There is a corner of Capitol Hill that pretty much encapsulates this moment in the pandemic for the neighborhood’s businesses. You’ll find lots of shuttered spaces around Pine and Boylston. Inside, there is a plan for each of them. And in the middle of all that, there is a glossy new shoe store.
The biggest of the empty spaces might take the longest to fill.
CHS reported here on the plans from the family behind Little Saigon’s Tamarind Tree to create a new food and drink project in the former R Place building as part of an overhaul of the building to create new commercial and office space in the neighborhood.
The empty Capitol Loans corner has a story, too. It has been cleared out to create a new “packaging free” grocery. The Naked Grocer is envisioned as a “waste-less grocery store” from Jayne Truesdell, who helped Autumn Martin grow her Hot Cakes business in Seattle.
And it’s true. Capitol Loans is across the street as Robert Chandler transitions the pawn shop to a new life on the other side of E Pine and into a new chapter for the business he has owned since 1992. While Capitol Loans will remain in the collateral loan business, Chandler told CHS last year the flood of government programs around COVID-19 changed the industry and that fewer people are seeking out pawn services. Capitol Loans is reopening across the street in the 611 E Pine building most recently home to Suika which lost its lease during the pandemic. Oh, and you can now call it Capitol Loans Music — “If you need strings, cables, and etc, We got you. Give us a minute please, to get your favorite affordable guitars, and music accessories available for sale.”
Another change is already complete where Australia’s FRANKiE4 Shoes has landed in Pike/Pine with its new “concept store.” The store offers the FRANKiE4 collection of “luxe leather footwear” including sneakers, dress flats, sandals, heels and boots. “Private, expert fittings will be offered for customers to have a personalized experience that proves comfort shouldn’t be a compromise to fashionable style,” the press release reads.
Someday, the south and the north side of E Pine on this block will be full and busy again. In the meantime, the bright shop stands out.
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