Beacon Hill Blog

Anyone recommend a space for a restaurant?

Spotted on Craigslist this morning, an ad headlined:

Restaurant Space Needed, South Seattle – $1 (Beacon Hill, Rainier Ave S, Columbia City)

The ad reads:

I am an experienced restaurant owner. I am looking for about 1100 to 1700 squared feet commercial space to lease with class I or II hood for my third location.

The areas I’m interested in: Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Rainer Ave S.

If you like to meet and talk, please respond to my ad.
Thank you

(Light editing and emphasis by me.)

Anyone like to help this person out? Or hazard a guess about what the other two locations might be?

Tags: craigslist, real estate, restaurant

Cat adoptathon, ROCKiT grand opening this weekend

The Seattle Animal Shelter Cat Adoptathon returns to our neighborhood this Saturday, from noon to 3:00 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South. There will be cats of many breeds available.

Adoption prices for cats range from $102 to $107, and include:

• Initial vaccinations
• Deworming
• Feline Leukemia testing
• Certificate for free health exam at local veterinarians
• Spay or neuter
• Microchip
• Two-year Seattle Pet License (if applicable)

Also this weekend, ROCKiT space (in the old Buggy location, 3315 Beacon Avenue South) is holding their grand opening event, both Saturday and Sunday. ROCKiT space is a non-profit organization devoted to making music and art accessible to all. They have equipment and space available to members, including musical instruments and P.A. equipment, art supplies, books, rehearsal space, performance space, and more. This weekend they will have “neat stuff for all ages including pumpkin carving, a costume exchange (bring your spare costume stuff!), live music and much more.”

Tags: arts, jefferson community center, music, pets, rockit space

Publicola seeks your broadband (in)accessibility anecdotes

Glenn Fleishman writes at the very end of his latest article, Digital Discrimination, a further exploration into the bandwidth black hole that is Beacon Hill and the Central District, at Publicola:

I’m looking for insight from the neighborhood. Do you live in Beacon Hill, the C.D., or surrounding areas and have been frustrated with broadband? Comment below. Tell us what you have, what you get, and what you’ve tried to do. Are you planning to move because of this, because you can’t work at all from home or stay up on office issues? Does it affect your business? Let us know.

Drop on by, read the article, and let him know about your home or business internet situation here on the hill.

Hello Bicycle is having a big sale

Hello Bicycle on Beacon Avenue has too much stuff in too small a space, so they are having a sale to get rid of bikes, frames, wheels, scrap metal, fixtures, and, basically, anything big that is taking up too much room.

The sale notice posted on Craigslist has the details:

Everything big is therefore on SALE, I’d be happy to negotiate lots of things for lowered prices. The more you’re willing to take the better deal you’ll get. Lot of free used tires that are in decent shape that the landlord is saying I’m not allowed to leave outside beside the shop, too.

There are probably a couple dozen used bikes that need to be sold, prices for bikes from $40 and up, with some freebies that aren’t pretty but could be useful to the right person. Please note, this sale only applies to BIG items that take up lots of physical space, and NOT small parts like lights, accessories, etc.

Hello Bicycle is located at 3067 Beacon Avenue South.

Tags: hello bicycle

Car wash near station declared a violation; Grown Folks Coffeehouse closed

The city’s Department of Planning and Development has confirmed that the First Choice car detailing/car wash business that is operating at the corner of Beacon Avenue South and 15th Avenue South is not allowed to operate at that site due to light rail station area and pedestrian overlay zoning regulations. The case is being referred to the City Attorney’s office for enforcement action, and the owner of the business has been informed of the decision. Our understanding here at the BHB is that there is a certain grace period for the business to relocate, so the business may be in operation for some time still.

In other local business news, neighbor Chris sent in a tip about an interesting, and saddening, listing on Craigslist today: Grown Folks Coffeehouse has closed, and they are selling all of their equipment. A potential bargain for someone else who wants to open a coffee shop, but a substantial loss for Mid-Beacon Hill. (This closure wasn’t entirely unexpected. We mentioned the land use application for their lot last month, and it was known for months before that the lot owner was looking to redevelop the property. –Ed.)

Tags: car wash, closure, grown folks, mid-beacon, north beacon, zoning

Light Rail restaurant reviews: La Cabaña

La Cabaña is Tex-Mex style cooking: lots of gooey cheddar cheese & smothered stuff. It’s not health food, but it is delicious!

Family-run and super friendly, this is where we take visitors when we want to spread out and enjoy a lot of good food without spending very much money. Portions are LARGE–you’ll have enough for lunch the next day. Dinner for 3 usually totals about $35, including drinks.

Try the mole enchiladas, the tostados, and the tamales. Rice and beans are basic and good. Two kinds of salsa and all you can eat chips (with ongoing refills) come with every meal. My niece loves the horchata (sweet rice drink) and my sweetie loves the Negro Modelo beer. I stick with water or occasionally a wine sangria. No hard alcohol here.

It’s almost always empty, but they’ve been around forever. The booths are roomy and the staff are always happy to see groups with kids. Decor is kitschy, in an adorable way.

I love La Cabaña. If you live on the Hill, walk on down. If you’re visiting on the train, it’s just a couple of blocks from the Beacon Hill Light Rail Station.

La Cabaña
2532 Beacon Ave S
Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 322-9643

Tags: cheese, La Cabaña, mexican, restaurants

Mailing list minutes: Fruit trees, vacant space, and disappearing mail

Some recent activity on the neighborhood mailing list:

• Jon Gould is looking for a tenant for the 2200 square-foot (1100 upstairs, 1100 downstairs) space at 3315 Beacon Avenue South formerly occupied by Buggy (opening today in Madrona, by-the-way, with an opening party on the 11th). He’s asking for $1300/month in rent. Email Jon for further details.
• Jon also notes that The Stranger’s Christopher Frizzelle is looking to speak with people who have experienced Sound Transit-related sinkholes.
• Several neighbors have discussed outdoing mail thefts, including the pilfering of bill payment checks, in the northerly areas near 16th Ave S recently. Shea Bajaj (of Viridian Design, an architect with an interest in building Detached Accessory Dwelling Units) passes on some information he received from his postal carrier: If you’ve suspect or have experienced mail theft, contact your local postal inspector. Additionally, through the same contact, you can lodge a request that recently removed blue postal drop boxes be replaced and/or petition for the establishment of a neighborhood postal collection unit like newer townhouse complexes have.
• Hazel points us to a new website cataloging fruit trees around town: City Fruit. For more information, see the project’s home site. Relatedly, Theresa points us toward the Community Fruit Tree Harvest project from Solid Ground, a program looking for donations of tree fruit. They’re also considering fruit tree care classes and volunteer arborist services for donators. For more information, visit the website or contact Gail Savina.

If you’re not already on the mailing list, join here. It’s a great way to get recommendations from your neighbors for drywallers, plumbers, electricians, etc. or announce your garage sale or whatnot.

Thanks Jon, Theresa, Hazel, Shea, and everybody else on the lists!

Tags: fruit trees, mail theft, retail space, sinkholes

Amazon Fresh comes to Beacon Hill

The Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service has now come to Beacon Hill. There has been some resentment here on the Hill that, despite having Amazon’s offices right here in North Beacon, we were left out of the delivery area. Now ZIP codes 98144, 98108, and 98118 in Southeast Seattle are eligible for deliveries. (According to the website, however, delivery to 98144 and 98118 is still only partial; they don’t provide a map to show which parts of those ZIP codes don’t get deliveries yet, but if you enter your address on the site you can find out if your house qualifies.)

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said that Amazon Fresh won’t be expanding outside of the Seattle area anytime soon, so it makes sense they’d be adding more Seattle neighborhoods into the delivery area.

Now, if only Pagliacci would deign to notice Southeast Seattle…

Tags: amazon, amazon fresh, delivery, long-awaited

Shred it at the Shred-a-thon, help a local food bank

Vivian Valencia, Regional Relationship Manager at Verity Credit Union down by the VA Hospital at 1660 S. Columbian Way wrote to let us know about an event coming up this weekend:

Identity theft is on the rise which means shredding sensitive documentation is critical. This Saturday, June 13th, 10am – 2pm, Verity Credit Union’s VA Hospital/Beacon Hill branch is sponsoring a community shred-a-thon. Everyone is welcome. A minimum $5 donation is requested. All proceeds benefit the Beacon Hill Food Bank. For more information, contact Courtney Ilsley, (206) 315-6717 or CourtneyI@Veritycu.com. On the day of the event, call (206) 762-0410

Thanks, Vivian!

Tags: benefit, food bank, identity theft, shred

BH business district misses out on $thousands

At a community event in nearby Columbia City:

Today Mayor Greg Nickels presented funding awards totaling $128,384 to 22 Neighborhood Business District Associations throughout Seattle to continue the city’s investments in building healthy communities and supporting our local economy.

Some of the projects funded include the creation of new business organizations, business district promotion (branding, marketing campaigns, farmers market start-up), physical improvement and enhancement projects (leaf clean up, curb bulb landscaping and banners), etc.

The 2009 Neighborhood Business District Awards recipients were:

• African Business Association – $5,000
• Business Owners of Madrona – $3,500
• Capitol Hill Housing – $5,000
• Chinatown International District BIA – $7,000
• Columbia City Business Association – $11,880
• Georgetown Merchants Association – $5,000
• Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce – $6,000
• Greater Seattle Business Association – $15,000
• Greater University Chamber of Commerce – $2,000
• Greenwood Phinney Chamber of Commerce – $5,000
• Lake City Chamber of Commerce – $5,000
• Madison Valley Merchants Association – $4,200
• Magnolia Chamber of Commerce – $2,600
• Metropolitan Improvement District – $4,144
• Picture Perfect Queen Anne – $4,000
• Pioneer Square Community Association – $7,500
• Rainier Beach Merchants Association – $3,850
• Rainier Chamber of Commerce – $3,710
• SODO Business Association – $8,000
• South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce – $10,000
• West Seattle Chamber of Commerce – $5,000
• White Center Community Development Association – $5,000

Total Amount of Awards: $128,384

And what about Beacon Hill? How much money did our business associations receive? More »

Tags: business, chamber of commerce, money

Car wash compliance deadline extended; sidewalk signs illegal

The First Choice Car Wash at 15th and Beacon has been granted an extension on their compliance deadline for filing permits for the business. The new deadline is June 1. The building currently is permitted for a retail use, not for car washing, detailing, and stereo installation. However, as posted earlier, the building is also zoned NC2P-40 (Neighborhood Commercial 2, Pedestrian-Designated Zone, 40-foot height limit), which means that no drive-in or drive-through businesses are allowed. A change-of-use may not be possible in this location.

There is another minor violation of the law at that site as well, though it’s likely they didn’t realize it was against the law, and several other nearby businesses are doing it too. As it turns out, it’s illegal to put A-frame signs on sidewalks, except in certain business districts that have actually obtained special street use permits to allow and regulate them. Those districts are Broadway, Pioneer Square, and Pike Place Market. Period.

Beacon Hill cannot have these signs, legally, unless a Business Improvement Association, historic district, or Chamber of Commerce is formed here. The district group would then need to get 60% of the businesses in the area to sign on, carry $1 million in liability insurance, and then obtain a Street Use Annual Permit from the city. Who knew?

Even in districts that allow such signs, it is illegal to have more than one sign per business, and they have to be directly in front of the business. First Choice has had up to three signs in front of their shop, and one across the street.

Sidewalk signs are relatively harmless, but one can see why limiting each business to one would be a good idea. The signs are taking up space in the public right-of-way, after all. In the case of the car wash, the signs are right in the entrance to two crosswalks. This is probably not an ideal location for pedestrian safety. (Nor is their driveway, as can be seen in the photo with this post.)

Since Beacon Hill’s Chamber of Commerce has gone dormant, it’s not likely that sidewalk signs will be made legal on the Hill anytime soon. In the meantime, First Choice and several other local businesses are violating a law that most of us have probably never even heard of.

Tags: car wash, pedestrians, signage, zoning

Updated: Bye bye Buggy

Buggy, neighborhood baby outfitter and monthly knit-night host, is closing up shop on Beacon Avenue South and heading to new digs in Madrona, as confirmed on their soon-to-be-anachronistic website at www.buggybeacon.com.

Jon Gould dropped the news on the mailing list yesterday, noting that the 2200 square foot space will be available in June for $1300/mo.

This, along with the closing of Culinary Communion, is another sad departure from the hill just 81 days before the light rail station opening.

Update: A message from Buggy co-owner Sarah Dublin below. Click to read: More »

Tags: buggy, madrona

New car wash on Beacon Avenue a zoning violation?

The building with the large garage door at 2507 Beacon Avenue South has long been a concern for neighborhood residents. Previously, it was being used as a warehouse, and caused problems for local pedestrians, and for cars and buses right in front of the business, with delivery trucks and forklifts blocking traffic and pedestrian walkways. More recently, the building was vacant and bore a large “For Commercial Space Lease… For: Light mfg., Retails, Office” sign. Month after month went by, graffiti appeared on the door, and there was no sign of anyone moving in.

Until now. A new business recently set up shop in the site, and the activity has picked up. That’s the good news. The bad news? The new business, a hand car wash, is a pretty blatant zoning violation. The site in question, right on the junction of Beacon and 15th, is zoned NC2P-40. (Here is the basic zoning information for the site.) NC2P-40 means Neighborhood Commercial 2, Pedestrian-Designated Zone, 40-foot height limit. (Here is a city document that describes the various commercial zones.) More »

Tags: junction, north beacon, zoning

Lunch Counter, Swinery follow Culinary Communion to oblivion

The Culinary Communion/Swinery/Lunch Counter saga continues. Last month, Culinary Communion, the cooking school located at 2524 Beacon Avenue South, announced via a farewell letter from owners Gabriel Claycamp and Heidi Kenyon that they would be closing because of a combination of the bad economy, and permitting issues with the city involving required exits in the basement. However, at that point the Swinery and the Lunch Counter (both located in the same building, and also owned by Claycamp and Kenyon) were expected to stay open. (The Swinery, however, has had its own run-ins with regulators, including a recent situation involving Swinery meat being supplied to a Fremont restaurant without proper permits in place for doing so.)

The “dramatic tale of oh!”, as Nancy Leson put it in her All You Can Eat blog at the Seattle Times, was not yet over. This week Claycamp sent out an email stating that King County has now given him permission to sell the Swinery’s bacon legally. But on the other hand, they have now lost their lease and “will be for sure out of the building by the end of the month.” Lunch Counter? Closed. (That was fast.) Swinery? Sort of closed, but they say they have “24 days to make and sell some bacon,” along with t-shirts that read “BACON PIMP.”

And this is where the situation gets even more convoluted. While the Swinery now has a permit to sell bacon (and only bacon, no other cured meats) legally, the annual permit to run a restaurant/food establishment from the Culinary Communion House on Beacon Avenue expired on March 31. The bacon-selling permit assumes that the bacon will be sold from a legally-permitted establishment, which CC House is not. Unfortunately, the fees to renew CC House’s restaurant permit are not pro-ratable, so Gabriel and Heidi would have to pay either a year’s fee or a six-month seasonal fee to be able to sell bacon they plan to sell for the rest of April.

Claycamp has also withdrawn his application to sell at farmers’ markets, so the Ballard Farmers’ Market sales mentioned on the Swinery web site won’t be happening, nor will any other market sales.

There are more messy details, both in Leson’s story and from Rebekah Denn in Eat All About It.

The one result we can be sure of at the moment is that the Culinary Communion House on Beacon is going to be very vacant, very soon. Perhaps a nice pizza restaurant could open there instead?

Tags: culinary communion, gabriel claycamp, lunch counter, swinery

Beacon Bits: Recession affects light rail area development and local cut glass company

• If you’re wondering where the expected “building boom” along the light rail route on MLK is, you’re not alone. The Seattle Times reports that projects are being delayed — sometimes permanently — by the current recession’s tight credit and overall economic malaise. The South Seattle Beacon recently discussed this issue as well, with representatives of the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund and the city’s Office of Economic Development suggesting that the current situation is a “great opportunity” to focus upcoming development.
• Speaking of development near the light rail line, we meant to post this last week: a PDF of Sound Transit’s plan for the Beacon Hill light rail station area. The gray areas that say “future development” are not owned by Sound Transit and will be fenced off by chain link fence after the construction is complete. It’s up to the property owners to decide what to do with those areas, and their plans are unknown at the moment.
• Also in the Times, Kusak’s Cut Glass, at the foot of Beacon Hill just off Rainier Avenue on 22nd, was founded in Seattle nearly a century ago, in 1914. The company was named “the Northwest’s family-owned small business of the year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Seattle office last year. And now, in the recession, it is struggling, but determined, to survive.

On a positive note, the cherry trees are blooming! (A little late this year, aren’t they?)

Tags: development, light rail station, redevelopment

Culinary Communion shutting down

Apparently due to a combination of business slowdown, construction, and permitting issues, Culinary Communion is closing. Future classes are canceled, and refunds will be issued… eventually. (And some flexibility is being asked for.) The Lunch Counter will not close, and will reopen March 23rd. The Swinery, pending further permit approval, will also continue, and may take over the lease of the building. Equipment will be sold-off (cash only) Saturday, March 21, from 2-6 pm.

The long farewell letter from Gabriel and Heidi with all the details is on the front page of the Culinary Communion website.

Thanks to Chris Bailey for the tip.

Tags: culinary communion, lunch, swinery

Weekday lunch counter opening at Culinary Communion

Adrienne at Culinary Communion writes:

Culinary Communion is going to begin operating a weekday lunch counter. While the official grand opening isn’t until April 1, we will have a “soft opening” during the month of March and will be open for business on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (with a few exceptions – please check our website at www.culinarycommunion.com) from 11am-2pm. We will offer a variety of sandwiches – using the Swinery meat (when available) and homemade bread –- plus, a salad, soup, and hot entrée of the day. Menu items will be priced between $6 and $9. Lunch is available to eat-in or take out. No reservations necessary. Questions can be directed to info@culinarycommunion.com or 206.284.8687. Look for more information about the grand opening soon!

Culinary Communion is located at 2524 Beacon Avenue South in North Beacon Hill.

Tags: culinary communion, lunch, restaurants

The Swinery’s supposed shortcuts

Rebekah Denn at Devouring sEATtle follows up on her previous article about the surprise and sudden shutdown of fledgling cured meat emporium The Swinery. Getting the story from the Seattle and King County Public Health department, it sounds like a series of straight-ahead permitting problems, for both the sale and previous production of the meats. A hearing is set for today.

Additionally, the article has attracted plenty of anonymous grousing about proprietor Gabriel Claycamp and Culinary Communion. Take appropriate anonymous-internet-commenter precautions when reading.

Check out the article hosted by the P-I.

Tags: culinary communion, inspection, meat, permit, public health, swinery

Swinery shut down?

The Devouring sEATtle blog hosted by the P-I reports that the The Swinery, the cured meat operation recently started at Culinary Communion, has been shut down. Indeed, the Swinery website has been wiped. (See it as it was in the Google cache.)

The word is that it was shut down by the health department in some sort of retaliation for an underground restaurant project called “Gypsy“.

Let’s hope this is just a speed bump and not a dead end for delectable locally cured meats.

Further details in the original “Swinery shutdown” post at Devouring sEATtle.

Thanks for the tip, Anita!

Tags: bacon, culinary communion, health, swinery

“Retail food store” looking more like a retail space

The warehouse “retail food store” that’s been for rent on the corner of 15th & Beacon looks to be actually transforming. Almost all of the pallets have been moved out of the front area, leaving a large vacant space in a prime location. Here are a couple of photos of the inside taken earlier this evening:



(Sorry for the blur.)

Tags: food store, for rent, retail, warehouse, zoning