Seattle’s Piroshky Piroshky, with its centerpiece location in the heart of Pike Place Market quieted by the nearly tourist-less COVID-19 economy, is making a push into the city’s neighborhoods and has found a friendly temporary home on Capitol Hill. The Russian bakery is in its second weekend of a pop-up outside 19th Ave’s Russian Community Center.
Owner Olga Sagan says the move into neighborhoods and outer areas like Magnolia and Bainbridge Island has been imperative to stay afloat, with business in their Pike Place Market shop down by 70% compared to last year and 90% down at their other two locations.
“We try to stay positive and reinvest into business and keep employees and not give up as much,” she said. “But now that it’s been six months, we are really realizing that downtown is not reviving.”
This is where the partnership with the Russian Community Center came into play. Sagan says it had actually been a dream of Piroshky Piroshky to open a location there prior to COVID-19. As the virus took shape, she was able to reach an agreement to support the events-based center and open the pop-up out front.
“We’re always open for partnering with or hosting other events that could comply with the social distancing,” a board member of the center told CHS.
The building was originally home to the Roycroft Theater built in 1925, which a 2002 City of Seattle survey calls, “the most ornate (of) the city’s few remaining neighborhood theaters.” It would become home for the Russian Community Center in 1960 following the theater’s closure and the center’s relocation from 17th Avenue. Hopes and rumors of a renovation of the nearly 100-year-old venue remain little more than neighborhood chat for the moment.
In years past, the center has rented out its space for culturally-minded events like Russian plays, dance performances and food festival occasions like Russian Bazaar. While it has been by and large closed since COVID-19 restrictions set in, he says the center is looking for outdoor or smaller indoor events to make use of the space.
The Piroshky Piroshky pop-ups have best-seller piroshkis like beef and cheese, potato and cheese, Jalapeño cheddar sausage and vegan veggie chipotle onsite, and the full menu with recently-added pierogi dumplings, bread and piroshky at-home kits can be pre-ordered online for pickup at the pop-up.
In addition to the downtown shops staying open for now and the pop-ups picking up speed, Piroshky Piroshky has a weekly delivery schedule into the greater Seattle area and suburbs. The bakery is also looking for food-truck businesses to partner with since their truck broke down last week.
“We’re really trying to reinvent ourselves over and over and over,” she said.
The Russian Community Center pop-up at 704 19th Ave E will be open from 10 AM to 2 PM Sunday and again the weekend of August 29-30. You can learn more at piroshkybakery.com.
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Oh God it would be so nice for them to open up a location somewhere here on The Hill. Remember the old piroshky\pierogy place that used to be on BWay where ST TOD is now? Loved that place.
I do remember that place fondly. They are now over on Madison. Piroshki on Madison, located at 1219 Madison. It is a small space but the same owners and same great food.
Sadly they weren’t there. We walked over a little after 1:30 (as soon as I saw this), but there was no stand. Bummer. I was looking forward to having some for dinner. Maybe they just ran out?
I love the idea of neighborhood popups though!
Maybe they’ll be around in the afternoon next weekend.
They sold out around 1:00ish. They told us they’ll be back next weekend.
It looks like Piroshky on Madison is open these days? Business is probably not experiencing such a lull in First Hill, unfortunately…
I just moved out of downtown two weeks ago. I had to admit that I see no reason to ever return to downtown until the pandemic was over.
Pike Place vendors, let alone their customers, still did not wear masks. This included when in close proximity to customers like me.
Of the countless things the city and Pike Place could have done to continue to attract people to downtown or Pike Place market, I can’t think of a single one that they’ve done.
The apartment building I vacated has seen its rents fall nearly 20% since the start of covid. Downtown may have a lot further to fall.
I’m certainly planning to move out of downtown asap – although have a few more months left on my lease, unfortunately. Downtown has become depopulated and devoid of neighborhood services and more and more stores close permanently. It’s certainly not worth premium rents to live in a deserted area. Actual neighborhoods look much better these days. Downtown will probably come back at some point, but I don’t see a reason to wait around for it.
Agreed 100%. It doesn’t seem like downtown has the scale of permanent resident base needed right now.
Capitol Hill has its issues, but in comparison:
– Loads of restaurants that you can get takeout from (with many that let you order online and just ‘pick up and go’)
– At least east of Broadway, it’s been pretty easy to socially distance, and mask wearing is much more reliable.
– Miles of Stay Healthy streets to walk/bike on are much more valuable than paying for a fancy gym you can’t use anyway.
…and, oh yeah, it also doesn’t feel like a deserted, dystopian abandoned shell of a downtown in ruins!
Do you have to pre-order or can you walk up. Walked there is afternoon around 1:00 and nothing was there.