(Image: Google)
A neighborhood grocer who has been serving his Capitol Hill neighborhood for more than 20 years needs help with his medical bills — and your good thoughts for his recovery.
Friends have set up a fundraiser with a $100,000 goal to help Aklilu Abraham, owner of the E Olive Way King of the Hill convenience store, as he recovers from emergency brain surgery:
Last week Abraham became suddenly ill; he was rushed to the emergency room where a CAT scan was taken that showed he had bleeding in his skull putting pressure on his brain. He was immediately transported to UWMC so that world-expert neurosurgeons could do emergency brain surgery (at 5AM on Thursday morning). This was a very scary time for Abraham, his family and his friends; if left untreated, or if the surgery did not go well the condition could have led to a stroke that could have caused paralysis or even death. Fortunately the surgical team did a great job, and Abe did an even better job recovering; he needs to take some time away from the store, but his long-term health prognosis is good!
According to the fundraiser, contributions will be used to pay the more than $100,000 in medical bills expected from the procedure.
King of the Hill has been part of E Olive Way since at least 2002 when Abraham started the business. He talked about the decades of grocery retail and getting through the pandemic here in 2021 with Seattle Met.
Capitol Hill’s community of corner stores and convenience shops like King of the Hill has been holding mostly steady despite ongoing waves of development.
But some stores like it have been swallowed up including the transformation that turned Benson’s Grocery into Noren Restaurant and Lounge on E Pike and the reincarnation of Harry’s Fine Foods from cornershop to neighborhood restaurant at Bellevue and Mercer.
On 15th Ave E, a convenience store of a different stripe is also faced with changes. CHS talked with Mohammad Abid of the legendary ShopRite store about his likely retirement in the face of a planned redevelopment of the block the store has been part of for more than 30 years.
The King of the Hill market, meanwhile, remains open at 1705 E Olive Way.
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I will be donating. This was reliable when I lived closer to Olive.
He’s always been nice when I go in, I wish him well.
I lived on Denny and Harvard and then Denny and Boylston for the better part of the decade. I patroned King of the Hill multiple times a week for that whole time. Abraham always had a smile on his face and was always open to a quick chat. He is a huge part of that neighborhood. Please donate if you read this.
He’s the sweetest man, always looks out for me and my friend. Thank you for writing this article, donated 😭
I lived above King of the Hill for several years. Abraham was the reliable neighbor we all wish to have. We often left our keys with him to give to our friends when we were out of town. He would special order our favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Always up for a friendly chat about our neighborhood. Simply the best.