Outer Planet opened in 2015 — its sign dated to “2014 reflects some of the early optimism and challenges in running a microbrewery
There is a new hope for Capitol Hill-brewed craft beer. A new owner imbued with the force of beer making has stepped forward at 12th Ave’s Outer Planet.
“I figured it’s now or never,” Amory Carhart tells CHS about his decision to swoop in for a beyond the last second revival of the Capitol Hill microbrewery. Continue reading
Marches and “fast food strikes” like this one in 2015 outside the First Hill McDonald’s were part of the push for the new minimum wage
Seattle’s minimum wage for 2026 will be rise to $21.30 an hour, the Office of Labor Standards announced this week.
The 2.6% bump will be effective January 1st and reflects “the rate of inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) for the Seattle Tacoma Bellevue area.”
“The minimum wage applies regardless of the employee’s immigration status,” the OLS reminds in its announcement.
The annual setting of the inflation-pegged wage change comes as Seattle marked ten years of the “$15 Now” minimum wage in the city.
The movement began with calls for a $15 an hour minimum wage. It took Seattle seven years to get there. Continue reading
(Image: Half and Half Doughnut Co.)
Capitol Hill appears to be down another doughnut shop. This one has been closed since mid-month, its website isn’t working, and its ownership… well, it’s confusing. But, depending on who you ask, these might have been the best doughnuts on Capitol Hill.
Half and Half Doughnut Co. debuted on E Pike six years ago October. At the time, CHS made much of Half and Half’s craft doughnut roots as Top Pot founder Michael Klebeck said he was getting back into the small batch fried dough game in the building where his Sun Liquor Distillery was located before moving off the Hill.
After the shop went dark earlier this month, Klebeck told CHS he didn’t know what was going on either.
Klebeck says he had been a “hired gun” who “helped build and launch the concept but was never part of ownership.” Continue reading
King County Public Health is looking for two people who may have come into contact with a rabid bat found outside a residence near the Washington Park Arboretum last week.
Officials say the encounter apparently involved people who found the injured animal and provided it water, according to a note left on the door of a Boyer Ave E home:
The bat was first identified on September 23, 2025. A King County resident found a note on their door indicating that two unknown people had given the bat water and alerting the resident to the sick bat. The bat was euthanized by an animal control agency on September 24. Public Health tested the bat for rabies and received a positive test on September 25.
Pierre Poulin’s passion for perfectly layered croissants has found a new home on Capitol Hill. The French pastry chef, who operates two Petit Pierre Bakery locations in Magnolia and Phinney Ridge, has opened a six-month pop-up inside Capitol Hill’s Metier, bringing his meticulous approach to French pastries to a new neighborhood.
“We do several bakes a day,” Poulin said . “We have our first bake that comes out around 7 am, then we have a second bake that comes out at 10, and a third bake that comes at 1. At one PM, you’re still getting fresh product coming out of the oven, and the difference is just striking.” Continue reading
(Image: Community Roots Housing)
Community Roots Housing — the public development authority born decades ago as Capitol Hill Housing — has named its next leader.
The developer and operator of affordable housing across Capitol Hill and the city has announced Colleen Echohawk as its new Chief Executive Officer. Community Roots called Echohawk “an established champion of Seattle’s Native and under-resourced populations” in its announcement.
Echohawk, then the Chief Seattle Club executive director, mounted an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2021 championing creation of a “Public Safety Department” including “community-based mental health workers and neighborhood liaisons.” Continue reading
From the CHS Facebook Group
One person was reported shot in the leg and two people were suffering from exposure to pepper spray in a late Sunday afternoon incident at Broadway and Harrison.
Seattle Police and Seattle Fire were called to the reported shooting just after 4 PM and responded to find a woman suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg, Two males at the scene were reportedly being treated for exposure to pepper spray, according to East Precinct radio updates. Continue reading
Monday brings a neighborhood team effort as the Seattle political season heads into the stretch run toward November with a candidates forum from the Capitol Hill Community Council and the Eastlake Community Council… in Montlake.
It will be a collaborative effort as the candidates for Seattle City Council Position 9, Seattle City Attorney, and the Seattle School Board races are slated to take part in the event.
The councils are promising “a chance to hear directly from the people seeking to represent us.” Continue reading
(Image: CHS)
Capitol Hill safety issues go viral in candidate’s tour with Broadway business owner — UPDATE
(Image: Club 29)
By Domenic Strazzabosco
On the third Wednesday of every month, in the back section of E Pike’s Elysian Capitol Hill Brewery, queer cribbage group Club 29 meets to play the centuries-old game. With roughly two dozen attendees, the players gather for a few hours in a round robin-style, many also enjoying a bite to eat or a draft beer from the local brewery.
Tim Maass founded the club almost three years ago after he noticed a friend from a gay dodgeball group posting about the table game on Instagram. He recalled thinking to himself, “Wait, other gay millennials play cribbage?” Maass then posted on social media, asking if others he knew played, and instantly got enough comments to coordinate a meetup. A friend offered space at their restaurant, Otter Bar & Burger in Eastlake, where the group originally formed.
Last fall, a TikTok featuring the group’s custom rainbow board quickly accumulated over 40 thousand views and culminated in another monthly Seattle meetup, as well as one in Tacoma and another in Everett. The Seattle locations now include Elysian Brewing and Baja Bistro in Beacon Hill on the first Tuesday.
Going on three years since his first Facebook post, Maass has only missed one meetup, and now considers the unofficial title “That Gay Cribbage Guy” to be the best he’s ever had. Continue reading
