Author Archives: Bryan Cohen

About Bryan Cohen

Bryan Cohen is a CHS reporter. Reach him at [email protected] and @bchasesc

Capitol Hill food+drink | Stateside crew plan to open a new venture next door

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Stateside’s sister venture will be located on the other side of its paned glass entrance. (Image: CHS)

Seattle’s best restaurant of 2015 is ready to expand on Capitol Hill.

After opening Stateside to much fanfare just over a year ago, the owners behind the E Pike Vietnamese restaurant are planning a brand new venture in a small space just next door. Stateside’s world-travelled chef/owner Eric Johnson tells CHS the concept and name of the project are still a secret.

Screen Shot 2016-01-14 at 4.04.17 PM“Stateside itself is not going to change at all,” Johnson said. “What’s happening next door is going to be its own thing.”

The new 756 square-foot bar space will echo the trend of recent Hill food and drink ventures rolling out smaller bars in accompaniment of their main restaurant space like Renee Erickson’s Bateau-Bar Melusine combo. Plus, for all the positive press Stateside has won in the past year, its cocktails sometimes get lost in the shuffle.

The project also adds yet another venue to our list of Capitol Hill food+drink projects to look forward to in 2016.

After rolling out a new brunch menu in November, being named Seattle Met’s restaurant of the year, and recording their biggest single day in sales last Saturday, Johnson and co-owner Seth Hammond are on a roll. With a consistent staff lineup and several mainstay dishes, Johnson said Stateside is now working to push the bar (of success) even higher.

“We’re just starting to hit that stride,” Johnson said. “We’re really focusing in on how good we can make everything.”

Expect more about the project and its planned opening date target to be announced in coming weeks. Continue reading →

23rd Ave small business owners say corridor overhaul is putting them on the ropes

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701 coffee trying to make the best out of a difficult situation with deals for road workers. (Image: 701 Coffee)

701 coffee tries to make the best out of a difficult situation with deals for road workers. (Image: 701 Coffee)

The massive overhaul of 23rd Ave, and all the near-term traffic headaches therein, are coming to the E Madison intersection this weekend. The intersection will close and the 11 and 48 busses will be rerouted along with car traffic as crews will work around the clock until Monday morning.

23rd Ave is a workhorse of a road, running along the backside of Capitol Hill and through the Central District connecting neighborhoods and commercial areas. The $46 million overhaul of 23rd between S Jackson and E John will transform the artery into a much more efficient, much safer route for cars, transit, pedestrians, and — thanks to an adjacent greenway — bicyclists. But like so many massive transportation construction projects, while the long road may bring promise, the first few miles of the process are pure pain for local merchants. The city’s Department of Transportation and Office of Economic Development have pitched in with extra signage and communicating work plans, but some owners are saying it’s not enough. Continue reading →

Assessing the state of Africatown amid rapid Central District redevelopment

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K. Wyking Garrett speaking during the Black Wall Street event. (Image: CHS)

In the struggle to forge a neighborhood identity in the same vein as the Chinatown/International District, Africatown has come to represent a movement as much as neighborhood — a movement to create more black institutions, businesses, and influence in the the Central District.

For K. Wyking Garrett, one of Africatown’s leading advocates, the question over Africatown’s struggle to establish itself gets to a much broader question.

“It’s like asking ‘why is it that African identity and contributions to America and the world aren’t lifted up and valued?’” Garett said. “It seems that many people brought their identity from their mother country into the Americas, but there was an erasure when it comes to Africans that were brought here.”

Garrett will be discussing that and more during the third annual State of Africatown event on Saturday afternoon at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center at 17th and E Yesler.

Africatown has made some promising strides over the past year. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | ‘There’s a starman waiting in the sky…’

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Bowie Remembered_9347Donning Ziggy Stardust makeup and appropriately bending their gender, Capitol Hill DJs and karaoke singers paid tribute Monday night to the passing of rock icon David Bowie.

Hours of Bowie’s hits played back-to-back at Pony and The Crescent Lounge (with the exception one guy belting out Sweet Home Alabama to celebrate yet another championship win for the Crimson Tide).

One Crescent singer, who identified herself as Lola Dangerzone, said Bowie was a liberating force in her life, the first to introduce her to glam rock, the concept of gender fluidity, and a group of friends who were similarly inspired by the prolific musician.

DJs at Pony started the night with Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed
A celebration of life at the Crescent

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“It’s about the experiences I’ve had while listening to his music,” she said. “That’s the kind of thing that will outlive his existence.”

If you didn’t make it out Monday night, there are still plenty of opportunities to celebrate Bowie’s life, including a Wednesday showing of Labyrinth at Central Cinema. You can find more Bowie events across Seattle over the coming days here.

Shouting over a rendition of Rebel, Rebel, Alyson Raye said heading to a bar to belt out Bowie classics just felt like the right way to honor his passing. “We got to do right by him,” she said.

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Seattle City Council sorting out how to connect to new districts

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Council member Sawant at her swearing-in ceremony earlier this month

Council member Sawant at her swearing-in ceremony earlier this month

As the new City Council settles in at City Hall, its seven district representatives are also starting to think about how to get out into their new constituent neighborhoods. During the campaign, candidates floated ideas like opening district offices, attending community council meetings, and holding coffee shop drop-in sessions.

In District 3, City Council member Kshama Sawant has one scheduled public appearance within the district’s bounds so far in the coming months. On Wednesday, Sawant will be participating in a panel discussion about jobs and equal employment issues held by the Multimedia Resources and Training Institute at the 2100 Building near 23rd Ave S and Rainier Ave S. A Sawant staffer told CHS there were no updates yet on plans for open office hours around the district, which includes Capitol Hill and the Central District. Continue reading →

Aiming for 2018 opening, corner retail space added to Broadway’s 16-story Whole Foods project

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Here’s one way to get small retail spaces included in Capitol Hill’s new projects. In their latest designs for a 16-story apartment tower and Whole Foods, developers have repurposed a bike storage area for a small retail space on the corner of Harvard and Spring.

The change was made in response to a November design review meeting where board members raised concerns that a bike storage area would not be welcoming to pedestrians. The bike stalls were moved to a different part of the building.

There are no details yet on a potential tenant for the 760-square-foot space, which will pale in comparison to the nearly 50,000 square foot, two-story space Whole Foods will occupy once the project is complete. But it could be a new commercial opportunity for some aspiring entrepreneur, nonetheless.Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 11.42.03 AM

It’s been almost a year since the design review board first saw plans for the 16-story apartment tower at Madison and Broadway. On Wednesday, developers behind the project will take what could be their last turn before the board.

1001 Broadway
View Design Proposal (6 MB)

Review Meeting: January 13, 2016, 6:30pm, Seattle University, 901 12th Ave, PIGT -Pigott 304 Classroom

Review Phase: REC–Recommendation See All Reviews
Project Number: 3019050 View Permit Status | View Land Use Notice
Planner: Lindsay King

Plans from developer Columbia Pacific Advisors and architects Tiscareno Associates call for 265 residential units and 358 below grade parking spaces. The project will require demolition of the existing three-story medical office. Columbia estimates work on the site will start by early summer and the entire project will be complete in mid-2018.

A representative from Whole Foods tells CHS the store is on track to open during the first quarter of 2018. Whole Foods is planning a standard format store, but customizes its offerings of prepared and made-to-order foods for each location. Whole Foods is currently studying the restaurant and grocery competition in the area, said the company representative, and will conduct direct surveys closer to opening to determine what customers want from the store.

Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 11.43.09 AMArchitects made a few other design changes ahead of Wednesday’s meeting. Additional stone was addd to the Madison-facing facade to create greater separation between the Whole Foods and residential entrance, and the building’s “corner roof brow” was extended for some extra flair.

In its announcement of the project, Columbia cited the coming First Hill Streetcar line and proximity to First Hill’s hospitals and nearby Seattle University as important factors in choosing the Broadway and Madison location. The developers acquired the property in 2008 for $21 million, according to King County Records.

Julia’s shifts to theater-first concept on Broadway after considering downtown move

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(Image: CHS)

(Image: CHS)

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(Image: Le Faux Show)

Over the past few months, the owners of Julia’s on Broadway spent hours discussing what Julia’s could gain — or lose — by leaving Capitol Hill.

The “queen of the brunch drag show” opened just 14 years ago at the corner of Broadway and E Thomas, but the neighborhood that inspired the bar / restaurant / performance space rapidly changed.

So much so that owners Karsten Betd and Eladio Preciado began to think if Julia’s was going to continue to draw a straighter, out-of-town crowd, why not go all in and move downtown?

“With the gay area not being here like it was back in the day, Julia’s changed to a majority of business (being) straight people,” said recently hired manager Michael Sullivan.

Ultimately, the owners decided to stay and invest their resources into remodeling their Broadway space. Now, Betd said he wants to focus on drawing those downtown tourists up the Hill for Julia’s shows. Continue reading →

‘Capitol Hill’ web series returns with uncut premiere at NW Film Forum

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11782272_395482093979095_8684651123582438947_oThe web series that combines soap opera histrionics, 1970’s-style sitcom hijinks, and over the top queer characters set in an alternate Capitol Hill universe has grown up and is coming to the big screen.

The creators of Capitol Hill are back with a second season and will be premiering it in its entirety January 12th at Northwest Film Forum. With support from a new major sponsor and a City of Seattle grant, the second season of the popular YouTube show promises to be even more impressive than the first.

“Season 2 is far more ambitious in every way,” said creator and director Wes Hurley. “The story lines are more complex and have a darker sinister edge.” Continue reading →

Mattress chain Sleep Train moving in on Broadway

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Not a Sleep Train mattress. Probably. (Image: CHS)

Not a Sleep Train mattress. Probably. (Image: CHS)

With at least 700 new apartment units slated to open on Capitol Hill in 2016, the mattresses for all those bedrooms will need to come from somewhere.

West Coast mattress giant Sleep Train is hoping to corner that market with a shop at Broadway and Harrison.

A spokesperson for the company told CHS the store was supposed to open this month in the space long occupied by a state-owned liquor store, but that it will likely be pushed back.

Selling mattresses in the heart of parking scarce, efficiency unit loaded Capitol Hill would appear to present some tall hurdles for the company. A major part of Sleep Train’s urban strategy involves mattress delivery, setup, and removal services, a representative for the company said. Continue reading →

Got a tampon? Menstrual supplies drive comes to Capitol Hill

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unnamedA new Seattle nonprofit that collects menstrual supplies for those in need is now accepting donations at Babeland on E Pike.

All Cycles collects tampons, pads, and underwear of all sizes and distributes supplies through community organizations. Donations from the group’s current drive, which ends February 20th, will be handed out at the Capitol Hill youth shelter Peace For The Streets By Kids From The Streets.

All Cycles began when Seattle designer Liz Andrade reached out to friends and family to raise awareness about the lack of menstrual supplies within the homeless LGBTQ community. Jes Olson and Hannah Stover immediately got in touch and the three developed All Cycles.

“Our first drive was more successful than we anticipated, and it’s just been awesome since then,” Stover said.

There are five other locations around the city for accepting donation to All Cycles.

Find out more by visiting All Cycles on Facebook.