(Image: Fuel Coffee)

A 19th Ave E coffee shop is back in motion and the neighborhood has a new book shop. The Fuel Coffee transition into the Ada’s family of cafes and bookstores has completed its first transformation with the 19th Ave E cafe finally reopened with a new look and plenty of new shelves lined with books.

Owner Danielle Hulton took CHS on a quick tour of the updated cafe’s blue and grey look and robust offering of new books for sale. The mix of titles represents many of the spines you might find at the science and tech-oriented 15th Ave E Ada’s Technical Books plus a more literary stream of selections and books for kids, Hulton said.

(Image: Fuel Coffee)

(Image: Fuel Coffee)

(Image: Fuel Coffee)

(Image: Fuel Coffee)

Transformations of the other Fuel locations will follow with work just started in Montlake. Hulton said, sadly, the Montlake space’s unique floor-based electrical outlets left over from its days as a library won’t survive the remodel because there were tripping hazards. With the Montlake Fuel overhaul underway, work is wrapping up across the street on another food and drink addition to the neighborhood as Sea Wolf Bakers is nearing completion of its new cafe and bakery.

There is also a renewed wealth of cafe food and drink options around 19th Ave E’s end of the Hill where the Volunteer Park Cafe reopened this month under new ownership.

New book sellers have also joined the nearby mix with “bibliotherapeutic” Oh Hello Again and its selection of books organized by topics like “mental health, everyday problems, bettering yourself” open on 15th Ave E.

CHS reported here in May of 2020 on the Ada’s acquisition of Fuel from founder Dani Cone as Danielle and David Hulton set out on a plan to expand their mix of cafes and bookshops across the city. Ada’s arrived on 15th Ave E in fall 2013 after the Hultons made a big leap and bought the dilapidated old home of Horizon Books to refurbish, enhance, and overhaul into a new chapter for a “technical” book shop. In the fall of 2014, they opened coworking space The Office in the upstairs of the addition. In 2018, the Hultons built on their cafe and coffee program with one of the more unexpected link-ups in Capitol Hill food+drink history. The Lounge by AT&T and Ada’s Discovery Cafe opened in 2018 on E Thomas project just off Broadway in the newly constructed Vertex Apartments. Ada’s Discovery was part neighborhood coffee shop, part AT&T sales and marketing. The plug was pulled on the experiment during the pandemic.

After months of pandemic delays, challenges, and pop-ups to help keep the neighborhood fully caffeinated and staff working, the overhaul of 19th Ave E cafe has finally wrapped up. Along the way, Fuel 19th lost a neighbor — and gained a new one.

The overhaul and Board and Vellum redesign has preserved the bench and alcove setup of the original space, mirroring the layout now on both sides of the cafe, while also adding shelves for new books for sale throughout the space.

Meanwhile, the coffee bar has an expanded and improved kitchen area plus new room in the back for training as Hulton said the 19th Ave E cafe will become a flagship of sorts for the growing company’s coffee ventures. Some of the gear from the old Discovery Cafe now lives at Fuel 19th Ave E. Ada’s has also started roasting its own coffee, Hulton said.

Fuel Coffee is located at 610 19th Ave E and open daily from 7 AM to 5 PM. You can learn more at fuelcoffeeseattle.com.

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