T
he growth of a food and drink family at Summit and Pine will include two big scoops of Capitol Hill nostalgia with a new restaurant echoing the spirit of the neighborhood’s long gone “red-sauce joints” like Machiavelli and Vito’s plus a new bar honoring one of Capitol Hill’s one-time favorite date spots.
The Pike Street Hospitality Group has announced Uncle Dom’s Italian Kitchen and Bar Tango will open next month in the former E Pine Mezcaleria Oaxaca space: Continue reading
Outer Planet’s final creation: the Golden Record DIPA with Peach (Image: Outer Planet)
The days of craft brewing Seattle beer in the core of the city on Capitol Hill are probably done. This week, tiny Outer Planet Brewing is marking its final rotations on 12th Ave.
“It’s hardly viable to run a craft brewery when the costs are what they are on the Hill,” co-owner Gabriel Villenave tells CHS. ”
Smaller breweries closing, consolidation of larger breweries taking over,” Villenave says is the general trend in the industry anyhow.
Outer Planet is set to close for good Saturday after giving neighbors and patrons a few weeks to say goodbye. Continue reading
Brothers Nano and Mahmoud Farajallah and friend Abdullah Alabed
Capitol Hill has a new gathering spot. Mintish, a Levantine-inspired coffee shop on Harvard Ave E, represents both a business venture and a cultural bridge for brothers Mahmoud and Nano Farajallah and friend and business partner Abdullah Alabed.
The cafe is now open at 515 Harvard Ave E in a space that the owners transformed themselves from what was once the last vestige of legendary Capitol Hill hangout Bauhaus.
Mahmoud Farjallah, who was born in Seattle but raised in the Middle East, returned to Washington 12 years ago to study accounting at the University of Washington. His friend Alabed grew up in Jordan. Both are Palestinian-American, and their family story reflects the displacement many Palestinian families have experienced over generations. Nano was in Dubai during the interview with CHS.
“My dad was born in Gaza,” Mahmoud Farajallah explained during the shop’s soft opening week. “Unfortunately, I never went to Palestine, but it always grew up with me.” Continue reading
Capitol Hill’s much-loved circus bar the Unicorn remains closed and under repair following water and smoke damage from a fire in its neighboring building in July. A community fundraiser has been launched to support its workers:
The business is working to recover, but Unicorn remains closed as we restore the space. While the doors may be shut, the world continues to move forward, leaving so many without work. Drag artists, bartenders, security, kitchen staff, and management are all in limbo as the wait continues.
A pillar of Capitol Hill’s craft cocktail scene is in new hands. Tavern Law has new ownership with neighborhood connections.
(Image: Tavern Law)
The 12th Ave cocktail joint announced business partners Ken Jones and Saulo Cruz will lead the tavern into its next chapter:
The story continues…For years, Tavern Law has been a gathering place for friends, neighbors, and cocktail lovers alike. Today, we’re excited to welcome Saulo & Ken as the new owners.🖤 With a passion for people and a love of craft, they’re here to keep the heartbeat of Tavern Law alive while building new traditions for the community we love. Here’s to cocktails, connection, and the next chapter together.
The pairing places Tavern Law into a growing Capitol Hill food and drink family. Continue reading
(Image: @romaroma.pizza)
It will be “a Roman holiday every day” as a familiar face in the long ago Linda Derschang Capitol Hill food and drink empire returns to Seattle for his triumphant pizza return.
Roma Roma is currently under construction in the former Rachel’s Ginger Beer space below the 12th Ave Arts building.
The new project is taking shape as chef Forrest Brunton returns to the city and neighborhood where he formerly held down the kitchens at various Derschang-era joints including Oddfellows and Smith. Continue reading
Cafe Calaveras is now open at Broadway and Yesler (Image: Cafe Calaveras)
There may be closings, shutterings, and shufflings, but the Capitol Hill area’s cafe scene seems to be thriving.
Amid a flurry of 12th Ave food+drink closures, First Hill-born Sugar Bakery is making plans for its second Capitol Hill opening in recent months. City permits — and a CHS tipster — indicate a new Sugar is being lined up for the former Plum Chopped lunch and salad spot. Continue reading
The 12th Ave RGB
Summer is ending with a flurry of food and drink closure announcements on Capitol Hill’s 12th Ave. The burst of shutdowns is sure to set off a wave of “Capitol Hill is dying” worries but there are already signs of new additions coming to the street.
The most surprising may be the exit of Rachel’s Ginger Beer from its space on the street level of the 12th Ave Arts building. The 12th Ave RGB closed suddenly heading into Labor Day Weekend and already has its windows papered over with no opportunity for regulars to say goodbye. The company said in its announcement only that its lease had expired. Continue reading
As a generation of Capitol Hill’s biggest, most ambitious food and drink projects fades and shutters, many new smaller neighborhood projects are focused on community and space along with the hospitality and flavors.
Calling Open Form a cafe sells the concept short. “A gathering space inspired by the art of Persian hospitality. Persian tea, coffee, and natural wine — by reservation,” the new project is set to debut next week above E Pike Continue reading
(Image: Mamnoon)
A Capitol Hill “window” into the world and flavors of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine is closing. Mamnoon has announced its final day of service on Melrose will be Sunday, September 14th.
“Mamnoon was also your window into our world. It was important for us to connect Seattleites to the struggles of people in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, and connect our global communities to Seattle. And to be a part of a first wave of forward thinking Levantine restaurants that allowed the world to understand our people as resilient, culturally proud, and creative people,” owners Wassef and Racha Haroun said in the announcement.
CHS reported here on the November 2012 debut of the “modern union of Middle Eastern cuisines” born in a beautifully renovated 1928 automotive garage at 1510 Melrose Ave across the street from the then-booming Melrose Market complex. Wassef was a local tech entrepreneur who served as chief technology officer in creating then Odd Fellows building-headquartered King of the Web. Continue reading
