In a recent CHS post, we wrote about the interesting business community developing in the 14th and Pine area of Capitol Hill's Hilltop zone. Add a new player to that mix. I saw Zach (or could be Zack -- we don't know yet!) at the top of ladder affixing a line of letters to the building on 14th Ave where Blue Sky Cleaners has recently opened up shop. P O R C H L I G, I think it read at the time I was walking by.

The guy on the ladder said Porchlight Coffee will -- if all the remaining work like letter affixing goes smoothly -- open up in a few weeks. They will serve Greenwood Ave's Herkimer Coffee, bagels and pastries and are promising some vegan alternatives for you vegan alternatives.

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If you are one of those unfortunate souls who live on Capitol Hill but work somewhere else so haven't been able to enjoy Skillet's Monday visits, good news. The silver airstream of street food delight will be parked on the edges of Capitol Hill this afternoon for BottleNeck Lounge's Kentucky Derby bash. Starting at 4p, you can grab a burger or a fried spaghetti sandwich and head into the Lounge (BottleNeck is a CHS sponsor, btw) to enjoy the Derby festivities or hang out and enjoy your chow sidewalk style. Oh, and put your wager on Mt. Hot Stuff. 30 to 1.

Over the weekend, we told you that Chow foods was splitting up. Press release below details what's next for the former Chow partners Peter Levy and Jeremy Hardy. Coastal Kitchen will continue to serve on 15th Ave E as part of a Capitol Hill-based Seattle Eats business run by Hardy. Coastal, btw, is a CHS sponsor.

Chow Food partners zigging and zagging.

As of the end of April, Peter Levy and Jeremy Hardy, co-owners of Chow Foods, are splitting the sheets and going in different directions. After 20 years of a partnership that has seen several Seattle neighborhood restaurants started (and a couple finished), both partners determined that it was time for to manage their existing restaurants and to pursue future restaurant opportunities separately.

Levy will continue under the Chow Foods moniker and maintain his ownership of the 5 Spot on Queen Anne, Endolyne Joe’s in West Seattle, Atlas Foods in University Village and the Hi-Life in Ballard.

Hardy, under the banner of Seattle Eats, will maintain...

Thursday night is the annual Dining Out for Life event on Capitol Hill and across the rest of the city and the nation. Each participating restaurant, bar and cafe is donating 30% of proceeds from the night to Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Getting late to make reservations for some places so don't dilly dally if you want to eat a Cap Hill favorite for a good cause. I count 38 Cap Hill establishments participating (press release said 40 so maybe the site is missing a few OR I can't count). There's also this cocktail promo to consider before your meal Thursday night:

In honor of Dining Out For Life and the fight against AIDS, several Capitol Hill lounges will be serving “lifesaving” cocktails this Thursday, April 30.  Stop by the Baltic Room, Lottie’s Lounge, Licorous, Purr and Rosebud for a Red Ribbon Cosmo or the house signature Dining Out For Life concoction.  Thirty percent of the proceeds from your cocktails will go toward Lifelong AIDS Alliance to support their services for people living with HIV, AIDS and other...

Capitol Hill is about to go from a no-ice cream neighborhood to a-lot-of-ice cream neighborhood. Molly Moon's is open and drawing long lines. Old School Frozen Custard tells CHS it is opening in May. And now Gabriel Scheer writes about a third shop in the area taking shape:

At Molly Moon’s, the conversation was around flavor selection and how she actively solicits customer feedback via her website, offering people opportunities to request and comment on new flavors via email and Twitter.

At the other as-yet-unopened ice cream shop, Josh, the proprietor, is actively seeking help from his potential clients – asking for assistance painting the store, filling it with unique (used) dishware, and engaging community artists to personalize it with functional art (such as a chandelier made from paper).

In both of these cases, the proprietors are actively engaging those to whom they would sell their products. In so doing, they’re not only gaining valuable help (without the help, Josh would doubtless be delayed in opening)...

This is how it ends. After only a few months of existence, Seattle's outpost of the Pizza Fusion franchise shut down suddenly in March, out of cash and out of time. On Thursday, the remaining hard assets of Kevin York's business will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. (Thanks to Matt Goyer of ubnlivn for passing along the picture.)

 

Photo: Chelsea Mitchell

CHS had been told that the Trace Loft developers were looking for somebody to take over the space part and parcel but looks like nobody came through.

Here's what the auctioneer will bring to market on Thursday:

• ROTO-FLEX SA56 gas pizza oven, w/ATHENA OTC25 digital temperature controls, 320,000 btu, s/n: 0809001
• HOBART HL661 Legacy 60 qt mixer, 240v, 3 phase, s/n: 31-1321-277
• TRUE TPP-119 12' pizza prep table, 120v
• TRUE TSSU-72-18 3-door refer prep counter
• TRUE TBGB-3-8 2-door undercounter refer
• TRUE TWT-60F undercounter freezer, 115v
• (2) TRUE TBB-3 2-door keg coolers
• NORLAKE 6'x12' walk in refer w/heated door, package compressor...

coastal kitchen
Originally uploaded by saramarie

Chow Foods, the company behind 15th Ave's Coastal Kitchen, is splitting up and dividing its restaurants.

How Chow's locations will be divided has not been announced and a review of business license information didn't reveal any answers -- each Chow restaurant appears to be its own separate company -- but CHS has been told that Coastal Kitchen will continue to operate and to expect no major changes. Coastal Kitchen is a CHS sponsor.

A discussion about the future of a Wallingford cafe turned up this speculation about Chow:

According to a long-time Beeliner and Jitterbug staffer, the Chow Foods owners split up. They split their restaurant empire in “half” (half in quotes because one of them ended up with most of the locations leaving the rest of the staff to gossip endlessly about why).

The news will impact brunches across Seattle. Chow restaurants include The 5 Spot in Queen Anne, Atlas Foods in U Village, Mioposto in Mount Baker, Endolyne Joe’s in West Seattle,...

Via Twitter, I found out that Sheri LaVigne, a Seattle transplant from New York, plans to open a cheese shop here in our very own neighborhood.  You can read about her scoping out various locations.  Though, it sounds like - she just (minutes ago) finalized a spot on 12th Avenue.  Anyone care to guess the location?

Update via Twitter (@calfandkid): merci! space is next to NWFF, housed carburetors for 30 yrs and needs a LOT of love. It's not a done deal yet but fingers crossed!

It's been a long, cold winter but you made it. And now you know the exact hour of your reward. 3:00 PM. Saturday. Ginger, Salted Black Licorice, Baby Beet Sorbet and Pomegranate Curry Sorbet.

Molly Moon’s Opens Saturday On Capitol Hill Kids to Enjoy Free Cones between 3 and 5 p.m. at Grand Opening Party
SEATTLE, Tuesday, April 21, 2009 – Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream, an artisanal, locavore scoop shop, is opening its second retail location this Saturday, April 25, at 3 p.m. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream is a great local hang-out where families, kids, hipsters, and ice cream addicts alike, can congregate and celebrate their favorite dessert.

Highlights of Saturday’s Grand Opening party include complimentary kids’ cones between 3 and 5 p.m. From Scout Mint to Salted Caramel, Molly Moon’s homemade flavors will attract the taste buds of ice cream lovers of all ages. Four new flavors will be unveiled at both of her scoop shops on Saturday; Ginger, Salted Black Licorice, Baby Beet Sorbet and Pomegranate Curry Sorbet.

At Molly Moon’s creamy dairy from hormone-free, Western Washington-cows is combined with sweet and savory locally-sourced ingredients. The attention is focused on seasonal fruits and herbs mixed in recipes that are both familiar and surprising, producing flavors from childhood favorites to avant-garde, adult-only fare.

Located at 917 E. Pine St., Molly Moon’s will be open from noon to 11 p.m. daily beginning Sunday, April 26. The 3 p.m. opening time is special to the shop’s April 25 Grand Opening.

For additional information about Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream, please log on to www.mollymoonicecream.com.

• Change from peanut to vegetable oil=decline of Pike Street Fish Fry
• Look for Amos at Anchovies & Olives
• One Pot Parent & Kid Night on 4/23 featuring Nina Planck 
• Vivace at Brix is an awesome place to read
• Bogazar pens a loving but critical letter to Broadway Grill
• Remodeled Cafe Flora only better
• Barrio brunch gets two thumbs up
• Traveler's weekend Thali rocks

I ran into Rancho Bravo's owner Freddy Rivas (yes, 2009 is the year of the Freddies) while grabbing lunch today and could not resist asking him a question that has been burning in my brain and belly since the first time I enjoyed one of RB's muy autentico tacos -- how long can this wonderful thing last?

Surely there must be a catch. The lease must be short-term. Demolition must be imminent. Quick, eat tacos while it lasts!

But Rivas says no worries, take your time. Rancho Bravo should be at its new location on Capitol Hill at 10th and Pine for several years. When he first looked into a lease for the location, Rivas said he was disappointed to find the property included a 2-year demolition clause that could have booted his operation out. When the property's owner changed the clause to a longer period, Rivas said a flood of parties joined him in his interest in the property including a few national chains. Rivas pulled the trigger first. The result is a bustling taco shop in the midst of Pike/Pine that meets...

Oddfellows Cafe & Bar, Seattle, WA
Originally uploaded by Tiffany Diamond

UPDATE 4:54 PM:
Had a chance to talk with Ericka Burke this afternoon. She confirmed that she did indeed have a financial stake in Oddfellows but, like Derschang, wouldn't confirm details of the agreement that was reached for her departure though she did add the two didn't need lawyers to figure out the deal.

"It was a good experience," Burke said. "I'm a creative chef. I had a hard time leaving my vision in other people's hands. I was needed back at Volunteer Park. But it was a completely positive, amicable decision."
----

Still talking to various parties about Ericka Burke's decision to leave Oddfellows -- primary on the list being Burke herself. But I was able to reach Linda Derschang this morning and ask her more about Burke's exit and the implications for the Oddfellows business.

"A lot of people are looking for some big drama, 'what happened!??,'" Derschang said. "Sometimes things happen in business that really aren't awful. I'm so glad that it wasn't an awful thing."

What the change means for Oddfellows as a business isn't entirely clear. Derschang would tell me that Burke was a partner in the Very Odd Fellows LLC running the cafe but it was not a 50/50 split. "It wasn't an equal situation," Derschang said. "It was really -- from a business standpoint -- a very small amount."

Derschang would not say what financial arrangements were part of Burke's exit. "That's more than I want to go into. I just want to be protective of us and our friendship. And my business."

Derschang said the decision came down to time. "[Burke] had her hands full with Volunteer Park Cafe. It's a really amazing place but it's more mom and pop. Oddfellows is really busy and we're open all day and all night. It's so much different."

"Neither one of knew that what we were planning was too much. It's a blessing that Oddfellows is so busy but it was a little more than anyone expected."

Derschang wanted it made clear that she and Burke remain friends and the split was amicable. "My daughter still works for her at Volunteer Park Cafe. This was a friendly decision."

I also asked her about what she's looking forward to following the changes -- and, importantly, what she thinks of her new neighbor across the street.

"I'm thrilled with the way the neighborhood has embraced us. i'm looking forward to the spring and summer and drinks on our patio," Derschang said. But she has no plans for a joint venture with Rancho Bravo just yet. "I have to go over there and try it out. I'm so excited they opened. It was rumored that it was going to be a Jack in the Box. This is so much better. We'll let them do the tacos."

Busy weekend here on CHS so this pretty darned interesting story might get lost in the shuffle:
Split leaves Oddfellows a Linda-only joint

Hoping to add more to the story but could be a difficult one to report.

More important stuff from the busy weekend:

• Update and thanks from the rider who survived the Belmont hill motorcycle crash
• hillku is no more

When Molly Moon's begins scooping in the Oddfellows building on Saturday April 25th, more frozen treat goodness will follow close behind. This weekend, we heard from the man behind Old School Frozen Custard about when the Pike street location will be open for business:

 We are on track for a May opening, and are now accepting applications.  I'm working on getting the application up on our website, so if you'd like to spread the word that we're hiring, that would be really helpful.  People can either check out our website, www.oldschoolfrozencustard.com, or email me directly for an application at nathan@oldschoolfrozencustard.com.

I really appreciate you contacting me, and can't wait to get this store open so you can try some of this stuff right off the machine. We at Old School are excited to become a part of this great neighborhood! 

Old School will be located at 1316 E. Pike Street.

Mike Seely, managing editor of the Seattle Weekly, just published a book called Seattle's Best Dive Bars.  Joel Connelly of the Seattle PI interviewed him about his selection of Bill's Off-Broadway and the Comet to be on the list.  Of Bill's, Seely says it's a "welcome tonic" to the "aggressive eccentricity" of the Pike/Pine corridor.  And of the Comet crowd, Seely describes it as "skinny jeans-wearing, trust-fund drawing, coke-snorting, faux impoverished ultra-cynical Nightlife Nazis."  Connelly also related a famous incident in political history that took place at the Comet: Chip Carter, Jimmy's son, was photographed getting a shot of tequila (back then - the Comet could not serve hard liquor).  I am not sure whether other Capitol Hill bars are included in the book, but which dive bars would you be sure to include?  Don't know whether Redwood qualifies - but it's definitely a favorite bar of mine.

By way of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine's Tablehopper blog, by way of Rebekah Denn, we learn that the power duo behind Oddfellows has broken up. Volunteer Park Cafe co-founder Ericka Burke has pulled out of the Pike/Pine cafe to, according to Burke, focus more on VPC.

Admittedly, we were a little overly breathless when the joint venture of Burke and Capitol Hill legend Linda Derschang was originally announced. Now, Derschang remains as the main driver behind Oddfellows, though Seattle Met notes there is another big name now helping in the kitchen -- Sitka and Spruce's Matt Dillon. That can't last long, though. Dillon's likely going to have his hands full with this.

Burke announced her decision to the Seattle Met blogger way back in March -- we and everybody else who might care missed it -- about a week after The Stranger's Bethany Jean Clement zigged where you thought she might zag and came out with a particulary negative review of the Oddfellows kitchen.

This comment left on the Stranger piece from Derschang...

Spotted this nice piece about how well Kaladi Brothers is doing in its first location outside Alaska.  They have been here for three years now.  I had to admit that I had my doubts that Capitol Hill would embrace Stumptown much less Kaladi the way that we have.  Kaladi's biggest concern and expense is roasting the coffee in Alaska and then flying it down - they have had a difficult time finding a roaster.  I guess it's difficult for them to find a roaster that they do not compete with?

• Rover's new brunch offering is a hit
• As is dinner at the newly opened Tin Table
• Seattle Metropolitan's Sauced Blog interviews Erik Chapman, Sun Liquor's bartender
• Blogazar pens a love letter to Rancho Bravo
• Knee High's cocktails impress
• Boom expands its daily happy hour - now 3 to 7 pm - Joey will be even happier
• Hebb's ex Naomi Pommeroy nabs Food & Wine's designation as 10 Best New Chefs of 2009

Upon reflection, I think my latte pour this morning may be an insult.

What's your call? Lewd or misshapen?

Both?

(barista shall remain anonymous to protect the, um, innocent)

If there is a geographic divide on Capitol Hill, the folks at Valpak are trying to exploit it.  I've been getting very different coupons ever since I moved over the top of the hill to 19th / Republican.  Back when I lived near Broadway it was all pizza and other random little stores.  Now I get coupons for The Maid Brigade, 1-800 Maids and various eco-friendly home improvements like a "green" lawn mowing  service.  They have clearly over estimated my status and spending power!  Luckily there are still a few pizza discounts and the much anticipated  Mirch Masala coupon.  So, how well targeted is your geographic marketing? 

• CHS broke the big story: Rancho Bravo opened in the old KFC (right across from Oddfellows) and Yelpers love it
• Seattle Magazine notices good eats in the Pike/Pine corridor (geography is a little off and Pizza Fusion has closed but I'm happy they made the article available online)
• Overlooked in Seattle Magazine's ode to Pike/Pine, Cafe Stellina is now offering breakfast every day of the week but Sunday - starting at 8 am (found out about this through their CHS ad)
• Poppy Happy Hour has good eats and a great whiskey sour
• Check out the Power Fist Latte Art at Victrola on Pike
• Maggie Dutton spots Silver City beer at the QFC on Broadway and I've been enjoying Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA discovered at the Safeway on Madison
• Uncle Vinny reviewed Chez Gaudy and made me laugh
• No smelt but catfish are good at Pike Street Fish Fry

After seeing the success of Rancho Bravo in our part of the city, the gastronomic explorers that power restaurant Sitka and Spruce must have taken note. Seattle Magazine says S and S is (probably!) moving from Eastlake to Capitol Hill. The glossy mag doesn't know where, yet. Thoughts? (We're also testing our new polling code. So belly up to the bar and vote already.)

UPDATE: Thanks for your votes. You were WRONG -- unless you voted Other. Zeebleoop, on the other hand, was on the mark. Sitka (and more) destined for Melrose.

UPDATE:
Interesting "Other" from Zeebleoop in comments below. From a PI real estate post:

Two local developers plan to renovate two adjacent historic automotive buildings in the Pike-Pine neighborhood of Capitol Hill to be used for restaurant and retail.

Liz Dunn of Dunn & Hobbes and Scott Shapiro of Eagle Rock Ventures announced on Monday that they had acquired the two buildings, at 1515 and 1531 Melrose Ave., and plan to renovate them once the current tenant, Metro Auto Rebuild, leaves at the end of January.

Looks like a good possibility. The PDF available from the developers says space will be available for 'tennant build-out' in mid-May.

Spotted on Molly Moon's Twitter status moments ago:

The Cap Hill Molly Moon's will be in the Oddfellow's building making Oddfellows breakfast + Rancho Bravo lunch + Molly Moon's snack a gut busting temptation.

25 days and a few hours. i can do that. Molly has a blog, too, btw, to tide you over in meantime.

I apologize for raising this issue at the lunch hour but trauma forces sharing. I just had the unfortunate experience of sitting in the men's bathroom stall at Oddfellows, minding to my business when I looked up and saw that a window in the upper floors of the building gave an unobstructed view of my activities. I am certain I saw a face. Either Oddfellows is haunted or I was peeped. How can nobody have said anything about this yet? I understand why nobody would say anything to the manager due to shame but not one mention on the Internet? http://www.google.com/search?q=oddfellow+seattle+bathroom Now there is a mention at least.