(Image: Bananthony’s Bodega)

There is a practical purpose behind Capitol Hill stoner snack and street style shop Bananthony’s Bodega but the business in the back is nearly as wacky as the party in the front.

“We wanted to be part of the community,” Capitol Hill entrepreneur and cartoonist Ethan Jones tells CHS about Bananthony’s arrival around the corner from the commerce of 15th Ave E where the new shop has moved in next to new roommate Ruckus Recreational Cannabis and across the street from the neighborhood’s Uncle Ike’s.

“If I sell snacks on the corner of weed and weed, I have a feeling I’ll be able to cover rent,” Jones quips.

Who wants ice cream (Image: Bananthony’s Bodega)

Bananthony’s Bodega is many things but at its core it is a retail front-end for Petty Snacks, the streetwear, goods, and trading card brand Jones has built with collaborators Bryson Bayot and David Hoffman around the 420-friendly adventures and lack thereof of an anthropomorphic banana character named Bananthony. Jones and Bayot are the artist and voices behind the cartoon and are hard at work on a new season.

Jones says the search for a Capitol Hill studio space ultimately led the Capitol Hill-based team to the tribe at Ruckus. The E Republican pot shop has been part of the neighborhood since 2015, beating Seattle pot magnate Ian Eisenberg to the punch. Though a nearby Ike’s soon followed, Ruckus has done its cannabis thing as an Eisenberg alternative for more than a decade.

Last year as Petty Snacks was searching for a home for a new office and studio space, Jones said Ruckus was ready to make room for the company. Giving the project a retail front-end that is part stoner snack shop, part brand showcase grew from there.

While it might seem like the kind of idea you get on April 20th at 4:20 PM, Jones said Petty Snacks was inspired by other similar projects including Mystery Made’s setup in West Seattle.

“We just wanted a place to showcase who we are,” Jones said. “Nobody knew that Petty Snacks was from Seattle.”

Bananthony’s Bodega is getting to know its neighbors. Jones said part of opening here was to connect more with his own neighborhood. Jones says you’ll see some of his artwork appearing at nearby 15th Ave E businesses and that Petty Snacks will continue to support events at the street’s Quality Flea Center.

Over the past eight years, Petty Snacks has grown thanks in large part to its presence on the shelves in malls across the nation in the Zumiez skatewear chain. Despite its name, its focus has been on clothing and merch.

The bodega is a different mix, built around actual snacks, drinks, and junk food while also featuring Petty Snacks designs, cartoon artwork, and its growing entry into the Trading Card Game market — Munchies Mayhem.

Bananthony’s is a space for the company to stretch out and try new things. Jones says their “FUCK ICE” merch — not something you’ll see on the shelf at Zumiez — is the Capitol Hill store’s bestselling.

With a black and white checkerboard floor, bright paint job, and a growing set of custom fixtures like their Petty Snacks-designed mirror, Jones and crew have done a bit of world-building at Bananthony’s. It is a shop for a slightly different universe. Even the video games take custom Bananthony’s tokens.

(Image: Bananthony’s Bodega)

They hope the shop will grow as a hangout and a space to host events and TCG tournaments.

Bananthony’s Bodega is also trying out new ways to generate buzz and attention. Recent videos highlight Tik Tok worthy soda and candy cocktails they’ll mix up in the shop with brain-rattling amounts of sugar and otherworldly levels of brightly colored ingredients.

It’s juvenile and fun.

Jones, whose 13-year-old has helped with the shop’s creation, says he is sensitive to the associations between Bananthony’s Bodega and cannabis use when it comes to kids. He says Bananthony’s won’t post any overt drug use references in the shop.

“The most loud thing we do is all the Fuck ICE stuff we have. And as a dad in the climate we are in now, I am ok with my 13-year-old witnessing that activism,” Jones says.

But the feelings of being mellow, open-minded, and, yes, even high on life, those are universal, Jones said.

“Our brand is really about inclusivity,” Jones said. “We feel like everybody should be a little chill-er. Everybody.”

He also wants to get it right and make his shop a positive part of the neighborhood.

“I love Capitol Hill,” Jones said. “It’s where I’ve chosen to raise my family.”

Bananthony’s Bodega is located at 1465 E Republican. Follow @bananthonysbodega for updates.

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 🖤