The Seattle Square is blogging about the type of vendors that have already signed up for the market this Saturday. I’m including a short summary here, but go over to their blog to check out longer write-ups and more pictures. It’s not good for my wallet to have so many amazing vendors located just 1 block from where I live!
And don’t forget that the first 200 people to the market get a free swag bag (silk-screened live by Zone4) with DRY soda, gift certificates to FX McRory’s, free passes to Trinity Nightclub and more!
(p.s. please excuse the lack of normal posts on this blog — I’m one of the volunteer organizers for this market and have lost whatever free time I used to have for regular blog posts!)
Parfait Organic Ice Cream
One of the vendors that we’re really excited about for the market is Parfait Organic Ice Cream. When I first called Adria to see if they were interested in a market in Pioneer Square to help revitalize the area, there was no hesitation — she signed on for every single Saturday! I’m telling you — if you only come to this market to try Parfait — it is totally worth it! It was hands down the best ice cream I have ever had.
Slide Sideways
Scott and Jacqui are the creators and owners of Slide Sideways, a company that they started because of their shared love of “making beautiful things.”
One of the great things about their business is that all of their illustrations and designs are one of a kind.
Glam Spoon
The first thing that caught my eye about Glam Spoon’s application was when she listed her website. She didn’t just list her website, she added “bohemian chic for women with tenacity.”
And a woman with tenacity is just how I would describe the owner – Tina. She is full of energy and you can tell that she’s really passionate about what she does.
Urban Farm Naturals
UFN is a family-owned and-operated bath & body company based out of Arlington, Washington. They create and develop all of their products from scratch. And, they even mix, measure, and make everything the old-fashioned way. And they just keep getting cooler: many of the herbs and flowers that go into their products are grown in their very own backyard.
A letter from the now former Pioneer Square Community Association has gone out to neighborhood businesses as they are in the process of adopting a new “Main Street” model, and have changed their name to reflect those changes.
PSCA has changed their name to The Alliance for Pioneer Square, with the tagline “New Energy for Seattle’s Historic Neighborhood.” And everyone knows that an organization with such a long name should think about how it will be shortened (a lesson learned from the South Lake Union Trolley naming committee). I suggested that their acronym become like the Pioneer Square International District Community Preservation and Development Authority’s (PSIDCPDA), but no one took me seriously. So instead of my suggested TAPSNESHN, they’ll become TAPS or The Alliance.
Building on the recent Pioneer Square Revitalization planning efforts, we are pleased to announce the launch of a new organization. Adding to the strength and talent of the neighborhood, we are bringing together new board members, new staff, a new name, and new energy for the neighborhood. We are committed to a focus on neighborhood and economic revitalization building on the assets of our Historic District.
Over the next couple of weeks, staff and board members will be walking the neighborhood discussing future plans and reaching out for ideas and new partners. We hope to see each of you and explain the plans for the next few months including training, participation and volunteer opportunities. We are excited at the opportunities for the neighborhood and welcome your comments and participation.
Board of Directors
Charley Royer, Co-Chair Resident & Business Owner
Kevin Daniels, Co-Chair Nitze Stagen & Daniels Development
Paul Swegle, Treasurer ING Sharebuilder
Adam Hasson, Secretary SAMIS
Shelby Brammer, Resident
Rick Friedhoff, Compass Housing Alliance
Hugh Holman, Marcus’s Martini Heaven
Jen Kelly, Resident & New Pioneer Square Blog
Rich Reel, Property Owner
Ryan Smith, Martin Smith
Staff
Leslie Smith, Executive Director
Lisa Dixon, Program Director
Liz Stenning, Project Manager
Samantha McCoy, Marketing/Administration
Philip Craft, Park Concierge
If you would like to read the Revitalization Plan click here. If you would like to review and comment on the Draft Conceptual Plan for Trail to Treasure click here. And if you would like to get engaged call us at 206.667.0687 or e-mail us at info@pioneersquare.org.
DJC has an article today that announces Nuance Communications is leasing 46,000 square feet in Starbucks’ new office building.
According to their website, Nuance “is a leading provider of speech recognition, PDF converters, OCR solutions and document imaging solutions for businesses and consumers.”
“In 2008, after announcing it was laying off 550 non-store employees, Starbucks put the 505 First/83 King property up for sale and lease. It was a major blow to the neighborhood, which has had its share of bad luck over the last decade. Another setback came earlier this year when Elliott Bay Book Co. moved to Capitol Hill. Other smaller retailers also are leaving.
While the area is perceived to be unsafe, Kinzer said police stats indicate the crime rate in Pioneer Square is about the same as Wallingford’s.
Allison said he’s seeing more interest in Pioneer Square from a range of large companies.”
As reported on SeattleCrime.com, Heavens club owner Paul Liddane kind of lost it three weeks ago when he “allegedly threatened to shoot staff, his wife, and his newborn child at the Group Health birthing center on Capitol Hill last week.”
According to the Capitol Hill Seattle blog, “Liddane, 38, has been charged with one count of felony harassment against his wife and child and one count of felony harassment for his threats to Group Health staff.”
Club Heaven is now changing ownership — Aura nightclub owner Matthew Chu has purchased the club from Liddane, and plans to open it under a new name in a just a few months.
According to Chu, the new club will have a very different feel from Aura. For the first few months, it will feature DJ’s as he works to build a network for live music. They plan on looking for small, upcoming bands from the area, and out of town.
Stay tuned for the name of the new club and an official open date.
This week’s Friday Feature is of a gym that is one of Seattle’s oldest established health club facilities. Starting out in 1984 as the Sound Conditioning Club, it was purchased in 1995 by one of their personal trainers, Tija Petrovich and her partner Sandy. Back then, the club was located in the same historic building, but in a hard to find location on the 2nd floor.
A few years ago, they made the strategic decision to occupy a recently vacated ground floor retail spot, even though it would be almost half the size of their original location. It was a trade off that they felt was worth it, however. Many other businesses have come and gone in that spot (including a few restaurants), but it seems like Seattle Fitness is going to make it work. They took the opportunity to upgrade a lot of the equipment, make changes to their classes, and to establish a comortable feel to the gym.
Seattle Fitness mainly caters to businesses and the daytime crowd, but are open in the evenings and on weekends for any residents in the neighborhood. Although they don’t currently offer classes on Saturday or Sunday, Tija said she would be happy to add a class if there were at least 5 consistent people in attendance (Saturday morning bootcamp anyone?).
In addition to their fitness center and many class options, Seattle Fitness offers the following:
- Massage
- Personal Training
- Individual pilates instruction
Because of fitness center regulations, they don’t offer discounted rates for any individual, and only a slight discount for corporate accounts. Their contracts are always month to month because they believe on proving every month why you want to keep coming back instead of signing you into a year long contract.
Their normal rates are $39/month with a $75 enrollment fee — but there’s a way around the fee. If you sign up for a one month pass ($59) or a 10 visit punch card, and then officially sign up before that month is over or the card is full, the fee is waived and you move into the $39/month rate.
They also offer Corporate Accounts, where businesses get billed directly (and can choose to payroll deduct their employees), and the fee is $35/month with a $25 enrollment fee.
For more info on their gym, you can check out their website here, or if you want to check them out yourself, they are located at the corner of 1st Avenue South and South King Street.
And if you do stop by, make sure to say hi to the energetic owner and check out her impressive bobblehead collection.
Back in March I had the opportunity to walk with the Mayor on his Pioneer Square walking tour. It just so happened that I was scheduled to walk with him on the stretch of street where I live and pointed out a few concerns that residents and businesses had. One of the problems that he paid specific attention to was the boarded up Metropole building. If you’re interested in reading a history of the building, check out this article.
Here’s what the building originally looked like:
Here’s what the building looked like before the fire:
Here’s what it looked like when we moved in to the neighborhood:
Here’s what it looked like when they tried to add some donated art:
Mayor McGinn in front of the Metropole building:
And here’s what it looks like this week:
I talked to the managers of the building who said that working with the ad agency to add the posters was a decision that they made not only to recoup some costs from the building sitting empty for the past 3 years, but more because they wanted to support their local sports team. The Sounders FC posters were planned to remain up for two weeks as part of a marketing campaign the Sounders are running, after which the owners were thinking about replacing them with SAM posters throughout the rest of the summer.
According to the Sounders Marketing Team, they weren’t aware of the rules in Pioneer Square regarding an approval process for signage through the historic preservation board and are now working with the owners and the ad agency to remove the posters until they can go through the proper channels.
After the Sounders posters come down, however, I discussed with the property manager the potential of painting the wood so that it looks like the businesses you want to open there once it’s renovated. This was done successfully in Columbia City as part of their revitalization and has the potential to do the same in Pioneer Square. The building, which has been undergoing insurance litigation for a little over three years now, may not find any resolution until around December of this year.
The owners of the building want to stress, however, that they want the Metropole building to be a successful part of the neighborhood and are happy to work with artists or groups who are willing to get involved in activating their “storefront.”
So – if you had a choice, which one would you prefer?
Tina, the owner of Synapse206, has decided to retire from retail and will be closing her shop at the end of this month. Back in January of this year, I wrote a review of their store and its history. They have incredibly unique clothes, hats, shoes, jewelry, belts, socks, tees, etc.
All of the clothes will be listed at below cost, which is a fantastic deal — I’ve seen more than a few things I wouldn’t mind owning. Stop in any time during their regular store hours (8-5) or call the store at (206) 447-7731 to set up an appointment.
TAT’S Mission:
TAT’S Delicatessen strives to be an authentic reproduction of the East Coast deli experience in both product and atmosphere. We are dedicated to providing a diverse menu of high quality eat-in, take-out and delivery meals using only the freshest ingredients, always served in a friendly, efficient manner.
And their mission will continue… just at a new location. According to a sign on their door, they are relocating to 2nd and Yesler in just two weeks on Tuesday, May 25th.
Right now, they are only open Mon – Fri from 8am to 4pm, but their new location also promises longer hours and seating for 50. It was put well by the Seattle Weekly when they said that “Tat’s will be serving beer and wine to wash down those massive cheesesteaks.”
For more info, check out their website here.
UPDATE
In an email from president Brian Tatman, aka “Tat”– due to permitting delays, they won’t actually be opening in the new location until May 31st. He also clarified their new hours:
Mon – Fri: 8am – 7pm
Sat: 11am – 7pm
The new location will seat 50, and he added that there would be TV’s, Air Conditioning (and I quote “woo hoo”) and they will keep the tradition of staying open for all home Seahawks Games on Sundays.
As a resident who doesn’t also work in Pioneer Square, I’m thrilled that they’re staying open past 5pm.
I had the great opportunity this week to sit down with Zephyr, the manager of Elliott Bay Cafe, to talk about their store and what their future is looking like with the departure of Elliott Bay Book Co.
To reach the store, you have to go underground, where you enter a Pioneer Square-esque brick-walled interior that was the inspiration for Café Nervosa in the TV sitcom “Frasier” (apparently Norman Mailer, Barbara Kingsolver and George Saunders have all stopped by to check it out).
Visitors to the cafe still have a funny reaction when they’re visiting specifically to compare it to the Frasier Cafe and don’t think it’s the perfect match. Just talking with Zephyr, you can see the passion that she has for EBC, for the staff that work there, and for the menu.
“I think we probably have the best vegetarian selection in this neighborhood and probably some better vegetarian selections than a lot of places around,” she said. “Our ‘beans and greens’ is ridiculously outstanding. The breakfast risotto, which is a vegan dish, will totally get you going in the day. It’s amazing.”
With a customer mix of office employees and residents, the best news is that EBC is sticking around the neighborhood and we need to help support that decision! With the departure of EBBC, they are temporarily closing at 3pm until another business opens up in that space. They’ve noticed a slight drop in evening customers, and think that part of it may be that people don’t know they’re still around (perhaps due to the papered up windows in EBBC’s old space).
I emailed with owner Tamara Murphy (who also owns the fabulous Brasa) to find out why she chose Pioneer Square and why she’s sticking around.
What made you decide to open a cafe in Pioneer Square?
Tamara: I have had a relationship with the book store for 25 years. I witnessed the cafe’s various incarnations over the years, and always thought that it was a magical historical space that needed constant nurturing and definitely a face lift. Peter Aaron was looking for an operator as he was not a restaurant guy, and he was given my name and we hit it off instantly. The cafe and the book store had great synergy and we were successful together from day one. Such great synergy that we decided to do it again in the new location. Although the bookstore has gone, I still believe in the space and we have different opportunities now.
Is there anything about EBC that people don’t know?
Tamara: It’s a great venue for music, and fine dining. Some of our dinners include linen, candle light and jazz or other music. It is an awesome space for parties, and events. I am now taking over the “reading room” and am going to transform the space into a speakeasy type atmosphere, where chefs dinners, dancing, receptions, wine tastings are on the agenda.
To get on the minute updates on EBC’s menu or special events, follow them on twitter, or become a Facebook fan.
As first reported on the Capitol Hill Seattle blog, we are losing our florist of 28 years to Capitol Hill.
In an email at the end of March, Megan stated that “I love this neighborhood. I am saddened to leave it, but in the same breath excited about our new space.”
And in a recent email to Capitol Hill, she said:
“We are moving into 1911 E. Aloha. We will share the building with Beers Withington. I pick up the keys tomorrow. We are so excited about our new home and neighborhood. After having our flower store in Pioneer Square for 28 almost 29 years we are ready for a new chapter. The new space needs a few touch ups but we are hoping to open on Monday May 3rd. We just hope all our new product lines arrive in time to fill the store. At the Capitol Hill location we will carry more gifts and housewares in our little flower shop. Can’t wait to meet all our new neighbors.”
We will miss you, but we wish you the best of luck in your new space!
If you’re still looking for flowers in the Pioneer Square neighborhood, you can find them by stopping at Seattle Flowers on the corner of 2nd & James.