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Some have reinvented themselves as something new along the way.
Mercado Luna has been part of the Hill through the pandemic but CHS never reported on its opening. It was born as Mezcaleria Oaxaca eight years ago on E Pine.
Edgar Luna-Meza tells CHS that the ideas for Mercado Luna came before the pandemic, but that because of it, they had a chance to pause and look at why they were in the restaurant business.
“The pandemic, provided a little introspection to business owners and everybody, why am I in the service industry; it’s because I care,” Luna-Meza said.
Mercado Luna is intended to bring together the idea of a market in Mexico — imagine a “food court” Luna-Meza says, trying not to focus on just Oaxaca, but trying to “make it everything from Mexico.”
The core restaurant Mezcaleria Oaxaca is still at the center of the mix but has been focused on a more formal dining experience with a new, more refined menu better designed for the realities of the challenges of staffing a kitchen on present day Capitol Hill.
On the other side of the bar, hidden behind a swinging section of wall is now Con-Piquete, an intimate, “craft mezcal bar” in a cantina style. In addition to the mezcales, the bar features liquors from around Mexico like satol, raicilla, and charanda, which is similar to rum and made with sugar cane. Con-Piquete is also proud of its Mexican wine selection.
Upstairs is now Patio Cielo where the focus is on afterwork margaritas, Mexican beer ,and tacos. Meanwhile, out front on the street, you can swing by for morning coffee and churros or a quick taco from the pick-up window of Lado a Lado.
“It’s different concepts, different departments, without competing with each other,” Luna-Meza says of the intertwined complex of Mercado Luna.
CHS reported here on the 2014 opening of Mezcaleria Oaxaca on E Pine. The ambitious Graham Baba-designed project from the Dominguez-Perez family is a sibling to their La Carta De Oaxaca original which is still going strong in Ballard.
Even with the pandemic, Luna-Meza says change on Capitol Hill was inevitable.
“You have a lot of Oaxaca cuisines around, because of the boom with it, so we want to bring more things, not just Oaxaca.” Luna-Meza said. “Yeah, we love Oaxaca, we like the moles, the other things, but there’s more than just Oaxaca in Mexico, we want to bring all that together.”
With all these pieces in place, Mercado Luna is preparing for a return of a more fully healthy Capitol Hill nightlife — and day-life — and morning-life. The night crowds are returning at peak weekend times but the fuller, more complete daily flow of a fully functioning Capitol Hill is still taking shape.
“I want them to come in and check us out. Try us again, discover us,” Luna-Meza says. Mezcaleria Oaxaca is open, ready for guests and serving up food starting at 5 PM, Tuesday through Saturday, as is the Mezcal speakeasy Con-Piquete. The take out window Lado A Lado is planned to re-opens March 22nd from noon to 8 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays, and Patio Cielo will reopen March 24th for a weekends only schedule until Seattle and Capitol Hill warms back up.
You’ll find Mercado Luna at 422 E Pine. You can learn more at mercadoluna.com.
PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.
