(Image: Late Night Vintage Market)
(Image: Alex in the CHS Facebook Group)
The name Late Night Vintage Market pretty much says it all.
But the new addition to E Pike’s retail mix is a deeper cut of Capitol Hill history and a showcase of some of the spirit the neighborhood still touts but can’t always live up to — mass culture subversion, random, one of a kind experiences, and, perhaps the biggest loss of pandemic-era Pike/Pine, late night hours.
The market featuring multiple vendors and, soon, events from Shannon Mendoza and Jesus McCloskey is now open every night but Tuesday from 3 PM to “late” at E Pike and Belmont.
Mendoza says the market was born of McCloskey’s love for vintage and tested with pop-up events around Tacoma as they looked for a home for the project in Seattle. Just as one off-Hill space for the market fell through, Mendoza said the E Pike opportunity emerged.
Like so much about the market echoing with some of the bells and whistles of Capitol Hill culture, its future also fits right in. The space is doomed, eventually lined up to be part of a preservation-boosted nine-story redevelopment of the old auto row dealership that most recently sold “MG Austin Healey, Sprite, Rover, Mini Cooper, Jaguar then later, Saab” vehicles before making way for future retail tenants. But Mendoza said the market has at least a year in the space and the way a development like this can inch forward in Seattle, probably more.
Neighborhood nonprofit Gay City, meanwhile, sought out more secure footing and is now settled into its new offices and facility on E Pine.
The sprawling, two-level space and its auto row-era dimensions are now filled with the vintage offerings of the market’s vendors. Mendoza said the plan is to keep the stable mix of sellers active in the space now but make room for a rotation of new vendors and special guests. There is also an old stage setup that Late Night Vintage Market hopes to fill with music and more.
Inside the Late Night Vintage Market — thanks to Alex in the CHS Facebook Group for the photos
While still a strong element of the fashion and aesthetic trends that ripple through the neighborhood, Capitol Hill’s vintage and thrift scene has changed over the years toward more curated and pricier experiences. The neighborhood’s Value Village marked its final Halloween in 2015 before making way for redevelopment on 11th Ave. Its Goodwill remains on Belmont but is also lined up for redevelopment. New smaller players like vintage and fashion shop Slow Dance on E Pike have emerged while neighborhood tag popper Macklemore hosted a Goose Magees Vintage Mall beneath a long-running pop-up of his golf fashion brand Bogey Boys on 10th Ave before it pulled up stakes and moved to the University Village mall.
CAPITOL HILL VINTAGE
- Lifelong Thrift, 312 Broadway E (CHS)
- Out of the Closet Thrift, 1016 E Pike (CHS)
- Goodwill, 115 Belmont Ave E (CHS)
- Pretty Parlor, 119 Summit Ave E (CHS)
- Revival, 233 Broadway E (CHS)
- Crossroads Trading Co., 325 Broadway E (CHS)
- Spin Cycle, 321 Broadway E (CHS)
- Twice Sold Tales, 1833 Harvard Ave (CHS)
- Slow Dance, 909 E Pike (CHS)
While McCloskey’s enthusiasm for vintage powers the new market, Mendoza said the feel of a late night party is also key to the experience. Shopping at the vintage market should be a good time. Maybe bring a friend — the Pike/Pine party scene’s potential for drunk shopping is powerful. Despite the fun of responsible drunk shopping, Late Night Vintage Market will never be a bar but Mendoza said she hopes to get a license to be able to serve drinks for special events soon.
Late Night Vintage Market is located at 517 E Pike. You can learn more from @latenightvintagemarket.
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