Tag Archives: melrose market

A new wave of activity in Capitol Hill’s Melrose Market includes plans for Wild Cherry Nightclub and Harry’s Good Times

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Wild Cherry from the folks at Bellevue’s Forum Social House is in the works beneath the Market (Image: Forum Social House)

Hagood will soon be serving inside Melrose Market (Image: Harry’s Fine Foods)

Five years after its sale to a national shopping center developer and emerging from the pandemic. Capitol Hill’s Melrose Market is hitting a second stride with a mix of new tenants that will include a new restaurant in the old Sitka and Spruce space and a basement level Wild Cherry Nightclub.

A local success story will fill the former Sitka and Spruce. Harry’s Good Times, a project from Julian Hagood and the Harry’s Fine Food folks, is taking shape in the back of Melrose Market’s main level with plans for a new concept from the crew that reshaped a Bellevue Ave cornershop into Harry’s Fine Foods, the 2016-born center of a family of food and drink and hospitality businesses on Capitol Hill and across the city. Continue reading →

After 12 years at Melrose Market, Butter Home finds a new Capitol Hill home in Chophouse Row

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(Image: Butter Home)

Butter Home, a woman-owned brick-and-mortar store known for its unique and functional products, is relocating from Melrose Market to Chophouse Row on 11th and Pike. The new location is just a 13 minute walk, eight blocks away.

Claire Corley opened Butter Home 12 years ago. She says that her background in retail and her husband’s small business experience made the process of opening her own store less daunting.

“I really wanted to find a way to connect artists and independent makers with the community,” Corley said.

Butter Home shifted and flowed into available space over its 12 years at Melrose Market, an indoor food and retail market on Capitol Hill’s west side. They occupied two different spaces within the market for six years each. The first location was a small loft and according to Corley, they did not have the experience to know what they needed to succeed in the space.

Things are more clear now. According to Corley, the opportunity for Butter Home to move into the new location at Chophouse Row arose during COVID, as the previous tenant, florist shop Marigold & Mint, had permanently closed. This allowed Butter Home to design and build the space with their specific needs in mind.

“The company that is doing the buildout for the space, Vertical Ledge, they’ve made kind of modular birch popup pieces for retail people that do pop ups, and they’re launching a line for retail stores, and this is going to be kind of a beta project for them,” said Corley. Continue reading →

After three years as a ‘pop-up,’ Sankaku Japanese Onigiri Cafe and Bar here to stay at Melrose Market

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(Image: Sansuka)

In 2019, Japanese food pop-up Sankaku had aspirations to become a permanent part of Capitol Hill. At the start of 2022, Sankaku announced that it is planning to expand into those dreams in the Melrose Market.

Still getting acquainted with running a full-time business, Sankaku owner Rie Otsuka told CHS that she is ready to kick the year off strong; however, due to current conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Otsuka is fine settling for a slower pace. The less lively crowds of Melrose Market are a time for Otsuka’s business to develop a tight-knit community.

“It’s really quiet and a very scary time,” Otsuka said. “In general, in January, I just want to take time to figure things out so it’s a quiet time to fit in.” Continue reading →

CHS Pics | Sea Rose Knifeworks, Japanese water stones, and leather strops at Melrose Market

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As the cost of doing business on Capitol Hill keeps climbing, many of the new faces in ventures of commerce and creativity in the neighborhood make their presence felt in short-term stays and creative use of space.

Saturday, knife expert Sasha Rosenfeld brought his Sea Rose Knifeworks to Capitol Hill’s Melrose Market for a day of grinding and shaving, with knives “sharpened by hand on Japanese water stones and finished on leather strops.” Continue reading →

Japanese rice balls and natural wine at Sankaku and Marseille a match made in Melrose Market

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Brandin Myett and Rie Otsuka at Melrose Market (Image: Margo Vansynghel)

Strings of red paper lanterns, some emblazoned with golden Chinese characters, hang from the ceiling. In the distance, a harmonica tune floats through the late-lunch atmosphere at Melrose Market, the indoor food and design mart also home to Sitka and Spruce and Glasswing. On the white marble countertop of Marseille, a wine bar and eatery named after the French port city, three carefully crafted onigiri Japanese rice balls sit under a bell glass.

Sure, we’ve heard of fusion before, but what is going on here?

“A coincidence,” says Brandin Myett, owner of Marseille. “A Lunar New Year office party planned for February 5th got rescheduled because of the snow. We decided to leave the lanterns up in the meantime.”

Myett opened his new natural wine bar and eatery last spring. The name, he says, is just a reference to something beautiful but rough-around-the-edges, like Marseille. “The French connection is not that important.” Continue reading →