Tag Archives: 15th Ave

Closed since a driver smashed into its entrance, Capitol Hill’s Coastal Kitchen ready to debut ‘fish house and oyster bar’ makeover

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(Image: Coastal Kitchen)

Closed since a driver crashed his car and totaled the entrance, Capitol Hill’s overhauled and reinvented Coastal Kitchen is ready to reopen on 15th Ave E.

Coastal says its planned grand opening will be Tuesday, December 6th — seven months after the scary crash that luckily caused no serious injuries but started the nearly 30-year-old restaurant on a new path.

CHS reported in September on the decision to leave Coastal Kitchen’s diner days behind and reshape the popular eatery with elevated Pacific Northwest dinner and weekend brunch. Lunch and weekday breakfast are off the menu. The rotating themed menus are long gone. Continue reading →

Mixed-use development to replace Hilltop Service Station finally ready to break ground on Capitol Hill

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(Image: CHS)

After years of process, pandemic, and soil remediation, construction is ready to begin on the five-story, nearly 70-unit mixed-use apartment building with underground parking for 21 vehicles that will reshape the corner of Capitol Hill’s 15th and Mercer.

The old Hilltop Service Station is being readied for demolition. A representative from Capitol Hill developer Hunters Capital said the project to replace it is finally ready to break ground. Continue reading →

Aviv Hummus Bar — Five years of ‘HOOM-uhs’ love on Capitol Hill

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David Nussbaum is passionate about Israeli food, and in particular, hummus — so much so, that he kept his restaurant, Aviv Hummus Bar, running through a pandemic that shuttered other successful restaurants in the neighborhood.

His is a passion that shows up in the hummus made fresh daily and the falafel fried fresh for each order, so it’s no wonder that on September 8th of 2022, he celebrated five years of serving not just Capitol Hill, but customers from all over Washington.

As the only “Hummus Bar” in the state, Nussbaum’s love for hummus is what keeps Aviv going.

“It’s a lifestyle. It’s simple, it’s sexy, it’s delicious. It can be eaten any time of the day; breakfast, lunch, dinner. And when it’s done right, when you don’t overload it with garlic and all these spices, and you have the best quality tahini, there’s just a flavor that you get from it that you can’t get with what I call “hummus” (“HUHM-uhs.”), which is like chunky and thick and all sorts of different flavors,” Nussbaum said. “So I’m really a purist when it comes to it. Keep it simple and clean and the nuttiness of the chickpea and the tahini come forward, it’s life changing.”

Continue reading →

Recipe for 10 years on Capitol Hill? At Bamboo, the energy of a new owner

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The Bamboo family with Nhat-Linh, far right (Image: Bamboo)

Lift a bottle above 15th Ave E to celebrate 10 at Bamboo (Image: Bamboo)

Not every restaurant that marks a decade on Capitol Hill has a concept. Some places — like Bamboo on 15th Ave E — survive through a combination of satisfying menus, fair prices, and, often, timely boosts of new energy.

Capitol Hill Vietnamese standard Bamboo is marking 10 years this summer under new ownership.

Vietnam native and long-time Seattle resident Nhat-Linh took over the restaurant perched above 15th earlier this year. It is the longtime food industry veteran’s first turn as an owner.

“The previous owner of Bamboo were getting tired,” said Linh, who said that she has had a long relationship with founder Thanh Le and refers to him as “brother.”

“Suddenly he said, ‘I’m too tired’ and he had to spend more time with the family, and he can’t work for so long because his health [is] not good anymore.”

Linh is now running Bamboo and her energy is a big part of the reason Bamboo is now marking 10 years on Capitol Hill. Continue reading →

Nook and Cranny Books: What if you read about a Capitol Hill bookstore for sale — and bought it?

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(Image: Nook and Cranny Books)

A chef hoping to someday mix her worlds of food and books is starting with the book end of things on Capitol Hill.

“I joke that it was, ‘I guess I’ll just go buy this book store,'” Maren Comendant tells CHS.

It kind of was.

Comendant is the proud new owner of Nook and Cranny Books, a tiny shop along 15th Ave E. CHS reported on the decision in March by Kari Ferguson to find a new owner to take over Oh Hello Again after just over a year of business at the little bookstore where she introduced the idea of retail bibliotherapy to Seattle with a shop organized by topics — “mental health, everyday problems, bettering yourself, relationships, travel, and many more.”

Comendant bought the business including Ferguson’s stock and set about shaping her own shop. She has stuck with the the bibliotherapeutic organization saying she and Ferguson share “a very similar literary aesthetic.” Continue reading →

Now at the top of Pike/Pine, Money Frog ready for new start on Capitol Hill

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(Image: Money Frog)

With its soft shell crab burgers in hand, Money Frog is ready to make a new start of it at the top of Pike/Pine.

The restaurant is opening its “Pan-Asian Lounge” Wednesday after a whirlwind beginning and end to its brief run on Capitol Hill’s quieter side along 19th Ave E.

There is still no word on what the Money Frog team including Joe and Lucy Ye of Hangry Panda  and Khampaeng “KP” Panyathong of Taurus Ox will do with the old Vios space they have left behind.

At 15th and Pine, the hope is for a better start. Continue reading →

‘A labor of love,’ Capitol Hill’s European Vine Selections marks 50 years of bringing fine wines to Seattle — and tasting every single one

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The wine world of the 1970’s was a wild time. The rising cost of imported wine was affecting American consumers and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms import laws around specific labeling for French and Spanish wine was cost prohibitive for small vintners. In 1972, to help counter these frustrations, four Seattle friends decided to open their own wine business, lessening the damage done to their own bank accounts, and in return starting a legacy of knowledge, passion, and decades of experience tasting wine that continues to this day on Capitol Hill.

European Vine Selections opened for four hours a week during the first two years at its original Fremont location, and in 1974, expanded hours and according to part-owner Tarik Burney, “they started expanding their hours and running it like a proper business”. On Valentine’s Day 1987 they opened the Capitol Hill shop in the same location it is now.

What Seattle benefits from a tiny shop along 15th Ave E on Capitol Hill is 50 years of a carefully crafted selection of wines from around the globe. Continue reading →

Checking in with Coastal Kitchen after another blow to Capitol Hill brunch

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(Image: Coastal Kitchen)

With Capitol Hill’s brunch scene taking a significant blow with the indefinite closure of Glo’s after an overnight fire earlier this week, CHS checked in on another popular neighborhood breakfast and more spot to find out how their recovery is coming along.

Jonathan Tweten of Coastal Kitchen said they’re nearly ready to begin construction and are expecting the city to issue permits soon for the repairs needed to stabilize the building and rebuild the 15th Ave E restaurant’s entry after last month’s bizarre ramming collision that left the popular venue’s doorway in shambles but fortunately caused no serious injuries. The driver has been charged in the incident.

Tweten said he expects about three to four weeks of construction once the permits are finally issued and work can begin. Continue reading →

SFD investigating 15th Ave house fire — UPDATE: Arson

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Seattle Fire is investigating what caused an early Monday morning fire that charred a 15th Ave home where a recent tragedy occurred.

SFD said it responded to the house fire in the 200 block of 15th Ave just after 6 AM. There were no initial reports of damage available. The fire was reported extinguished just before 6:30 AM.

The house is the Squire Park home where police found the body of Alice Scott on June 7th after her husband of 20 years reported he had shot and killed her days earlier after a quarrel. 89-year-old Isaac Ealy was arrested and charged in the murder.

Seattle Fire says the blaze is being investigated.

There were no reported injuries.

UPDATE 6/21/2022: A Seattle Fire spokesperson said that the investigation determined the house fire was intentionally set. Seattle Police are now investigating.

Damage was estimated at $15,000.

 

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Capitol Hill street notes: Melrose Promenade construction, Lake Washington Blvd closure, and bus stop work on 15th Ave E

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Some Melrose upgrades like these “Poem Dazzle” community crosswalks have been in place for years while the neighborhood has waited for SDOT to begin construction on the rest of the project

Here are a few notes on street and sidewalk work around Capitol Hill:

  • This time they mean it on Melrose: Earlier this year, CHS reported on work finally ready to begin after years of community planning to give Melrose Ave a pedestrian and bike-friendly overhaul. Now that summer is nearly here and issues like the concrete workers strike have been addressed, construction really can begin on the Melrose Promenade vision. “We’re excited to start construction of the Melrose Promenade next week,” SDOT said in an update on the project sent last Friday. “Starting next week and continuing into the following weeks, we’ll be building new accessible curb ramps at E Roy St and repairing sections of the street and sidewalk on Melrose Ave between E Roy St and E Republican St.” SDOT said contractor crews were being planned to start from the north near E Roy and work south toward E Republican.
    Continue reading →