One person was hospitalized and the Seattle Fire Department was investigating the cause after a Sunday apartment fire on the ninth floor of 14th Ave E’s Capitol Park building.
Seattle Fire was called to the 1971-built Seattle Housing Authority building just before 5 PM to a report of fire and smoke on an upper floor of the 11-story building
One occupant was rescued from the unit and taken to the hospital for treatment. Continue reading
(Image: Ramie)
By Domenic Strazzabosco
Trinh and Thai Nguyen (Image: Ramie)
In spring and summer 2024, Capitol Hill welcomed several new bars and restaurants to The Hill. CHS checked in with owners to see how the first year of business has been and what residents can expect to see and experience in the upcoming year. In Part 1, CHS talked to Koko’s Restaurant and Tequila Bar on 10th and Broadway’s Chandelier Lounge. This time around, we visited with 14th Ave’s Ramie.
Trinh Nguyen, who co-owns Ramie with her brother Thai, said they’re happy with the way the first year has gone and how Capitol Hill has responded to the restaurant’s approach to Vietnamese cuisine.
“The first year is always like a whirlwind. You never really know what to expect until you open,” Nguyen said. “We’re super happy with what we’ve accomplished so far. I can’t even believe that it’s already been a year — like it went by so fast.” Continue reading
(Image: Raku)
(Image: Raku)
The mysterious, many month renovation at 14th and Pine’s Regent Bakery and Cafe has produced a major change. The Chinese food and whipped cream cakes are gone. In their place, you will now find the tabletop hot plates and vents of shabu shabu Japanese hot pot.
Raku Shabu Shabu is now open at 1404 E Pine meaning CHS readers passing by the corner can take a break — We don’t need another tip on this one!
After more than a decade on the block, the Capitol Hill expansion of Regent went dark into the winter and through the spring with only a paper sign in the window explaining the joint was closed for renovations. Typically, that kind of status for a neighborhood restaurant for more than a month or two means a permanent closure.
But the regent space is relatively unusual in Capitol Hill food and drink. Continue reading
CHS would feel bad showing you the sincere effort going on at E Union’s new restaurant 8 Ping Yang — but they know what they are in for. The food and drink business is a brutal one but the first time restaurateur behind the new Asian grill joint has a seasoned business partner. Both are giving their all at 8 Ping Yang. Continue reading
CHS started spring reporting on the economic conditions behind a slowdown in development and the disappearance of design reviews and construction cranes from Capitol Hill. There is an exception to the trend — a busy crane hard at work above 14th and Union.
The Tanager Apartments project broke ground last summer and is one of the few major multifamily housing currently under construction in the central city. The project from the Euclid Development was designed by 15th Ave E’-headquartered Board and Vellum.
The seven-story, 138-unit mixed-use development is being built to jigsaw into the block between Chop Suey and queer bars Madison Pub and Diesel at 14th and Madison. The businesses remain open through the ruckus and growth. Continue reading
The Seattle Police Department says it arrested the suspect in a small series of arson fires around Capitol Hill Wednesday morning.
Multiple dumpster fires were reported on the morning including a fire at 14th and Pike reported just before 9 AM and another in the 1200 block of Boylston around 9:22 AM,
SPD reported the suspect appeared to be circling the area on foot setting the fires, according to East Precinct radio updates.
Police were able to track the suspect down thanks to 911 callers. The 45-year-old was booked into King County Jail for investigation of reckless burning.
Seattle Fire says its crews were able to quickly handle the dumpster fires without significant damage or injuries.
By Matt Dowell
The demand for turnkey food and drink spaces in Seattle’s Capitol Hill and Central District cores remains high as 8 at Ping Yang, a “Thai charcoal grill concept,” is slated to open in late April on E Union in the former home of OOLA.
“We’re not doing traditional Thai, per se,” said Ben Evans, the new and first-time owner. “We’re trying to come up with newer fusion flavors.“
Check the menu posted on the front door for examples: Dungeness crab cake with Phuket curry sauce, khao-soi and ribeye, Thai green curry pasta, Thai tea crème brûlée.
8 at Ping Yang will share some flavors with its Ti22 Belltown cousin (Image: Ti22)
Evans is partnered with Suttabusya “Ice” Thiraphan, a seasoned Seattle restaurateur and head chef. Ice runs Ti22 in Belltown, which serves “authentic Thai food made from Ice’s grandmother’s recipes”. He’s also listed as head chef at Basilic Essentially Thai in Queen Anne, and was owner of the now-closed Fish Cake Factory in Belltown.
“This is my first time on the operational and owner side of the business versus just being an employee,” said Evans. “So this is a whole new world for me.”
“I brought Ice on board to be a mentor and someone I can learn from.” Continue reading
Kirby Kallas-Lewis and KT Niehoff’s “all time favorite spot in their all time favorite neighborhood” will be available again.
The OOLA Capitol Hill restaurant has shuttered while its Georgetown craft spirits distillery will carry on.
The 14th and Union restaurant had been shuttered for a prolonged “temporary closure” that is now permanent. CHS checked in with Kallas-Lewis a few weeks back but the owners weren’t certain about their plans. Over the weekend, they posted the sad decision:
Kirby and I want to share with you that we will be closing our OOLA Capitol Hill Restaurant, effective immediately.
It has been a true pleasure sharing our little oasis on Capitol Hill with you all. Thank you for the magical moments and energy you’ve brought into the space, and for being so present for this great experiment.
But the couple reports the OOLA Distillery “lives on.” Continue reading
With reporting by Alex Garland
In better times, you would hear more about the Heartwood, a recently completed mass-timber affordable apartment building at the core of Capitol Hill and the Central District, that puts its residents in direct contact with a building material more closely connected with the planet and the feelings of home.
The cross-laminated timber project is one of the first in the country to be designed with full exposure of mass timber in the structure. The newly opened building’s eight stories feature full exposure of its timber beams so residents and visitors can see, touch, and feel the wood. Other types can build higher — like this project on First Hill — but require that the wood be kept “encapsulated.”
But the Heartwood’s amazing composition has been overshadowed.
“[The timing surrounding the development and lease up of the Heartwood has presented challenges,” a spokesperson for the building’s developer Community Roots Housing tells CHS. “We’re seeing a softened rental market that has led to a slower lease up of the property than we anticipated, which is having an impact on other projects in our pipeline.” Continue reading
(Image: Ramie)
Trinh and Thai Nguyen (Image: Ramie)
Now outfitted in a palette of charcoal and jade, a 14th Ave space has gone back into motion as the home for new Capitol Hill “contemporary Vietnamese” restaurant Ramie.
The new project from sibling chefs Trinh and Thai Nguyen opened last week and is already drawing reviews on level with their Bainbridge Island original Ba Sa.
The Nguyens say Ramie is focused on innovation and creativity in Vietnamese cuisine driven by flavors including Bánh Tiêu fried bread with honey butter, MắmKho Quet with taro puree, mam, anchovies, shrimp powder, and chicharron, Bắp Cải Cuộn cabbage pork rolls, Mosaic Bò Tái Chanh with wagyu, Giò Giả Cầy crispy pork trotters with butter lettuce, shiso, diep ca, rau ram, serrano, purple radish, and pickled garlic, and a raw bar that not only features oc but a variety of Vietnam’s favorite sea snails.
“We’re creating a menu that will offer dishes that have a familiar flavor profile, but with an innovative twist and more refined look,” Trinh Nguyen said in the announcement of Ramie’s debut. Continue reading
