Post Options fire cause ruled to be accidental, fundraiser underway

From Ruben in the CHS Facebook Group

The cause of Wednesday’s fire that seriously damaged the Post Options business center at 12th and Pike has been ruled an accident.

A Seattle Fire Department spokesperson says investigators determined the just before 8:30 PM fire’s cause officially as “accidental.”

SFD’s response was briefly interrupted after the fire was brought under control by the discovery a “suspicious device” later determined to be damaged wiring.

Damage to the two-story. commercial building and business was set at $175,000, according to SFD. The neighboring building home to the Unicorn bar also suffered water and smoke damage. Continue reading

Say goodbye to the Foreign National as Stateside’s neighbor bar shuts down

(Image: Foreign National)

Capitol Hill French Vietnamese restaurant Stateside is shuttering its neighboring bar Foreign National after seven years of business on E Pike.

The lower Pike lounge announced the planned closure Thursday:

Thank you Seattle!!! It’s been a great run, one that ends tonight. Drop by if you can.

Stateside arrived on Capitol Hill in late 2014 as chef and owner Eric Johnson was excited to debut his first food and drink venture amid “the best concentration of restaurants in Seattle.”

Foreign National followed two years later in the summer of 2016 as Johnson tried to downplay the hype. “We’re really surprised and grateful for what seems to be a great deal of interest,” Johnson told CHS at the time. “But it’s tiny. And we’re a little bit scared.” Continue reading

Capitol Hill Community Post | After a hate crime runaround by SPD, here is why we need queer-led safety on Capitol Hill

From Tim Marshall/Resident
On Friday, July 11th, 2025, around 6:40pm, I was about to cross a marked crosswalk on East Olive Way, heading home after a workout at a local gym. This is a notoriously busy crosswalk, and several cars blazed through the intersection before it was safe to cross. A dark-colored sedan approached as I stepped out and the sedan continued without pause, so I stepped back. I was annoyed, so I flipped off the driver. For reference, I am a 35-year old cisgender white man who is visibly queer. I would describe myself as an assertive pedestrian, one who routinely sees drivers ignore crosswalks, and feels empowered to communicate my urge for drivers to be cautious in my neighborhood. The driver returned the finger after driving for half a block. I was amused at the driver’s reaction, a man in his early 20s, and I performatively blew him a kiss. This is a rarer reaction of mine, and is intended to de-escalated a tense situation. I crossed the street alongside a queer couple in their 40s, assuming the event had passed. I passed CC Attle’s, a longstanding queer establishment on Boylston Ave, and continued walking south towards home. I passed a handful of bar goers and fellow pedestrians, fiddling with my phone.

 

CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY POSTS 
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I made it three quarters down the block before I noticed the same dark colored sedan parked in front of me. The driver approached me sternly, eyes narrowed, asking me a question I could not hear over the music roaring through my headphones. I popped out one earbud, offering a placid ‘what?’ before he squared up in front of me and punched me between the eyes. I fell to the sidewalk, landing roughly on my right arm, and he continued to punch me and kick me in the front and back of my head, yelling “don’t you ever blow me another kiss, faggot”. After maybe 30 seconds of blows, he turned around and taunted “are you going to blow me another kiss, faggot?” I was stunned, shouted an expletive, and after threatening me again with clenched fists, I retreated, shouting “I’m sorry!” I quickly pulled myself to my feet. An Amazon driver cautiously approached, asking “are you okay?” Panicked, I blurted out “yeah!” and kept walking. I passed another woman who met my eyes and then sheepishly looked back to her phone. Continue reading

Paper Fan: Hidden above a Capitol Hill spicy noodle shop, this tea-infused cocktail bar is not a secret

(Image: Paper Fan)

(Image: Paper Fan)

CHS is only one year late to the party. When it comes to a dimly lit speakeasy above the neighborhood spicy noodle shop, that’s not bad.

But Paper Fan Cocktail Bar is no secret. It was named one of the 11 best new bars in America by Bon Appetit

… in June…

2024.

So, yes, CHS is very late on the little sister of Biang Biang Noodles that has been burning up bandwidth with post after Instagram post from influencers taking their turn at the “tea-infused cocktail bar” secreted away above 601 E Pike for more than a year now. Continue reading

‘Your Voice Matters’ — Police Commission seeks ‘community members impacted’ by Seattle Police crackdown on Cal Anderson May 24 protest

The Seattle Community Police Commission is seeking accounts of the experiences of demonstrators and park-goers caught up in the SPD response to protests against an anti-trans and reproductive rights Christian rally in Cal Anderson in May.

“Your experience can help inform our work and ensure community perspectives are part of upcoming reviews and policy recommendations,” the flyer being sent to LGBTQ community groups reads.

The Saturday, May 24th Christian rally ended with police moving on demonstrators protesting the event from On Fire Ministries, a Spokane-based religious group that has grown under Christian fundamentalist pastor and former state representative Matt Shea and is supported by anti-LGBTQ religious activist Sean Feucht. There were multiple arrests but no significant charges made against demonstrators. Continue reading

Post Options building damaged in fire at 12th and Pike — UPDATE

Thanks to a CHS reader for the picture from the scene

The response on E Pike stretched into the night after the building was temporarily evacuated by Seattle Fire when a “suspicious item” was found. It was later determined to not be a danger and the effort to put the fire fully out continued (Image: Matt Mitgang)

A fire damaged the Capitol Hill building neighboring the Unicorn bar and home to the Post Options business and post office box center Wednesday night.

Seattle Fire reported a “suspicious device” was found at the scene according to emergency radio updates but no further details were immediately available. SFD cleared the area after the item was found but later re-entered the building to complete the response after it was determined the device was not a danger. Continue reading

Fostering communities and open mics, Capitol Hill’s Hopvine Pub is turning 30

Summer will end on Capitol Hill with one of the neighborhood’s most enduring beer institutions preparing to mark a significant milestone. In September, Hopvine Pub will celebrate 30 years of pouring craft beers, serving comfort food, and fostering communities and open mics at its 15th Ave location.

The story of the Hopvine is fully linked to Seattle’s craft beer revolution. When owner Bob Brenlin first opened the doors in 1995, the city’s beer landscape looked dramatically different.

“Back in ’95, we were one of the first places focusing exclusively on local microbrews,” Brenlin recalls, leaning against the well-worn bar that has borne witness to three decades of stories. Continue reading

Capitol Hill crystal shop owner and candidate for City Council says launching initiative effort to ban homeless camping in Seattle

(Image: Savage Citizens)

Rachael Savage, the Capitol Hill business owner and longshot challenger for Alexis Mercedes Rinck’s citywide Seattle City Council Position 8 seat, says she is making her next campaign a citizen initiative “to direct those living on the streets to detox-treatment-shelter or face arrest” and ban camping in the city.

“This is the compassionate way,” Savage said in the announcement of the filing.

To qualify the citizen initiative for the ballot, Savage will need to collect registered voter signatures equal to 10% of the total votes cast for mayor in the most recent mayoral election. That’s around 26,000 signatures.

The initiative is said to be modeled on a similar proposal being pursued for an initiative at the county level. Continue reading

Mayor touts Seattle Police recruitment moving past 100 new hires so far in 2025

Seattle Police are now above 100 new hires in 2025 as the city and Mayor — and candidate — Bruce Harrell continue to tout a turnaround at the department after years of struggles to bolster dwindling ranks.

The latest update comes after last year’s 84 hires as SPD eked out a small victory by bringing on one more officer than it reported losing.

The press release from the mayor’s office touts the hundred-hire milestone but doesn’t include statistics on the department’s current ranks.

CHS reported here in April as Harrell and new SPD Chief Shon Barnes said that improved hiring totals were being driven by an influx of candidates with the department receiving 1,218 officer applications by the end of the first quarter this year, compared to 690 applications at that point in 2024. Continue reading

Mintish, a ‘Levantine🇵🇸🇯🇴🇱🇧🇸🇾-inspired Coffee House’ with Seattle vibes, coming to Capitol Hill

Thanks for the picture and tip, Tammy Jo

There are lots of ways CHS gathers local news. Ohe of our favorites is the reader tip. The latest comes to us from the CHS Facebook Group where longtime reader Tammy Jo got the scoop on a new cafe coming to Harvard Ave E — welcome Mintish:

Their tagline is Levantine roots. Seattle vibes. ❤️ We walked by and met Nano, who is opening Mintish with his brother in late August. (space was the former Bauhaus reboot) Coffee Teas and Food. Super friendly + the renovations look fresh & welcoming.

The new project is coming along in the Rubix Apartments building space where the Bauhaus reboot sputtered to a recent stop. Continue reading