Tag Archives: 23rd and jackson

Coffee TAB Central District ready to open at 23rd and Jackson

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(Image: Coffee TAB)

A key neighborhood hangout is going back in motion in the Central District as Coffee TAB is ready to open at 23rd and Jackson.

“We’re intentional about everything, from the way we pull a shot to the neighborhoods we choose to serve. We want to breathe new life into places by building something that serves the community well—somewhere people gather, form relationships, and feel a sense of belonging,” founder Jonathan Tran said in the joint announcement from TAB and Vulcan Real Estate, the owner of the building and the surrounding shopping center.  “Opening at 23rd & Jackson is another chance to live that out. It’s about investing in a neighborhood, creating jobs, expanding opportunities for young adults, and becoming part of the fabric of the Central Area.”

In addition to restoring much missed coffee service at the corner, the opening of Coffee TAB CD is an important milestone after years of concerns around public safety and street disorder in the area as the building sat empty. Continue reading →

Nonprofit cafe and job training venture Coffee TAB set to revive long-empty Central District Starbucks

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(Image: Coffee TAB)

Thanks to CHS reader Lindsay for the picture

A major hole in the hopes for growing the community around a core of the Central District is about to be filled. Not-for-profit Seattle cafe chain Coffee TAB is making plans to open soon at 23rd and Jackson.

The four-year-old nonprofit is set to open its third Seattle cafe in the former Starbucks where efforts by Vulcan Real Estate, the City of Seattle, and Black Coffee Northwest to open a new venue at the center of “a vibrant core for Black businesses” fell apart and left the corner empty for years.

CHS reported here in early 2025 on the scuttled effort from the Office of Economic Development and one of the city’s leading developers in Vulcan Real Estate, plus Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, and District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth to help the cafe open amid efforts of rebuilding Black ownership in the neighborhood.

The coffee project had been hoped to be the start of a new era at 23rd and Jackson with Black Coffee Northwest taking over a space being left behind by global coffee giant Starbucks over public safety concerns at the corner. Continue reading →

Next to close: Central District’s Walgreens at 23rd and Jackson

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(Image: Google Maps)

There will be another hole to fill at 23rd and Jackson. The neighborhood’s Walgreens is slated to close in May.

“Our Jackson Street store will close on May 19, 2026. Customers can continue to fill prescriptions at this location until the closing date,” a spokesperson for the Illinois-based pharmacy chain tells CHS.

Walgreens is directing customers to its 4412 Rainier Ave S store for their prescription needs after May 19th. Customers from the Jackson store will “remain eligible for free prescription delivery for 90 days,” the spokesperson said.

CHS has asked why Walgreens isn’t directing customers to its Broadway or 15th Ave E pharmacies which are both about a mile closer than the Rainier location. Continue reading →

Amazon Fresh’s end at 23rd and Jackson: $171M property deal, 92 Central District workers, Council member calls for Trader Joe’s

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(Image: Jackson Apartments)

Buried in the news that Amazon is closing its Amazon Fresh grocery store at 23rd and Jackson is one of the largest Central District real estate deals in recent history.

The six-year-old mixed-use development where the grocery is closing just sold for $171 million.

“As you know we just acquired Jackson Apartments on December 30th, so we don’t have any comments at this time,” a spokesperson for Seattle-based real estate development firm Timberlane Partners tells CHS.

It is unclear if Amazon’s exit was a known factor in the sale by project developer Vulcan Real Estate but the Amazon Fresh grocery was touted as “the marquee tenant” in the development in industry reporting on the deal.

“This is the first time Jackson has transferred ownership, and highlights Timberlane’s commitment to investing in communities that combine sustainability, connectivity and curated retail for residents and neighbors,” firm principal Dave Enslow said in a statement on the sale.

Vulcan, meanwhile, will continue to own the shopping center across the street where a similar redevelopment could someday take shape.

Despite providing information on its other recent area shutdowns including the E Pike Amazon Fresh shuttering in April 2024 that turned out to be a harbinger of things to come, Amazon has not responded to CHS’s questions about the 23rd and Jackson closure and whether locations like it in neighborhoods at risk of becoming “grocery deserts” are being considered for possible conversions to the company’s Whole Foods subsidiary. Continue reading →

The abrupt end of Amazon Fresh leaves uncertain future for groceries at 23rd and Jackson

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The Jackson Apartments (Image: Vulcan)

Amazon’s latest maneuverings in its ongoing disruption of the nation’s grocery industry will bring an abrupt end for a key store in the Central District.

The future of grocery shopping at 23rd and Jackson is uncertain after the retail giant announced Tuesday it is shutting down every single one of its more than 60 Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh groceries across the country. Most stores are set to close February 1st.

Amazon has said it plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores including some that will take over its previous Amazon Fresh and Go locations but it has not provided specifics of which stores will be replaced and when the transition would happen. Continue reading →

Charges weighed as 12-year-old arrested in screwdriver attack and mugging at 23rd and Jackson

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The arrest of a 12-year-old who police say attacked a woman with a screwdriver in a Central District robbery is being closely watched as an example of the challenges for the area’s justice system when it comes to juvenile crime.

The King County Prosecutor’s office says a judge found probable cause to hold the boy in a hearing Wednesday. The office expects to make a charging decision in the case Thursday.

“While is seems clear that this 12-year-old needs appropriate help, Robbery in the First Degree – a felony crime that involves a deadly weapon or a bodily injury – is not the kind of case that King County prosecutors send to diversion; cases like this one go before a judge with input from juvenile probation counselors,” a statement on the case to media reads. Continue reading →

Are you experienced? Wally’s NW Soul Experience now serving at 23rd and Jackson

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The northwest corner of 23rd and Jackson is busy once more as Wally’s NW Soul Experience is now doing its thing in this core of the Central District.

The soul food restaurant from longtime caterer Walter “Wally” Washington opened this fall in the space left empty by the exit of Catfish Corner to start 2025.

Its arrival is part of new energy at 23rd and Jackson where the opportunities — and challenges — of small business ownership in Seattle have been fully illustrated over recent months. Continue reading →

Black Coffee Northwest: How Seattle City Hall, Vulcan Real Estate, and the goodwill of creating ‘a vibrant core for Black businesses’ in the Central District could not open a coffee shop at 23rd and Jackson

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A design rendering of signage for Black Coffee Northwest at 23rd and Jackson

Depending on who you ask — and if they are willing to speak on the record — there are lots of failures to blame at 23rd and Jackson. But the bottom line is this: Despite years of work from the city’s Office of Economic Development and one of its leading developers in Vulcan Real Estate, Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth, and the goodwill of rebuilding Black ownership in this key core of the Central District, it seems unlikely Black Coffee Northwest will ever open at the corner.

“We have a staff trained and ready to go. My grand opening was planned,” owner DarNesha Bowman told CHS earlier this month.

Bowman went public this year with what she says has been a lack of support from Vulcan and the city falling short on promises to help the small business entrepreneur usher in what many hoped would be the start of a new era at 23rd and Jackson with her Black Coffee Northwest taking over a space being left behind by global coffee giant Starbucks over public safety concerns in the area. Continue reading →

Closure in the Central District: Jackson’s Catfish Corner

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(Image: Jackson’s Catfish Corner)

40 years of the family business came to an end in the Central District last week with a final 50 pounds of catfish as Terrell Jackson and Jackson’s Catfish Corner called it quits.

“My grandparents started this business in January 1985. This is now 40 years of business. 40 years of business and I just cannot do it anymore,” Jackson said in a heartfelt video posted to the 23rd and Jackson restaurant owner’s social media last Friday. “I don’t have the team, the structure, I don’t have nothing right now. Just doing shit on my own is very hard and I don’t, I think I just think I did all I can do in Seattle, you know what I’m saying?”

In the announcement, Jackson invited regulars by for a last po boy or two at the joint he opened at the corner in 2021 after years of pop-ups and smaller projects carrying on his family’s Catfish Corner legacy, saying he had about 50 pounds of catfish left, 20 or so burgers, and some oysters and calamari.

The final ingredients really were about all Jackson had left to give.

“I don’t want this to be a sad time or heartbreak time or ‘what are you gonna do next’ time. It’s that I did all I can time. I did all I can,” Jackson said, saying he was “maxed out” and ready to look for new opportunities.

The walls of Jackson’s Catfish Corner were a testament to its popularity, covered up and down in signatures of customers.

In an interview with Converge Media, Jackson said the Central District’s changes and the costs of doing business in Seattle caught up with him, citing the jump in the minimum wage and lower than expected foot traffic due to the neighborhood’s changing demographics. Continue reading →

Amid continued rise in East Precinct burglaries, somebody broke into Seattle Fish Guys and stole all the salmon

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As burglaries have continued to climb in the East Precinct, one local business is vowing to recover after a break-in emptied the Central District shop of cash and took something even more valuable — its stock of smoked salmon.

“It’s truly disheartening to report that cash, checks, equipment, and our beloved smoked salmon were taken,” Seattle Fish Guys reported about the overnight burglary this weekend of its 23rd and Jackson shop. “Fortunately, our team is safe, and we’ve acted swiftly by contacting the authorities and cooperating closely with them to gather any leads. We urge anyone who noticed anything unusual nearby to please come forward. Your assistance could be crucial.” Continue reading →