West Seattle, Washington
20 Tuesday
We called earlier this afternoon to check on the status of the new Beveridge Place Pub (slightly delayed by a little red tape), and the person who answered the phone said they were expecting to find out by late afternoon if it was thumbs up for opening — Just checked back minutes ago and learned they got “thumbs up,” so they opened the new location (just north of the old one) immediately, and starting at 6 pm, they want you to know, it’s “Georgetown Brewers’ Night.”
During the Starbucks freebie discussion the other day, WSB frequent contributor/Forum Community member JanS mentioned in comments here she’d heard McDonald’s would offer free espresso on Friday. Now, 3 days later, the official announcement, and a cutesy website to accompany it. (Not nearly as amusing as this new website, though.)
Thanks to the people who just e-mailed and texted us to let us know that Beveridge Place Pub has sent out an e-mail update saying plans to reopen tomorrow in the new location next door, after closing the old location Sunday, are on hold because of inspection issues. We tried calling but got no answer; the e-mail forwarded to us goes on to say, “Unfortunately, we can’t provide an exact date for the new place right now, but we’re sure you understand we are trying to resolve things as fast as possible.”
That’s David Robertson and Paul Binder of PB&J Textiles in front of their old location at 7349 35th SW (map; next door to Olympic Heights Laundry, which they operate) – the space where they have just announced they will open Coffee at the Heights, target date mid-June. They have been working on it for a while but kept it under wraps until they were close to the final stage of the permit process for converting the space. Once Coffee at the Heights is up and running, they plan to be open 5:30 am till 8 pm, maybe later; they will serve coffee, pastry, desserts, and sandwiches (the sandwich operation might not be up when they first open, depending on how the Health Department approval process goes). Meanwhile, their current retail/production location for PB&J Textiles is offering something timely:
That’s the display in the south windows of PB&J at 5962 Fauntleroy (map) – reusable bags, just in time for the proposed city tax on non-reusable shopping bags. (As the display notes, $4 will get you one of their bags or potentially 20 non-reusable bags, your choice!) You can buy them right there at the shop.
When we heard about the Starbucks coffee giveaway @ 9 am tomorrow, it brewed memories of a giveaway around this time last year. Sure enough, WSB archives yield a post from mid-March ’07; on that occasion, SBUX gave out 12-ounce cups of coffee for two hours, while this event offers 8-ounce freebies for about half an hour. (One more difference: West Seattle has one more Starbucks store this year, with the new addition @ Jefferson Square.)
Thanks to Tammi for the tip – Beveridge Place Pub is closed for a few days while moving next door; according to the BPP website, it will reopen in the new spot 3 pm Thursday.
Thanks to Patricia for the tip, which we just confirmed by phone – Pioneer Coffee’s Aimonetto, in the ex-Alki Mail/Dispatch location at 2536 Alki, is finally open as of today; they’ll be open till 9 pm tonight, said the cheery person who answered the phone, also noting they open at 5:30 am. (We’ve been tracking the progress here since the business name first surfaced last September.)
From today through Mother’s Day (5/11), C & P Coffee is offering you a free coffee drink if you bring in a package of diapers – which will be donated to WestSide Baby. Maybe tonight, when C & P is hosting a talent show. Or tomorrow night, when the first meeting of West Seattle CoolMoms happens at C & P (watch for our in-depth story on them later today).
While out photographing outdoor sunrise services tomorrow (listed on our West Seattle Easter Sunday Services page along with every other WS service we could find), we’ll be stopping by Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) in The Junction for their Easter-season treat — Peep lattes. Really! Hotwire proprietor Lora provided the photographic proof. The ones with yellow Peeps have honey and vanilla; pink Peeps, strawberry and white chocolate; green Peeps, peppermint and milk chocolate. Lora says Hotwire will be open 7 am-6 pm tomorrow. (And if you’ve got a little one in tow, Hotwire’s having a Peep hunt – find the six Peep pix hidden around Hotwire, get your own Peep.) IF YOU’RE READING THIS POST-EASTER: Lora says the Peeps are “put away for the year” but other spring treats are now on the menu – including lavender mochas and rose lattes.
This just out of the WSB inbox from Cafe Rozella owner Ricardo Guarnero:
We had two sandwich-board signs stolen last night. One was on Roxbury and Delridge, the other one was on Delridge next to Center Tool Rental. They both say Cafe Rozella and have a cup logo and an arrow on them. One was 4 feet high and the other was 5 feet high. I know that this is small potatoes compared to what other crime victims encounter but for a small business like ours it really hurts. I’m hoping some punks just dumped them by the side of the road and hope that somebody sees them.
Cafe Rozella’s address/phone info is at the bottom of its home page. (It’s on the southeast edge of West Seattle, shortly before Delridge meets Roxbury.)
West Seattle Cellars owners are continuing to work on finishing the neighboring space they once hoped would become a wine bar. It’s been a while since our last update, and signs of construction are more noticeable outside the building, so we dropped by today to check on how it’s going. Turns out that work will be done next month; Tom and Jan are showing the available space to anyone interested in opening a “compatible food store” – but only by appointment, no drop-ins (and no other wine vendors) – they’re setting appointments by phone at 937-2868.
A reader suggests we ask how you survived those three hours of Starbuckslessness. That gives us an excuse to point you to a couple places with insight as to what went on: The Daily Weekly photographed a group of employees with a butcher-papered easel headed HOUSE RULES; StarbucksGossip.com, of course, has a massive comments thread; and the AP says there’s a new sign posted in SBUX stores.
Just in case you haven’t already heard this 2,000,001 other places already, today’s the day that Starbucks is closing its 7,000-plus U.S. stores for three hours of worker training, 5:30-8:30 pm local time. If you’re a SBUX fan looking for alternatives, here’s what you’ll find in West Seattle:
Alki Bakery
Angelia’s Red Cup Espresso
Bakery Nouveau
Bird on a Wire
Bubbles on Alki & on Delridge
Caffe Ladro
C & P
Cafe Rozella
Capers
Coffee to a Tea with Sugar
Cupcake Royale
Diva
Easy Street
Freshy’s
Hotwire (WSB sponsor)
Java Bean
Original Bakery
Revolution
Sleepless (DRIVE-THRU)
Tully’s Alki
Tully’s Morgan Junction
Uptown Delridge
Uptown Junction
Grocery stores not included. (Taken from our annual “where you can get a latte on Thanksgiving morning” compilation.)
If you drove through The Junction between about 6 and 9 this morning, you probably saw that TV truck outside Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor). As mentioned earlier this week, KING 5 decided to send its morning feature reporter Tim Robinson down to hang out and talk about the Meet Your Sweetheart matchmaking that’s been going on at Hotwire (with the big party coming up Saturday night). As you probably know, Hotwire is a cozy space, and it was fun squeezing in to get a little video of, well, the other video crew doing its thing, talking to proprietor Lora Lewis and then moving on to check out the decorated bags on the wall where people are leaving Valentines for “sweeties” whose photos catch their fancy (see some of them online here):
Hotwire is one of the 20 hot spots tonight for the Valentine’s night Art Walk – biggest Art Walk yet. For the first time in a while, looks like good weather – venues, a map, and a list of “specials” are all on the flyer.
Wondering when Pegasus is going to move into its new location next door (former Coyotes, Chez Million, Lighthouse, Point)? At last night’s Statue of Liberty Plaza Project party, the announcement was “within the next couple of weeks.”
Wondering when Pioneer Coffee Roasting Co. is going to open in its new spot east of Slices? Thanks to Rod for forwarding an e-mail exchange he had with its operators, who told him they are currently hoping to be open in early March. (The new location also is finally listed on the Pioneer website.)
Now a followup on our report yesterday morning about new owners for the old Shoremont Apartments on Alki – The firm to which we traced the purchasers, Pb Elemental, has e-mailed back to say, yes, it’s them, and here’s a few words about its plans (they’re promising more info and renderings shortly):
We have recently acquired the Shoremont apartments and the Mediterranean home next door (to remain). We are planning and permitting a six unit project featuring private roof decks and modern details. These new homes will be built green certified (4-5 star), featuring similar green products as our South Park lofts. (green roofs, rainwater collection, radiant heat, solar arrays). The existing building will be recycled as much as possible. We look forward to our first project in the Alki neighborhood and will ensure it is consistent with our design and quality.
The South Park lofts mentioned in that note are featured on the Pb home page.
On Valentine’s Eve, the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) “Meet Your Sweetie” matchmaking event is igniting a TV frenzy. 
We told you last Thursday that it was featured on Evening Magazine. Now Hotwire proprietor Lora Lewis sends word that two more TV appearances — live! — are ahead, and particularly if you’re single, you’re invited to drop by; no guarantees but you just might get interviewed, since both stations told her they’d love to talk with singles. According to Lora, KOMO 4 will be there during the 5 pm news tomorrow (WEDNESDAY) night (correction from earlier, sorry); KING 5 will be live Thursday on Valentine’s morning, with several reports between 6:30 and 9 am. In addition to showing up for all that, you can still get in on the “Sweeties” matchmaking by dropping by Hotwire any time (and checking out this page on its website) – we originally explained how this all works in this post last month. And the fun won’t end on Valentine’s Day — the main event is this Saturday, with a Sweetie Party starting at 5 pm at Hotwire, featuring participants reading their Valentines — will true love ensue? Be there to see. P.S. Hotwire also is one of the record-setting 20 venues participating in the Valentine’s night West Seattle Art Walk — flyer here — check out the second page of the flyer for “sweetie specials” at participating spots, which are now stretching BEYOND The Junction, with Thursday night venues including Click! Design That Fits (Admiral District), Authentic Home, and Styling Studio.
Thanks to the folks at Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) for the tip, which we just confirmed by driving by to see the new sign on the door: Red Cup Espresso in The Junction is now renamed after its late owner, Angelia Paulsen (backstory here), as Angelia’s Espresso. In a note to WSB that we published January 10, her husband Sean O’Dea had said he was thinking of making that change.
Lora Lewis from Hotwire Coffee, WSB’s inaugural sponsor, just e-mailed to say: “We’ve just finalized a purchase of a coffee shop at the Pike Place Market; opening of the new Hotwire Pike Place Market will be the first week of March. My manager, Rena Poppell, has decided to jump into the world of small business ownership and will be opening this shop under the Hotwire name. This new location actually eclipses other Internet Cafes in the area and will make Hotwire the largest line of Internet coffee shops in the region. Also, by the middle of 2008 we’ll be set to offer Hotwire as a micro-franchise to people who are interested in opening their own Hotwire Online Coffeehouse.” Lora says you can find out more about franchising by checking the links on the lower-right side of the Hotwire home page (higher up the page, by the way, is the latest on the Hotwire Valentine matchmaking event).
The new Pegasus sign is up at the ex-Coyotes, ex-Chez Million, ex-Lighthouse, ex-Point:
Further east, new colors are painted on Slices (whose front fence was shown in the Craigslist version of this ad last month; we wrote to the listed e-mailbox but got no reply) and in the background, the ex-Alki Mail turned future Pioneer Coffee Company:
Two and a half weeks after owner Angelia Paulsen‘s untimely death, Red Cup Espresso in The Junction is open 7 days a week, according to a sandwich board we saw out front – 6 am-2 pm weekdays, 7 am-4 pm weekends, which appears to be a bit of an update from what her husband told WSB last week.
Happened onto an online hint weeks ago that Emerald City Smoothie was planning a permanent West Seattle location, after posting a portable trailer at Alki last year. Now there’s finally word of where they’re opening — at Allstar Fitness (Andover west of Delridge). Thanks to Ty for spotting the sign and letting us know; the location is confirmed online.
Hotwire Coffee (inaugural WSB sponsor) proprietress Lora Lewis has those decorations up in her Junction store now, and there’s more to them than meets the eye – part of some Valentine’s matchmaking innovation, and Lora tells the story better than we can:
Remember in grade school those little Valentines cards you would secretly pop in someone’s lunch box or desk? Well, just turn the clock forward a ‘few’ years and that’s what we’ve got going on at Hotwire. For the next month you can stop by the shop, have a little photo taken and put it on your very own grown up sweetie box. Maybe someone comes in and sees what a cutie you are and perhaps pops a little valentine in the box. Not that adventurous? Well, then just come over and see who is up for grabs and maybe put your own little message in a box! You never know unless you try!
Already ‘taken’? Then don’t hesitate to pass this on to any of your friends who you feel are ready to meet that special someone! Oh, on Saturday, February 16th from 5 pm-7 pm, we’re going to have a meet & greet where all the people who had a picture and everyone who put a card in a box will be there to read their Valentines.
If you only have a photo available in digital format – here’s how to send it to Hotwire.
Thanks to Alex for sending news of this – official schedule and all – consider it either an invitation or a warning!
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