UPDATE: Voodoo sent over this rendering of how they’re planning the new Capitol Hill shop will look
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(Image: Voodoo Doughnuts)
Voodoo Doughnut is finally planning to come to Seattle at the base of Capitol Hill.
Plans filed last week show details of a new Capitol Hill shop in the Booker Building at the corner of Pine and Minor next to the Melrose Market.
The space is currently home to Lan Hand-Pulled Noodles and Pho 4 U and has been home to a recent churn of food and drink efforts.
It will neighbor Pine-born burger chain Li’l Woody’s which is celebrating its own expansion to Japan, and Capitol Hill classic Italian restaurant Machiavelli — also planning its own expansion to Edmonds.
The Puget Sound Business Journal was the first to report on the Voodoo expansion Tuesday as it noted the new shop will be the second planned in the state.
The company has not yet confirmed its plans. UPDATE: “We’re thrilled to finally bring some Voodoo Magic to Seattle,” CEO Chris Schultz said in an announcement from the company. “It’s been many years in the making and the Capitol Hill neighborhood is the perfect site for our first store,”
A Voodoo store coming to the neighborhood has been rumored for years.
Before any opening, there is work to do to prepare the circa 1912 building’s interior for its new life. There is also the doughnut box-pink Voodoo paint job to consider. The Voodoo announcement did not include a planned opening date but said there will be “months” of preparations before the new store opens.
Voodoo’s immediate neighbor also remains empty but could soon be lined up for changes. CHS reported here in February as the Mint Lounge shuttered amid nightlife gun violence concerns. The club was formerly home to the Baltic Room.
While the cities share many PNW traits in common, Portland expansions haven’t always done well on Capitol Hill. The latest PDX fail came late last year as the 12th and Pine expansion of the Little Big Burger chain shuttered. Previously, Sizzle Pie closed its Seattle expansion on E Union in 2019. The burger restaurant’s closure joined another Portland-related exit from the block. In 2021, CHS reported on the takeover of the Bishop’s chain by Rudy’s.
Meanwhile, Portland-based vegan Jewish deli chain Ben and Esther’s opened last year on E Pike. UPDATE: And we neglected to include Oregon’s Salt and Straw which is still going strong after opening a Pike/Pine scoop shop in the winter of 2018. UPDATE x2: Portland’s Stumptown Coffee once operated two cafes on Capitol Hill but slowly wound down its presence here up until the closure of its 12th Ave cafe coming out of the pandemic.
As far as the Capitol Hill doughnut/donut communities, Voodoo will face some competition. Ubiquitous Seattle doughnut presence Top Pot was born on the Hill and celebrated 20 years at its Summit cafe in 2022. Mighty-O filled in the vegan category with its Capitol Hill store at 12th and Madison in 2015 though it has never really been able to put the former pie bakery to full power after condo residents in the building reportedly raised a fuss about the ovens. A glossier vegan option emerged on upper E Pike with the 2022 debut of small chain Donut Joy. For upscale, filled-doughnuts, there is General Porpoise’s first shop which opened on E Union in 2015. For craft doughnuts, head to 23rd and Union where Raised Doughnuts moved into a lovely new space in the new Midtown Square development in 2022. There are also lots of smaller options like the surprise Polish paczki at First Hill’s George’s Delicatessen as it celebrates 45 years of business on Madison. And the circle comes round on E Pine where Top Pot co-founder Michael Klebeck got back to his small-batch roots with Half and Half Doughnut Co. in October 2019.
The Voodoo plans are the second piece of good news this week for Capitol Hill’s daytime food and drink scene. Monday, CHS reported the shuttered Vivace sidewalk bar will be reopened by Fuel Coffee.
Voodoo Doughnuts, meanwhile, has grown in its 20 years of business with shops across nine states including its four Oregon locations. The growth has also brought efforts to organize. Doughnut Workers United formed to represent Voodoo employees at its downtown store.
The Capitol Hill store will require a robust staff. In addition to folks out front serving customers, the plans show a proposed layout for a full-production doughnut kitchen including a glazing area and a massive fryer. Voodoo is also known for keeping late hours with the Portland shop as the prime example, open 5 AM to 3 AM on Fridays through Sundays in addition to only slightly more modest hours the rest of the week.
UPDATE: The full Voodoo announcement is below:
Voodoo Doughnut, celebrated for pioneering delectable doughnut innovations, is delighted to unveil its first Seattle store in the Capitol Hill District, situated at 1201 Pine Street. This announcement represents a significant achievement for the esteemed doughnut brand as it introduces its distinct fusion of innovation and indulgence to the Seattle landscape, marking the 22nd addition to Voodoo Doughnut’s extensive portfolio.
“We’re thrilled to finally bring some Voodoo Magic to Seattle,” said Chris Schultz, CEO of Voodoo Doughnut. “It’s been many years in the making and the Capitol Hill neighborhood is the perfect site for our first store,” continued Schultz.
In addition to the company’s dedication to providing top-notch products and customer service, Voodoo Doughnut is committed to actively engaging with and supporting the Capitol Hill community, all while fostering job opportunities in the local area. Details regarding the official opening date and additional specifics surrounding the store will be disclosed in the coming months.
Voodoo Doughnut is planned to open at 1201 Pine. Keep track of updates at voodoodoughnut.com.
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🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
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Well darn. I liked the Pho place and went all the time. But it did always seem to be closed a lot.
Dislike! Overrated Portland garbage. Seattle has far superior donuts. I would take any Dough Joy donut over them.
You can still eat there. Why are you so angry?
who said I was angry? lol
Just a guess, but people probably thought you were angry because you began your comment with “Dislike!”
Guessed wrong!
How do Dough Joy’s donuts compare with Blue Star’s (also of Portland)?
It’s sad that a national chain coming to Cap Hill is the best news the neighborhood has had in about 4 years.
There are already far, far too many doughnut places in Seattle.
Oh, settle down
Bigger and better, Glo’s Diner reopens Monday in its new Capitol Hill Station home
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2023/05/bigger-and-better-glos-diner-reopens-monday-in-its-new-capitol-hill-station-home/
INSERT COINS — Capitol Hill’s Time Warp arcade bar is ready to play
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2022/12/insert-coins-capitol-hills-time-warp-arcade-bar-is-ready-to-play/
M2M: After years of H Mart dreams, Capitol Hill Station’s grocery finally arrives
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2022/04/m2m-after-years-of-h-mart-dreams-capitol-hill-stations-grocery-finally-arrives/
Speak for yourself, grumpy. There are never, and could never be, too many “donut places”
Why complain when Meliora is offering $16 happy hour wings and a $60 steak in the old Canterbury Bar and Eats space? These amazing deals probably won’t last long once the QFC and Safeway are redeveloped, so enjoy them now.
Ummm…. Those donuts have crazy amounts of sugar in them.
And the maple bar… WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT TO A MAPLE BAR 😭.
But there was this food truck a few blocks away from voodoo donuts that made the meanest pollo asado borito and it was like 9 dollars. Just saying, there are other Portland food options who can mosey they self on up here.
But really if that food truck was 🔥.
Voodoo donuts, let’s just say it was a fun local thing to do in Portland.
Yawn.
For all of the people ripping on them, nobody cares about your opinions.Their donuts are perfectly fine and some are actually quite good. And as for the people saying that they’re unhealthy, I’d like to applaud your grasp of the obvious. Thats what a donut is supposed to be. By all means, though, fill me on on the healthy donuts you consume.
Yeah I hear you. But voodoo donuts are not that great. And trying to use Seattle as a tagging ground for their brand is sort of tacky. Go to the over weight middle American cities. Plus that donut shop on Belmont is way better. Not better than top pots but worth waking up and starting the day with
I’ve never had a legitimately good-tasting one, and I have tried multiple times at locations in Portland & California! Probably 5 or 6 attempts overall, which was admittedly 4 or 5 too many. The texture always just felt off to me, too? But hey, I’m not MAD about them coming to Capitol Hill–it’ll be funny if/when they go the way of Sizzle Pie (RIP) and Little Big Burger (whatever).
Voodoo became a private equity joint in 2017 hence all this nationwide expansion; hasn’t been “local” to Portland for a while (and there are better doughnut shops in pdx anyway)
I love our local doughnut shops, but we do have a severe lack of late night doughnut options around here. Voodoo is a pretty good option to fill that gap (in Portland their closing times range from 10pm – open all night). Wonder what their hours will be for the capitol hill location
Given their location, my guess is they are courting the convention center crowd and not the drunken late night crowd (but who knows).
Unless they’re explicitly promising otherwise, I expect they’ll have similar hours to just about every other place to get coffee around here: roughly 6am-3pm. Hope I’m wrong.
yes but will they be a union doughnut shop?
Hahahahha… *hack *cough… hahahahaha..
No they most likely won’t be a union. They will be a place for over educated, bakers and baristas. They will most likely have a lot of first generation Latinos as their bakers, and a bunch of white baristas with tattoos and an extensive knowledge of bands.
Will they be Union??? Hahahahaha!
Probably not. For being a “left” city, Portland places are really bad about unionizing.