These are sticky times for the vaping business in Washington. But, if you’re going to be in the business, you’d want to be in the business on Capitol Hill.
“It’s the fastest growing neighborhood, maybe, in the country,” Kazu Takimoto tells CHS. “We prefer to go where we have high probability of success.”
Takimoto is one of the partners behind Beyond Vape, a maker of vaporizer products with shops from Capitola to Brooklyn. And, soon, Beyond Vape will open on Capitol Hill.
As CHS reported on the demise of the Money Mart at E Olive Way and Denny, readers let us know about the new signs going up at the former home of the Arabica Lounge. The artistic cafe carved out of a former Supercuts shuttered in February. Its next life will comes as the second Beyond Vape in Seattle joining its sibling in the U-District.
Takimoto was careful in his discussion with CHS. He said that the vaping industry is wary of press right now in Washington because of ongoing debate in the state over vaping:
Gov. Inslee wants to impose a 95 percent tax on electronic cigarettes, citing concerns that new data shows Washington’s eighth and 10th grade students use electronic cigarettes, called vaping, at more than twice the rate they smoke tobacco.
Takimoto would say Beyond Vape’s products are considered to be high quality and “as clean as possible.” Part of Beyond Vape’s success as it has expanded to eight stores, he said, has been its focus on quality products and not “knock-offs” he said are found at typical smoke shops.
Beyond Vape Capitol Hill is slated to open in a few weeks. The shop will not feature a smoking lounge like some other Beyond Vape locations due to space constraints, Takimoto said.
It joins local Future Vapor on 12th Ave as a dedicated provider of vaporizer equipment and supplies in the neighborhood.
That’s just adding insult to injury.
I wish the term “vaping” would die. And the action, too, if I’m being honest.
I hate smelling cigarettes, and I’d much rather be around someone vaping than someone smoking cigarettes. ANY day. And if you want to partake in weed without smoking, pot vapor cartridges are totally the way to go. We should all be so lucky that all cigarette smokers switched to vaping.
The term and action of “vaping” is actually quite anti-death.
“anti-death” – vaping is life-giving? No.
It’s diet soda, it’s olestra – an idiotic way of convincing people they can keep their terrible habits in new and stupider ways instead of just, you know, eliminating or reducing their consumption of something bad for them.
Before anyone goes on about how hard it is to quit smoking, I used to be a 2-pack-a-day smoker.
This is exactly what we don’t need in that spot… a “fancy” smoke shop. There’s a smoke shop literally 3 doors down from this spot. A definite downgrade from Arabica. :(
This isn’t a smoke shop. Take 1 minute and figure out the difference.
Yeah, what a downgrade. Because we don’t have any coffee shops 3 doors down from another coffee shop.
This has the feel of a temporary business. Still no word on the future of this block? Bus Stop still vacant, and In the Bowl took down *everything* from its walls.
Not to mention the empty block of the Broadway Grill- how about you lower rents? Isn’t it better for someone to be there?
Still bummed about the Bus Stop. Had sweet music and cheap drinks.
Not if you are trying to sell the lot to a developer.
Don’t worry, the new apartments will use organic concrete, have no parking and will preserve the mortar and brick of the existing structure. A sports bar and a yoga studio will occupy any retail space.
I agree, Ryan. I give it one year, at most.
I think that “vaping” is a fad that will pass. It’s likely that the products will be taxed more heavily and that will decrease use. And the health risks (from nicotine alone) have not been studied carefully, which should give people pause.
Vaping’s not a fad that will pass. Nobody claims smoking cigarettes is good for you. Cigarette smokers know that. At the very least, vaping makes one’s nicotine habit a lot less intrusive to people around you. Is it harmless? I doubt anyone says it is. But it’s less obnoxious to people around you than a cigarette. And BTW, cannabis oil has no nicotine. No, it’s not totally odorless, but way less stinky than a joint. You’d probably not even notice it. For people who don’t want to smoke a joint or are infrequent partakers of pot, it’s a lot more practical and less intrusive than smoking. Vaping isn’t a fad.
Time will tell, Jim. I do agree with you that vaping is alot less obnoxious to others compared with smoking, so that at least is a positive. But e-cigarettes do enable a person to continue their nicotine addiction and in the process delude themselves into thinking that there is less of a health risk.
Thanks for letting us know about it and for telling us about Governor Inslee’s proposal. I will check in to that. Sounds like something I will support. I work to help people quit smoking and there is a lot of research out on the dangers of “vaping” (a word I also hate). The industry is unregulated and so places can and do put all kinds of things in those without oversight. The flavors attract kids, and the refillable ones that take the liquid have caused poisonings as kids drank the liquid or people spilled and got too much nicotine on the skin. The vapor is actually an aerosol with particles that hurt the lungs (and even secondhand lungs, just as with smoking). Not at all a non-toxic, clean product. There needs to be a lot more regulation, and we need to work to prohibit e-cigs of all kinds from being in our shared indoor spaces. Also, I know what I say will probably cause the trolls to come out and call me names. That’s what trolls do. It doesn’t change the fact that there has been a lot of evidence to support what I say, and increasingly state and national governments are taking notice.
thank you.
E-cigarette shops are the new payday lenders of Capitol Hill.
Pay-day lenders victimize the poor with predatory lending.
Vapor shops get help people get off cigarettes with a much healthier, and less expensive, alternative.
Please expand on your comparison; I’d love to hear it.
You’re right, Genevieve. And I would go further to say they are the new drug-pushers of Capitol Hill.
I’m happy to inform you that Inslee’s proposal was shot down, thanks to a large public outcry from vapers statewide. I’m also happy to inform you that much of your information about vaping is wrong, and direct you to CASAA.org where you can find the actual science and not the propaganda from the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.
And you’ll be happy to know that, in King County, vapor is regulated the same as tobacco smoke as far as indoor use goes.
Thank you for the update on Inslee’s bill. There is always time for more regulation. I looked at your site. The site itself says that it about people who want access to things like e-cig. I would prefer to trust organizations like the American Lung Association and American Medical Association, which express significant concerns. Just as people who like to smoke pot have set up all kinds of websites “debunking” the harm of their chosen substance, so too will people who want to use e-cigs claim things like use as a cessation tool (some anecdotal evidence, but nothing compared to proven and FDA regulated solutions such as Nicotine replacement therapy–e.g. the patch) and behavioral change. They may be safer than regular cigarettes, they may simply pose different hazards. There has not yet been time for study, and there is no regulation. Certainly they are not safe. I am glad to hear about the smoking laws. I do know they are flouted. I see people vaping inside of stores and businesses claiming it doesn’t count because it’s an e-cig. I also saw someone posted that vapor marijuana is preferable. As someone who wants to avoid breathing in drug smoke, I would rather have the smell to warn me to steer clear.
p.s. http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/tobacco-control-advocacy/federal/e-cigarettes.html for the Lung Association’s position as one example.
FDA regulation:
http://lwgat.blogspot.com/2015/04/comparing-nicorette-quickmist-to-vaping.html
Hi,
As to your reply below, Nicorette mist is not an FDA-approved quitting medication, and so therefore is not any better or worse than vapor or e-cigarettes. There are 8 approved quitting medications: Non-prescription;1) nicotine patch, 2) Nicotine gum, 3) Nicotine lozenges. Prescription: 4) Chantix 5) Wellbutrin (aka bupropion, Zyban) 6) nicotine nasal spray, 7) the Nicotrol Inhaler. Link is to the inhaler if you want to do your comparisons http://www.pfizer.com/files/products/uspi_nicotrol_inhaler.pdf
http://lwgat.blogspot.com/2015/04/comparison-of-nrt-inhalation-products.html
“Vaping” is less awful than tobacco but and addiction is still an addiction so therefore, it is still awful – just less of a public nuisance. The comparison to payday lenders is valid. These new business are swooping in to cater to addiction rather than helping people kick their habits.
Really a shame to see this business take up space in such a prominent location.
Thank god we got rid of those caffeine addiction peddlers at Arabica. Such a public nuisance.
What a wonderful addition to Cap Hill. What culture it will bring! I can’t wait for In The Bowl to become Veggie Grill or another Potbellies.
In the Bowl is a craphole with rude servers and reprehensibly oversalted yet flavorless food. Even Veggie Grill (the McDonalds of veganism) would be a vast improvement, though they won’t move in there because the space is too small.
The comparison is not valid. Explain how it is, please.
Lack of space isn’t the only reason why it won’t have a vaping lounge. In King county vaping is treated the same as smoking- it is prohibited inside businesses.
MOUTH FEDORAS
F T W .
I hope I see Stephen Dorff there, taking back his freedom.
And Jenny McCarthy, too!
[…] blocks. He’s also hopeful the transformation will be a better use for the space than the vape shop that moved in across Denny Way in the storefront formerly home to Arabica […]