Tag Archives: milestones

Along the shores of Pike and Melrose, Capitol Hill rum bar Rumba turns 10

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(Image: Rumba)

(Image: Rumba)

“Rumba was originally supposed to be a place to grab a drink and wait before you get into Tango,” Travis Rosenthal, owner and founder, says of the Capitol Hill rum bar’s origins.

Born in September 2012 on lower Pike, the bar dedicated to sugarcane and island spirits is ready to celebrate a decade on Capitol Hill.

Rosenthal owned tapas bar Tango at the time and was pinched for space. When the retail shop next door moved out, he leapt at the opportunity — but didn’t end up expanding Tango.

“I just loved the taste of it and there are so many different styles of rum, different tastes of rum, and it has such an interesting history and I felt like people weren’t aware of the complexities of rum,” Rosenthal said.

When the bar finally opened, CHS described it as being like “Ernest Hemingway hired a Pike/Pine interior designer, threw a wad of cash and said go to town” with rosewood walls and floors, bookshelves lined with curated knick knacks: 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.”

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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 →

‘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 →

The Pine Box rising back to life and celebrating 10 years on Capitol Hill

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Sitting in the 100-year-old chapel of a former funeral parlor, drinking a pint of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” lager feels a little like you’ve stepped back into a punk bar in the early ’90s. This is a ghostly space. Maybe it’s the old growth fir tables and bar top, made from the shelving that once held urns and lined cabinets holding caskets, or it could also be the “female apparition” seen by multiple bartenders. Regardless, the beer is cold, the people are friendly, and The Pine Box is celebrating ten years of making peace with spirits, pouring spirits, and being spirited on Capitol Hill.

“We’re still here. Even as this neighborhood keeps changing.” Ian Roberts, part owner and a regular sight at The Pine Box, also runs Seattle Beer Week and White Center brewery Future Primitive Brewing.

“First ten years, it’s been good, it’s been great,” Roberts said. “The last two years had ups and downs, a little scary, but I can’t think of doing anything else.”

Roberts says the Capitol Hill — and Seattle beer drinking — communities kept them going through the first ten years, including two years of a pandemic. “My livelihood was based on being a bar and doing events and gathering people, and all of a sudden I can’t invite people here. I can’t tell people to come here. I’m pretty cautious, I have two young kids at home…It’s hard to plan events and do your life, and also be socially responsible. So many times I’ve been putting the brake on things in the past two years. I felt like I need to, for me personally, for my family, for the safety of my employees.” Continue reading →

Happy 20th birthday to Capitol Hill-born Top Pot Doughnuts

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Where it all started in 2002 (Image: Top Pot)

Top Pot cafes including the original Summit Ave location are celebrating Tuesday as the company marks 20 years in the doughnut business.

You can join the party as Top Pot is offering its original glazed old-fashioneds for 20 cents each.

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Refining ramen, Ooink celebrates five years on Capitol Hill

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Chong Boon Ooi (where the extra “o” in “Ooink” comes from) is passionate about ramen. It’s clear in how he prepares it but also how he talks about it. “You can’t just add a couple ingredients and get umami, this is a process.”

The ramen joint is celebrating five years this month at their location above QFC on Broadway and Pike, which he calls an “interesting place” and why they decided to move here.

“I just love this location, the people, the nightlife. It’s a unique place.”  Although the challenges of owning a restaurant are ever present, the pandemic has forced Chong to “move forward and find a solution.”

The menu hasn’t changed much since he opened Ooink with his wife Jiaxin Wang five years ago. Chong has chosen to focus on refinement, not change.

“We still try to refine what we do and achieve better. I don’t like to create new dishes, I like to do what I do and make it better.” Continue reading →

‘Seattle’s first microbrewery’ wasn’t born on Capitol Hill — but it will celebrate 40 years of beer here

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The original Ballard brewery (Image: Redhook)

The Redhook Brewlab is the last physical vestige of Seattle’s “first microbrewery” (Image: Redhook)

Marking 40 years will be a bittersweet journey for a beer maker that helped usher in the microbrewery era but now finds itself seemingly without a home after decades of change in the industry and being swallowed up by “the world’s largest beer company.” But the Redhook Brewery does have a home, surviving right here on Capitol Hill and still part of the Pacific Northwest beer scene thanks to one of the most uniquely densely-packed brewing facilities you’ll find.

This weekend, the Redhook Brewlab — the last brewery and pub in the Redhook line — is setting out to celebrate those 40 years with a party showcasing the beer it brews here on E Pike, favorites from the past, and “Seattle’s first microbrewery” role in the history of Washington and Oregon beer. There will also be baby goats. Continue reading →

One-year anniversary of start of Seattle Black Lives Matter protests: Black Wall Street rally in Central District, arrests downtown, Converge Media returns to Capitol Hill

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One year after the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota and the start of months of protests in the city, Seattle is taking stock of what has changed and marking the days of unrest.

CHS looked back here at the first days of Black Lives Matter protests that began in Seattle in the days after Floyd’s murder, leading to weeks of clashes on Capitol Hill between protesters and police, the abandonment of the East Precinct, and the formation of CHOP.

This week starting Memorial Day, another small but important chronicler of the Capitol Hill protests will be back in the neighborhood as Omari Salisbury and TraeAnna Holiday of Converge Media will return for a week of broadcasts from near 11th and Pine where the Seattle media service captured crucial scenes from unrest including the fateful “pink umbrella incident” still echoing through the ranks of Seattle Police leadership today.

Salisbury tells CHS the live Converge Returns to The Hill shows will focus on honoring the important efforts at change. Continue reading →

CHOP: One year later — Seattle rises up in protest to the killing of George Floyd

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Below are images from CHS photographer from the first week of Black Lives Matter protests in Seattle following the police killing of George Floyd (Image: Alex Garland)

Tuesday marks one year since the May 25th, 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota and the start of Black Lives Matter protests across the country and around the world.

Four days later with broken glass at an Amazon grocery and the neighborhood’s Ferrari dealership, unrest spread across downtown and Seattle as thousands of protesters took to the streets of the city in the midst of pandemic lockdowns.

Here is a look at those early days of Seattle’s Black Lives Matter uprising — days that have been overshadowed by the Capitol Hill occupied protest camp that formed, the abandonment of the East Precinct and its barrier walls, ongoing anti-police protests, and the attempts of Seattle City Hall to adequately respond to the movement with changes to its police department and an election that will bring new leadership to the City Council and the mayor’s office.

Friday, May 29th: Protests begin in Seattle after the Floyd killing as thousands march and demonstrate. Windows are smashed at Capitol Hill’s Amazon grocery and Ferrari dealership, and seven arrests are reported.

Saturday, May 30th: Protests continue as clashes with police grow downtown bringing flames, tear gas, and gunfire. Mayor Jenny Durkan begins a nightly curfew to try to quiet the unrest.

A protestor enters an intersection blocked by police during Saturday’s demonstrations

A burned SPD SUV was part of the weekend wreckage

Continue reading →