Tag Archives: rainier valley

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: New employees, new businesses, new hours

The Oak restaurant's exterior is much improved. As far as we know, the owners are still waiting for the liquor license before they can open. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

No news yet on the opening of the Oak, though much work has been done on the building.

The Tippe and Drague down the street is also getting closer to opening, with the recent completion of drywall work in the interior.

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Browsing around the eater.com website, we noticed a Beacon Hill job listing, posted a couple of weeks ago:

“Bar del Corso is looking for that perfect person. MUST HAVE wood-burning pizza oven experience and a touch for dough. We are a small, owner-run restaurant / pizzeria, with a tight-knit group of professionals, in a family-like environment. There is lots of room for growth in this position. Knowledge of Italian cuisine, good knife skills, a passion for food are all a plus!”

See the listing at eater.com for further information.

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Speaking of Bar del Corso, we missed this last month but you should see it now: a video in which owner Jerry Corso reveals how to make a delicious margherita pizza. (The all-important ingredient Bar del Corso has that none of us have at home? That big blue pizza oven!)

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A new business has come to the hill: The Skin Firm, a skin care and waxing studio, opens tomorrow (Friday, June 1) at 4501 15th Ave. S., Suite 103, just west of
MacPherson’s Produce. There is a grand opening reception at 7 p.m.

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Luisa Taqueria at Beacon and 15th Avenue South has made a few changes. Starting June 3 they will serve brunch Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.– 3 p.m, with coffee and new brunch dishes in a collaboration with Inay’s. The taqueria will also be open 7 days a week now, from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on weekends.

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The Station (2533 16th Ave. S.) has made a list of dog-friendly coffee shops in Seattle!

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According to the Wall Street Journal, the bidding wars for homes are back — right here on Beacon Hill.

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The Lockmore neighborhood blog reports that thieves recently tried a “brazen, balls the size of Texas-style” late evening break-in, netting only a garage door opener.

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It’s down on Rainier, not on the Hill, but some folks may be happy to know that a branch of Heaven Sent Fried Chicken, the new chain of restaurants operated by Ezell Stephens (of you-know-where fame), has opened at 3427 Rainier Ave. S., sharing space with former Beacon Hill restaurant Willie’s Taste of Soul. (For some reason, eater.com thinks that location is Rainier Beach.)

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Census, catfish, and classes

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This coffee-colored building near El Centro is about to become a coffee shop, "The Station." Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The Seattle Weekly‘s food blog, Voracious, reviewed one of our favorite hidden food gems on Beacon Hill: the Beacon Avenue Shell Station. Yes, a gas station. The reviewer got a disappointingly old filet of catfish, but we know that if you get there at the right time the stuff is dee-lish.

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Michael Wallenfels of Mokusai Design is teaching a Cartoon Drawing class at Jefferson Community Center this spring, on Thursday nights from April 8 to June 10. For more about this and some other classes, see the flyer.

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We wrote a couple of weeks ago about Spanish language classes for adults at El Centro de la Raza. Elliott from El Centro wrote to tell the Beacon Hill mailing list that there are now two classes, so there should be enough room for everyone who wants to learn.

The Beginner (Plus) classes begin Monday, April 5, and will continue on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm until June 9. The class fee is $300, which goes to support the programs at El Centro. If you have questions or want to enroll, call Enrique Gonzalez at (206) 957-4605 or email execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org. Registration deadline is March 31.

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We are told that on March 10 20, the PLOP! Cabaret Performance Series will come to “an intimate house setting” somewhere on Beacon Hill, featuring poets Kate Lebo, A. K. “Mimi” Allin, and Jennifer Borges Foster. More info here.

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Jordan of Communichi, the acupuncture clinic located in the El Centro building, just returned from Haiti where he volunteered in the relief effort. He wrote about his experience in the Communichi blog.

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Seen on Craigslist:

“I am interested in putting together a small craft show in the Beacon Hill neighborhood this spring. I am posting to see if other crafters are interested in getting involved. I already have a venue (it’s a great place that I am super excited about!) and ideas for putting on the show. Please email me if you are interested in being a part of planning or if you would like to be a vendor at the event.”

Sound interesting? Email the poster at comm-3mdsy-1627068912@craigslist.org.

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Go to the Amazon WebStore Beta Invitation page. Look at the image in the lower right, featuring a retailer named “BH”. According to Techflash, “BH” stands for Beacon Hill; it’s a fake retailer that Amazon uses when they want to show off their new features without using a real company’s name. Amazon may be leaving the Hill soon, but perhaps they will keep a little bit of Beacon Hill with them for a while.

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The Filipino Community Center in the Rainier Valley is hosting a Community Forum on the 2010 Census on Thursday, March 11 at 6:00 pm. The forum will offer people the opportunity to ask questions and review the census forms. The Filipino Community Center is located at 5740 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.

Volunteering and Giving

Neighborhood House seeks volunteer tutors

From Romina Rivera, Volunteer Coordinator for Youth Programs at Neighborhood House:

Are you a retired teacher? Are you currently pursuing a degree in education and would like to increase your teaching experience in a culturally diverse setting? Are you a previous camp counselor or someone who has worked with elementary-school students and knows how to effectively work with them? An hour a week could do wonders for our local students and their academic success.

Neighborhood House has an immediate need for reliable, patient volunteer after-school tutors at Aki Kurose Middle School (3928 South Graham Street). You’ll be working with middle-school students helping them finish their homework as well as improve their academic skills. Orientation and training will be provided.

We’re looking for people who are available from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. once a week for at least three months.

If you (or anyone you know) are interested in becoming an after-school tutor, please e-mail RominaR@nhwa.org for more information on how to get started as an after-school tutor.

Local Events

Rally in the Valley fundraiser on Monday

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There will be fundraising, fun, festivities and food at the Rally in the Valley on Monday night. The event is a fundraiser for the Mike McGinn for Mayor campaign. Undecided? Enjoy a great meal and meet “We Like Mike” supporters–and Mike himself–to learn more about Mike’s positions on the issues.

Rally in the Valley
6:00 – 8:00 pm Monday, October 19
Jumbo Restaurant, 4208 Rainier Avenue South, near Rainier and Genesee.

There is no door fee, but donations are gratefully accepted. Please bring a can of food for the Rainier Valley Food Bank. All are welcome to watch the art performances from many diverse groups and join in the festivities.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits, Necessities of Life edition: Food, clothing, and cool, cool desserts

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Halo-halo. Photo by Bing Ramos.
Halo-halo. Photo by Bing Ramos.
Jesse Vernon at Slog writes about halo-halo, a cool and sweet Filipino dessert that’s especially tasty on warm days like today. Beacon Hill may not have a trendy ice cream shop (yet), but we do have halo-halo, at Inay’s and at Kusina Filipina!

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The Marination Hawaiian/Korean taco truck (yes, seriously) has begun a regular Thursday lunch residency at Dr. Jose Rizal Park, from 11am – 2pm. (Next week’s lunch is only until 1:30, though.)

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In the hubbub over Link’s opening day on July 18, we missed one other local opening: big-box discount retail has come to Southeast Seattle in the form of a Ross store on Rainier Avenue South, in the former Longs Drugs next to Safeway, 3820 Rainier Avenue South. MyraMyra at the Rainier Valley Post wrote about her visit and suggested some tips for a good Ross shopping experience (hint: it’s no Nordstrom). Ross sells discounted clothing, shoes, and various household goods.

Getting Around

Going places on light rail: Rainier Beach station

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(As the big opening day for light rail is this Saturday, we want to post a bit about the stations that aren’t on Beacon Hill. Much of the coverage of the rail line focuses on using it for commuting to and from work, and many of us will be doing that. But even more than getting to work, Link is going to be useful for visiting places throughout Downtown and Southeast Seattle without a car. With this in mind, we’ve created a few posts about some of the station areas.)

The pictogram representing the Rainier Beach station is a heron. (Courtesy of Sound Transit.)
The pictogram representing the Rainier Beach station is a heron. (Courtesy of Sound Transit.)
The Rainier Beach Station location has an oddly rural appearance, due to its location near the Chief Sealth Trail and the large Thistle Street P-Patch. There is not yet any kind of high density development in this area, and the City Light power lines that rise over the trail and p-patch will prevent those areas from being developed in the future. This area was rural well-within living memory, and in fact, Seattle’s last working farm, Sferra Farm, is fairly close by.

Several blocks to the east is Rainier Avenue and Rainier Beach High School. Another few blocks get you to Beer Sheva Park on the shore of Lake Washington. Just over a mile’s walk south on the Chief Sealth Trail from the station will get you to the famous and lovely Kubota Garden.

The Chief Sealth Trail undulates down Beacon Hill to the Rainier Beach Link station. Photo by Wendi.
The Chief Sealth Trail undulates down Beacon Hill to the Rainier Beach Link station. Photo by Wendi.
Beaconians, still without any pizza restaurants on the hill (unless you count the Domino’s on the very lowest part of the hill on McClellan, but we don’t), might find the Link train to be their pizza express, since the Rainier Beach station is only one long block away from Vince’s, where they’ve been serving pizza and gnocchi and spaghetti for 52 years now. Dinner at Vince’s is like stepping back in time; dark, with Sinatra on the sound system and checkered cloths on the table, it’s a classic old-style Neapolitan-American restaurant, probably not much different from the way it was in 1957. Comfort food doesn’t get much more comfortable than this. (There’s a bar, too.) If Italian food isn’t your thing, there is a taco wagon about half a mile north of the station on MLK.

Dragonfly above the Rainier Beach Station. Photo by Wendi.
"Dragonfly" above the Rainier Beach Station. Photo by Wendi.
The station itself, like most of the other Rainier Valley stations, is a platform station. Metal panels by artist Eugene Parnell are embossed with hieroglyphics and other forms of writing and stand throughout the platform. An aluminum creature, “Dragonfly” by Darlene Nguyen-Ely, soars over the north entrance. Nearby is Buster Simpson’s “Parable,” meant to be pear halves that reflect the farming past of the Valley, with cables and rails to symbolize the encroachment by urban Seattle that changed the neighborhood. This, however, is one of the less-successful artworks at the stations, as at a glance, it just looks like a pile of rusty junk left over from the station’s construction. A better evocation of old farming Seattle is just across MLK, where the P-patch farmers continue an old South Seattle tradition.

Artwork by Eugene Parnell on the station platform. Photo by Wendi.
Artwork by Eugene Parnell on the station platform. Photo by Wendi.
Local Events

Make your own luminary for the Festival of Lights

Your tin can lantern might look like this. Photo by Elin B.
Your tin can lantern might look like this. Photo by Elin B.
SEEDarts is hosting the South Seattle Solstice: Festival of Lights at 4:30 pm on December 21. Participants, carrying lit luminaria, will walk from the Rainier Valley Cultural Center in Columbia City to Hillman City, with an event at the end of the walk to “celebrate community on the darkest day of the year, with light, music and refreshments.”

Don’t have a lantern to carry? Fear not. This Saturday is a free lantern-making workshop to prepare for the solstice event. Bring a large tin can that has been filled with water and frozen solid. (Rumor has it, it’s going to be cold this weekend. The freezing part might be easy.) The workshop is open to all ages, and it’s from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 South Alaska Street.

For more information about this event, contact Abbey Norris, Public Art Manager, norris@seedseattle.org, (206) 760-4289.

Uncategorized

A neighbor’s plea: Can you help Noemi’s kids?

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Amber Campbell at the Rainier Valley Post sent this email to us today:

“Most of you already know that earlier this week, my neighbor Noemi Lopez – the mother of three beautiful children, 15-year old Karina, 13-year old Alandra and 6-year old Alex – was killed by her ex-husband. Angel has confessed to the murder and remains on the run. The children are staying with relatives but they have been unable to return to their home for clothes, school supplies, personal belongings, etc. Can you help them?

“I am personally keeping in touch with the family on a regular basis to keep tabs on their needs and deliver the outpouring of sentiments, blessings and donations. So far neighbors have contributed money, clothing and a tree to plant in Noemi’s memory.

“At this time we are focused on helping the children with clothing, school supplies and gifts for the holidays, as well as the crime scene clean-up costs that will range somewhere in the area of $1,000 – $5,000.

“The Rainier Valley Post has established a fund specifically for the Lopez Children and we would all be very grateful for whatever publicity you can offer to generate help for these poor kids during the most horrible time of their lives.

“Please go to www.rainiervalleypost.com for info about how people can give.

Thank you and Happy Holidays.”

Please help if you can. At the Rainier Valley Post site, there is a PayPal button in the upper sidebar, along with an address if you prefer to mail a donation.