Tag Archives: 19th ave e

The Rocket Taco has landed — Capitol Hill Mexican joint swaps corners on 19th Ave E

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(Image: Rocket Taco)

Like a SpaceX capsule linking up with the ISS, Capitol Hill’s Rocket Taco completed a complicate maneuver this week, switching 19th Ave E corners and beginning a new mission in a much newer, easier to manage space.

Customers of the 19th Ave E casual Mexican joint who may not have heard about the plans might be surprised by the new location and the speed of reentry as the restaurant was able to move and reopen this week.

CHS reported here in January on the change for the seven-year-old sibling to the Whidbey Island original. Owner Steve Rosen said Rocket Taco could not pass up the opportunity to operate in a newer space with a modern kitchen and expansive patio. Rocket Taco’s new restaurant home was first designed for Linda Derschang and her Tallulah’s venture.

“Right now we aren’t planning anything new, but we are definitely excited about serving margaritas on that beautiful patio,” Rosen told CHS earlier this year. “It’s such a beautiful outdoor space.”

Rocket Taco originally was ready to welcome a new food and drink neighbor across E Mercer but an ambitious effort that had been lined up for the shuttered space fell through. The restaurant was most recently home to Bounty Kitchen which closed in 2023 after limping through the pandemic, and was undergoing an overhaul for a major new project from an investment group and former Willows Inn chef Nick Green. Green and the investors behind the Emilia project have not responded to questions about the decision to pull back on the project.

Rocket Taco’s move leaves an iconic — but challenged — Capitol Hill restaurant space empty and darkened. We’ll be watching for what comes next for the 100-year-old restaurant space where the Kingfish Cafe once ruled.

Rocket Taco is now open at 550 19th Ave E. Learn more at rocket-taco.com.

 

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Tirto Furniture, with an enduring dedication to making chairs and tables that last, celebrates ten years on 19th Ave E

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(Image: CHS)

(Image: Tirto)

By Juan Jocom

It is a time for milestones in the commercial community that has formed around Capitol Hill’s 19th Ave E.

Monsoon, which has grown into the small business core of the neighborhood since it began redefining Vietnamese dining in Seattle at the turn of the millenium, is celebrating 25 years on the street.

There are more celebrations underway.

Across the street at Tirto Furniture, a family business is marking its own anniversary, celebrating resilience and quality. Even as the industry has trended toward mass-produced, disposable, build-your-own furniture, the E Mercer shop just off 19th Ave E doesn’t seem to be bothered by the shifting landscape. Their 10th anniversary is a testament that as long as you build things with love, there is going to be someone who will love the creations — and hopefully be willing to pay a little extra for it.

Looking out from the street, the Tirto showroom seems like a tiny neighborhood furniture store, but once you walk through the door, you find a whole world of crafted, handmade furniture with a strong connection to Southeast Asia.

“We love the fact that it can support so many families both here and in Indonesia,” Claire Tirtoprodjo said. “We pay above average to our employees there. We pay for schooling for the kids… and so we’re fortunate that people really stay with us. So the relationships there are really strong.” Continue reading →

The Country Doctor marks more than 50 years on Capitol Hill and in the Central District with new name — Seattle Roots Community Health

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The Country Doctor is now Seattle Roots Community Health. The community health center with facilities across Central Seattle and school-based health centers at Meany Middle School and Nova High School says the new name “honors over 53 years of serving the Capitol Hill and Central District neighborhoods with community-driven, culturally appropriate, patient-centered care regardless of their ability to pay.”

“As we’ve grown, we needed a new organizational name that builds on our legacy and encompasses all of our clinics and the broad range of care we provide,” the organization’s CEO Brandy Taylor said in a statement. Continue reading →

Police investigating new Seattle hit and run attacks after homeless man run over while sleeping on North Capitol Hill sidewalk — UPDATE

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A homeless man who survived being run over while sleeping on the sidewalk along Capitol Hill’s 19th Ave E appears to have been intentionally targeted.

Seattle Police say they are investigating two similar attacks that took place within hours across Seattle early last Saturday morning that sent two people to the hospital after a driver drove onto sidewalks and struck them.

In the Capitol Hill attack, a 39-year-old man suffered lower body injuries and was rushed to Harborview after being run over while sleeping near 19th and Prospect in front of a stretch of businesses including the neighborhood’s Windermere real estate office on the block mixed with single family-style homes and a small business strip.

“The victim was asleep on the sidewalk when he was struck by a vehicle,” SPD’s brief on the February 17th, 3:50 AM incident reads. “The suspect vehicle ran over the victim’s legs and then fled the scene.” Continue reading →

Happy 25th birthday to Capitol Hill’s Monsoon, the center of a Seattle food and drink family

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(Image: Monsoon)

Not every classic of Capitol HIll food and drink is fading away. Monsoon and its family of Vietnamese food and drink are marking 25 years in the neighborhood with a celebration — and a roast pig — on 19th Ave E. The business has been about family from the start.

“Monsoon would not be here today if our mother, siblings and spouses didn’t step up to help us with everything from permits to construction, to cooking to running the front of house,” co-founder Eric Banh said. “After three months of being open we could finally afford to hire people to work in the restaurant and business really started to take off. We feel so blessed by the Monsoon community and the incredible guests we’ve had the pleasure of knowing throughout the last 25 years.”

Monsoon still prides itself on reinventing Vietnamese in Seattle: Continue reading →

Hello Robin — 10 years of cookies and community on Capitol Hill

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Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Capitol Hill-born Hello Robin stands as a testament to the sweet success of a community focus.

The 19th Ave E cookie shop will celebrate this weekend with a cookie making party co-hosted with its neighbor at Cone and Steiner, the throwback neighborhood grocery it debuted with on the newly redeveloped block back in 2013. Dani Cone’s Cone and Steiner has grown into a two-location grocery chain after its 19th Ave E start. Hello Robin has also grown. You can visit a sibling Hello Robin cookie shop at U Village.

At Hello Robin’s original 19th Ave E home, owner Robin Wehl recently took a trip down memory lane with CHS, sharing insights into the shop’s journey, community bonds, and her secret ingredients.

“I feel very, very lucky,” Wehl says with gratitude about how the shop has thrived and grown. The 19th Ave E neighborhood’s support has been a backbone of Hello Robin’s success. She recalled with joy the myriad of life events witnessed within the shop, from serving pregnant customers to seeing them return with their now 10-year-olds. Continue reading →

Tiny Spark and Thread wants to help Capitol Hill connect to a gift of art

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Online shopping is rarely optimized for building relationships with other artists and customers.

Solia Hermes and Juli Hudson are two local artists who have taken the initiative and opened their own boutique on Capitol Hill, a small start to building community and helping support local artists showcase their work.

Having customers experience E Aloha’s Spark and Thread in person has created a positive impact for the artists to see people appreciate their work and the creations of others featured in the small store.

“Online you’re searching for things versus in person you see all kinds of things that you didn’t expect.” Hudson said. “Meeting the artist changes the relationship people have with the art.” Continue reading →

Only a few weeks old, Capitol Hill’s Money Frog is on the move, leaving 19th Ave E behind — UPDATE

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KP’s Soft Shell Crab Burger (Image: Money Frog)

Sometimes new living arrangements just don’t work out.

Only weeks after its grand opening on the relatively sleepy 19th Ave E, new Capitol Hill restaurant Money Frog was looking for a new pad.

Now, after about seven weeks of business in the space longtime favorite Vios called home for 17 years, it has shut down and is preparing for a move closer to the core of Capitol Hill.

Ownership hasn’t officially announced the new location while the deal is being finalized but license applications show Money Frog is on the move to the corner of 15th and Pine. The location has been home to the Remedium Grill restaurant which had been hosting this Alice in Wonderland-themed “immersive cocktail experience” over the winter to help make ends meet through the ongoing pandemic challenges.

One owner who spoke with CHS said the decision for the abrupt zig zag came with the realization 19th Ave E just wasn’t the right neighborhood for Money Frog’s pan-Asian restaurant and bar aspirations even with a push of weekend brunch to try to entice more neighbors. Continue reading →

The golden age of Capitol Hill bagels

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The Bagel Deli may be long gone but you are living in the gold age of Capitol Hill bagels.

The October opening of Rubinstein Bagels brought a nice little burst of new energy to 15th Ave E’s commercial offerings while also elevating the neighborhood’s chewy bagel offerings to a new epic level. Here are a few scenes CHS captured on a recent visit to check out the new shop.

Capitol Hill currently is home to five outstanding bagel bakers each offering its own special take on the Jewish baked goods: Continue reading →

Bounty Kitchen set to add Capitol Hill location in former Tallulah’s space — Plus, 19th Ave E’s Ritual House yoga says goodbye — UPDATE

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Tallulah’s in better days (Image: CHS)

19th Ave E is losing one healthful business to the COVID-19 crisis but is set to welcome another to this quiet side of Capitol Hill.

Bounty Kitchen is making plans to take over the space left empty by the ugly exit of Tallulah’s late last year in a cloud of financial problems new owner Brad Haggen took over the Linda Derschang creation only a year earlier.

The restaurant has applied for a liquor license for a full bar at the 19th and Mercer location.

UPDATE: Bounty Kitchen’s start on Capitol HIll is being geared to the realities of the ongoing restrictions. Owner Meg Trainer tells CHS that will mean a beginning focused solely on takeout and delivery as the restaurant’s interior is overhauled and prepared for the future return of sit-down dining.

.”We’re humbled by the opportunity to expand at this time,” Trainer said.

The restaurant has been able to grow in a challenging time for the industry thanks to its core concepts of flexibility, efficiency, and healthy eating, Trainer says.

“There is a much larger conversation about what will happen with the restaurant industry but I think everyone has now learned a couple of things we’ve learned for a while.”

Continue reading →