and health cards for his two employees. After (redacted) I left I ran his name. DOL records show he was DWLS 3. His wife (one of the employees) said he left in the truck to go home. I left the area but said I would be back.

I returned about 1 hour later and showed me his business license, fire permit and health cards. I was not able to inspect these for very long due to the fact that ran into the road to show me and traffic was backing up. It is unknown if all his permits and licenses were current.

    Free jazz in Cal Anderson on Saturday

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    Sounds Outside takes place tomorrow August 15 at Cal Anderson.  Sounds Outside is a free outdoor music festival that takes place in July and August each year at Cal Anderson. It features jazz, world and adventurous music.  Tomorrow’s lineup features the following:

    Don’t forget to check the CHS Events section for other weekend options (and feel free to add your event).

    Gert’s barbecue coming to the Hill next week – UPDATE Grand Opening Thursday

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    Sunset at Gert’s      Originally uploaded by James Callan

    If Columbia City was too far for you to trek to get your fill of “Seattle-style” barbecue, you’re in luck: via Twitter, Gert’s announced they’re coming to the Southwest corner of 15th & Pine on August 20 (11 am to 1:30 pm and “soul hour” – between 7 and 11 pm).  According to the Stranger, you should sample the soul bowls, the green bean casserole, and of course – the ribs.

    What Victrola thinks of neighbor Starbucks three weeks later

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    Sound familiar?

    Through its latest venture … Starbucks is experimenting with a completely different approach to java. A swift departure from Starbucks’ sparse, no-nonsense ambiance, this 3,100-square-foot coffeehouse is graced with antique furnishings, red velvet curtains and well-worn couches. More than just a place to grab a cup of joe, … also boasts complete breakfast, lunch and dinner menus; a full liquor bar; live music; Internet access from many tables and a private meeting place called the Green Room. This cross between a neighborhood coffeehouse, a restaurant and a bar caters to a hip, urban crowd, many of whom have shunned Starbucks in the past. It’s also a place where customers can sink into a comfy couch, sip a mocha or martini, and stay awhile.

    The above was written for Entrepreneur Magazine 10 years ago. June 1999.

    Via CurbedSF, comes this reminder that history repeats. Starbucks launched the Circadia Coffee House brand in San Francisco at the turn of the millennium. The concept morphed into the Starbucks Cafes that also soon were either shut down or converted into regular Starbucks outlets. So, is what we’re seeing down the street at 15th Ave Coffee & Tea the same thing all over again?

    Victrola Coffee owner Dan Ollis thinks so.

    “You don’t know what is going to be going behind the butcher paper,” Ollis said of his initial apprehension about the new Starbucks venture moving into Victrola’s neighborhood. “We’re doing fine. It’s a beautiful store. They’ve clearly spent a lot of money and we’re flattered to have been immitated,” Ollis said.

    “Victrola has customers that are so loyal that they feel like protective parents so they’ve gone over to check the new place out. But they come back to report what they saw. It’s great.”

    Ollis said that during the first week, he and the Victrola staff got caught up in the hype around 15th Ave Coffee & Tea but now they’re getting back to concentrating on Victrola. “I’m still waiting for Howard to call, though,” said Ollis, who parlayed his Whidbey Island Coffee company into his own PNW mini-empire when he purchased Victrola in February 2008. In the meantime, Ollis said he has no need and no plans to change what Victrola does.

    The same can’t be said about the rest of his caffeine empire. Ollis said a little bit of Capitol Hill has been spreading out across his other stores. “We are now teaching latte art to all the Whidbey staff,” Ollis said. “But I don’t know how much of the crossover is going to happen. Each area has its own quirks.”

    Pictures: The most arbitrary artist on Capitol Hill

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    We don’t know his name and we don’t know what his creation looks like but we know this guy received last night’s $500 Arbitrary Art Grant. Under drizzly August skies, around 50 creative types circled up in the People’s Parking Lot and waited for the grant’s ‘judge’ (second photo in the set) to make its selection. Congratulations, to the most arbitrary artist on Capitol Hill!

    Sadly, Marination Mobile was not able to open shop in the lot for the evening. They’ve got a lease but a combination of crowded parking around the lot and a high curb kept the food truck off the lot.


    Arbitrary art grant in progress!
    Originally uploaded by &y

    More pics at the People’s Parking Lot blog.

    And more from the crowd:

    Document reveals developer’s plans to reshape 11th at Pine

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    There is one important thing we haven’t been able to post about in regards to the mixed-use project being planned for the old Sun Electric building at the corner of Pine and 11th Ave.

    No, not talking about No Guilt Boy.

    Talking about the actual design proposal that will be discussed, debated and dissected at next week’s design guidance meeting. Up to now, the PDF of developer Pryde + Johnson early design proposal hasn’t been available. But after pestering the Department of Planning and Development for a week, they posted the document this afternoon. Here is a look at the four design proposals on the board.

    You can review the entire document attached to this post. Three of the four designs include preserving “the character structure” while only Plan B (on the left) calls for the old brick factory building to be completely torn down. You’ll also note that the three preservation plans take advantage of the new zoning rules that will allow for a taller structure.



     Plan A
    96 units (+1-) on 6 levels over 1 level of commercial space.
    36 (+/-) structured parking spaces on 1 underground level.

    • -Preserves character structure.
    • -New construction to maximum height of 75 feet allowed by new Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District.
    • -Residential entry on 11th Avenue.
    • -Parking access from 11th Avenue (not desirable for pedestrian traffic).
    • -Private courtyard at Level 2, oriented to South interior lot line.
    • -No setbacks, reinforces street edge and corner of 11th & E Pine.
    • -Maximizes views to park.

    Plan B
    75 units (+/-) on 5 levels over 1 level of commercial space
    36 (+1-) structured parking spaces on 1 underground level .

    • -Character structure to be demolished.
    • -New construction to maximum height of 69 feet with Directors approval.
    • -Resldential entry on 11th Avenue.
    • -Parking access from 11th Avenue (not desirable for pedestrian traffic).
    • -Private courtyard at Level 2, oriented to park .
    • -One story commercial at corner.
    • -Over half of the units face the private alley or interior lot line (resulting in compromised Views).

    Plan C (PREFERRED)
    96 units (+/-) on 6 levels over 1 level of commercial space
    4 structured parking spaces at street level.
    1 level of underground workspace in existing basement available for arts / cultural uses.

    • -Preferred option.
    • -Preserves character structure.
    • -New construction to maximum height of 75 feet allowed by new Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District.
    • -Residential entry on 11th Avenue.
    • -Parking/service access from private alley at rear (optimizes pedestrian environment).
    • -Private courtyard at Level 2 adjacent to alley (optimizes residential views and daylight)
    • -Massing holds street edge on both frontages (opportunity for comer emphasis)

    Plan D
    -74 units (+/-) on 6 levels over 1 level of commercial space
    -4 structured parking spaces at street level.
    -1 level of underground workspace in existing basement available for arts I cultural uses.

    • -Preserves character structure.
    • – New construction to maximum height of 75 feet allowed by new Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District.
    • -Residential entry on 11thAvenue.
    • -Parking/service access from private alley at rear (optimizes pedestrian environment).
    • -Private courtyard at Level 2 adjacent to alley (diminished in size) .
    • -Private terraces on Level 3 along frontages.
    • -Massing of new structure separated visually from existing facade

    Here’s a diagram from the document that will give you some sense of what preservation will entail. In short, the plan is for a façade.

    The plan also calls for sustainable development strategies outlined here:

    Updates on July Capitol Hill manhunts: No case breaks, no arrests

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    CHS received a tip about an arrest in this armed robbery at 10th Ave at Highland from early July in which a woman was cut on the arm by a knife-wielding assailant. CHS receives lots of tips ([email protected] with yours) and we don’t and can’t follow up on all of them but this one had the earmarks of credibility: a name, a phone number, details. But a call to the Seattle Police Department refuted the rumor. According to SPD spokesperson Mark Jamieson, there have been no arrests in the case but the investigation is ongoing. He had no explanation for what might have started the rumor.

    Also unsolved at this point is this rape of a woman in her 12th Ave apartment the night of July 4th.