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

Signs at the entrance to the First Choice car wash illustrated problems with having an auto-oriented business in a pedestrian zone. Photo by Jason.
Signs at the entrance to the First Choice car wash illustrated problems with having an auto-oriented business in a pedestrian zone. Photo by Jason.
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.)

6 thoughts on “Car wash near station declared a violation; Grown Folks Coffeehouse closed”

  1. Aw, darn. We watched the inauguration at Grown Folks. I’m so sorry to hear they’re closed.

  2. The loss of Grown Folks is too bad. I stopped by whenever I was walking in the area but that just wasn’t very often unfortunately. Just not enough foot traffic past the location and not the kind of thing I think about driving to as a destination.

  3. Grown Folks had good coffee and was VERY affordable. Sorry to see them go.

    I don’t think it was the location that did them in: The lot is being redeveloped, and the building itself was sort of odd. But I think that intersection has a lot of potential.

  4. Since they’re selling all their stuff, though, looks like they aren’t going to try it anywhere else. Too bad.

    Nice to see you on the BHB, Catalina! (You’re familiar from Slog.)

  5. I’m not too surprised that this place shut down. Went and tried it out a few times, but it wasn’t anything great. Thank goodness for Victrola Coffee, best coffee on the Hill.

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