(Image: @rauschenbach)

Yes, brunch is coming back to the slope of E Olive Way at Belmont as Glo’s is teaming up with neighbor Captain Black’s for an indefinite pop-up breakfast stay.

But there is a much larger deal afoot. Ownership of Black’s and fellow E Olive Way neighbor and drinking spot the Stumbling Monk are linking up in a land deal that puts the venues in control of their destiny, purchasing the real estate that hit the market earlier this year for nearly $4 million.

“Well. We did a thing today. We are now proud building owners of the block that has been home to Glo’s, The Doctor’s Office, Stumbling Monk and Captain Black’s,”  Add3 founder and nightlife entrepreneur Brian Rauschenbach announced via social media. “We exercised our first right of refusal when the property went up for sale and was to be acquired by a group in Chicago/Cleveland for development.”

CHS reported earlier this year on the rumblings about a property sale as we checked in with the Stumbling Monk and owner Rob Linehan as the beer tavern reopened after months of pandemic closure.

In the announcement, Rauschenbach said he and Linehan were joined in the deal by James Wong, the entrepreneur and developer behind the Vibrant Cities projects.

CHS has reached out to Rauschenbach to learn more about the purchase and will update our report with more details.

UPDATE: Rauschenbach says the deal including his Captain Black’s and fellow Add3 business partner Jason Llorin was a do or die leap of faith.

“If we didn’t make a play, we would have lost the space,” Rauschenbach said.

Justifying the millions required to finance the deal, Rauschenbach said the owners on the block had invested hugely in keeping their businesses alive and reopening from the pandemic, so, from a financial standpoint, chasing the big deal somewhat penciled out.

But factoring in the strength of owning their own business future as well as being able to pursue long needed upgrades to the buildings helped push the calculations to a new level.

With Wong of Vibrant Cities on hand to help them navigate “the pitfalls of negotiations,” the bar owners were able to hold their ground as the developer eyeing the property tried to buy them out of their lease and dangled other financial incentives to get Captain Black’s and the Stumbling Monk to stand aside.

The right of refusal on making a bid for the property, Rauschenbach said, was key and came out of foresight when he first signed on to create Captain Black’s.

“We always put in our leases whenever we can,” Rauschenbach said. “We exercised it not knowing if we could pull it off.”

“We caught the big guys off guard.”

No financial details have been announced but the property had been listed at $3.99 million earlier this year and positioned as a redevelopment opportunity. “Great opportunity to generate income from the existing tenant base while working through the planning and permitting process with the City of Seattle,” the pitch reads.

The property has been under family ownership for decades, most recently under a trust formed to represent the Phillips family.

The corner is likely to be surrounded by E Olive Way redevelopment activity. CHS reported in May on plans for a new seven-story mixed use building that will spread across three parcels off the curving street to make space for around 160 new apartment units above street level commercial spaces for shops or restaurants and a two-level underground parking garage on the property home to the former Coldwell Banker Bain real estate office building. Meanwhile, the neighboring Capitol Hill Goodwill on Belmont is also lined up for mixed-use redevelopment.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChvV6AkvZ0S/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Not all the new investments will mean demolition and redevelopment. Earlier this month, CHS reported on the $5 million deal for the building home to Machiavelli. The 110-year-old auto row-era building home to the Italian classic and a collection of small businesses located on Pine at Melrose was purchased by San Francisco-based real estate company Prado Group with plans to maintain its current use as a home for the group of Capitol Hill food and nightlife venues.

For now, Machiavelli is safe. The Stumbling Monk and Captain Black’s deal presents its set of Capitol Hill small businesses with what should be an even more solid layer of security. Rauschenbach said small upgrades and refreshes of the hold buildings are coming in the near term and that a new tenant is already lined up for the old Glo’s space. Stop by soon to lift a glass — and enjoy some breakfast.

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