Tag Archives: retail

Gunman makes off with $3K cash in Capitol Hill pot shop hold-up

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Seattle Police and a K9 unit flooded the streets around the Ruckus Capitol Hill pot shop but could not track down the suspect in a Friday night armed robbery at the store.

According to SPD and East Precinct radio updates, the gunman walked into the E Republican at 15th pot shop just before midnight and demanded money. The suspect reportedly made off with around $3,000 in cash.

He was described as a black male in his 40s, wearing all black with a t-shirt or mask wrapped over his face, wearing black work boots, carrying a black or grey bag, and armed with a handgun. Continue reading →

Kaiser Capitol Hill’s empty 15th Ave retail spaces falling short on agreement with neighborhood

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Kaiser’s 15th Ave streetfront is not completely empty — Moli Bento and Overcast Coffee continue to hold down the fort (Image: CHS)

By Matt Dowell

On 15th and Denny, across from Aviv Hummus Bar and the neighborhood 7-Eleven is a stretch of darkened windows — unoccupied retail space on Kaiser Permanenteā€™s Capitol Hill campus. Up past Thomas in Kaiserā€™s North Building across from Safeway, more storefronts have gone vacant.

A longstanding agreement with the neighborhood holds Kaiser accountable to renting the space out and keeping the streetfront an active space. But the integrated managed care consortium may not holding up its end of the 15th Ave bargain.

ā€œKaiser appears uninterested in filling these spaces,ā€ said David Dahl in an email to CHS. Dahl has been part of the Implementation Advisory Committee for Kaiserā€™s Major Institution Master Plan since its formation in 2018. Seattle requires universities, colleges, and hospitals to have MIMPs, which try to balance the institutionsā€™ needs for special zoning rules with the needs of adjacent communities. The IAC represents the neighborhood in this arrangement.

Kaiserā€™s MIMP dates back to 1988, when Group Health owned the property. As part of the agreement Kaiser inherited, theyā€™re on the hook for a few promises to the neighborhood. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill wine shop La Cha-Bliss: ‘A touch of fabulous in every pour’ — but nothing French thanks to ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

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(Image: Ladie Chablis)

(Image: La Cha-Bliss)

Seattle drag queen Ladie Chablis is getting into the wine business and the show is ready to begin.

Capitol Hill’s new La Cha-Bliss wine shop is ready to open any day now.

Known as Howard Russell off the stage, the first-time retail entrepreneur told CHS that the support of the LGBTQIA+ community helped the vinous dreams come to fruition.

ā€œThe location is readyā€”itā€™s ready to go. Iā€™m just waiting on the liquor license to come through, and thatā€™s where weā€™re at right now. My goal is to have this store open on the first week of April,ā€ Russell told CHS last month.

Russell was on holiday with friends in December and took note of cute and quaint wine shops, commenting on how lovely it would be to have one. After returning to Seattle, a friend alerted Russell of the available retail space at 1412 12th Ave formerly home to a flower design shop.

ā€œI went ahead, talked to the realtor and the brokerā€¦ and they gave me a good offer on the place itself,ā€ Russell said. ā€œWhen all was said and done, they chose me [over seven applicants] to have my wine store there.ā€ Continue reading →

‘Weā€™re the same squad’ — Break Away grows from vintage on the street to a shop on Capitol Hill

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(Image: Break Away)

By Matt Dowell

This weekend will bring a celebration of the continuation of a mission of reuse and community on Broadway as Magpie Thrift hosts its grand opening.

On E Pike, the guys behind a vintage shop that opened on the street last year are also trying to build something new. They have a few things theyā€™d like to clarify. Though their brick and mortar spot is new, theyā€™ve been in the neighborhood for awhile.

And their name — Break Away— has nothing to do with the split from their co-tenant next door at Late Night Vintage.

And their prices are negotiable!

ā€œThereā€™s a big misconception. People think we broke away from Late Night,ā€ laughs co-owner Eddie Duran. ā€œBut we were Break Away before this store was even a thing. Weā€™re still friends [with the Late Night crew]. We hang out.ā€

Break Away Vintage Market has taken the east half of the upstairs space in the auto-row era building that has been home over the years to cafes and nonprofits before its latest incarnation in retail. Someday, a nine-story mixed-use building will stand at the corner. These days, the spacious former auto showroom is now divided down the middle by a makeshift wall of clothes racks separating Break Away and Late Night Vintage.

Break Away was one of the original vendors at Late Nightā€™s vintage clothing market when it opened on E Pike in 2022. They stepped out from the Late Night umbrella last October. Besides the upstairs room, Break Away has also filled out a cavernous downstairs, another fun space to explore.

ā€œItā€™s like a maze,ā€ said Duran, ā€œWe have so many different rooms.ā€ Continue reading →

‘A home for curious readers,’ Nook & Cranny book shop makes new start off Capitol Hill

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Attendees at Nook & Cranny’s final book club on Capitol Hill (Image: Nook & Cranny)

Capitol Hill has lost a bookstore. Nook & Cranny has packed up its bibliotherapeutic shelves and is nearly ready to open in its new home in a new development in the University Heights neighborhood.

CHS reported here in January as ownerĀ Maren ComendantĀ announced the 15th Ave E book shop had lost its lease and was on the hunt for a new location with the help of a community fundraising campaign.

Comendant created Nook & Cranny in the summer of 2022.Ā What if you read about a Capitol Hill bookstore for sale ā€” and bought it? Comendant can tell you. She purchased the business after reading about its previous iteration going up for sale on CHS.

Costs eventually outstripped profit on 15th Ave E and the bookseller’s search took her to Northeast Seattle. Nook & Cranny wound down with its final Capitol Hill book club taking place as March faded — “a lively discussion about Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn.”

With the 15th Ave E shop now dark and empty and awaiting whatever business joins the neighborhood next, Comendant says Nook & Cranny could be open any day in its new spot with plans for an official grand opening on April 26th’s Independent Bookstore Day.

Nook & Cranny will open soon at 5637 University Way NE. Learn more at nookandcrannybooks.com.

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King of the Hill: Back on the job and fully stocked with love for E Olive Way

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(Image: CHS)

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(Image: Google)

By Domenic Strazzabosco

A year and a half after undergoing emergency brain surgery, Aklilu ā€œAbeā€ Abraham ā€” the owner of King of the Hill Market on E Olive Way ā€” is back on the job and endlessly thankful for the neighborhood’s emotional and financial support throughout his surgery and recovery.

In many ways, it feels like he canā€™t show his appreciation to the people and businesses around him enough.

ā€œIā€™m really thankful to be around the Hill. And I didnā€™t know until I was sick,ā€ Abraham, who is often referred to as ā€œThe King,ā€ said.

In September 2023, Abraham became ill and was rushed to the hospital, where a CAT scan revealed that he had bleeding in his skull that was putting pressure on his brain. A week after he had surgery, a fundraiser was launched to raise money to help pay for the excessive medical bills he was set to accrue. It was largely supported by repeat customers, neighbors, and former residents of Capitol Hill. Over $30,000 was raised.

Aside from donations, the comments on the fundraiser revealed just how beloved The King was to the neighborhoodā€™s residents. They go something like this: ā€œThe neighborhood isn’t the same without you;ā€ ā€œAbe is the true king of the hill. He always makes everyoneā€™s day;ā€ and ā€œAbe is such an important part of our community. Sending our best to him and to his family.ā€

Looking back, he describes the store, customers and neighborhood like a piece of gold he didn’t realize he had. Continue reading →

Magpie Thrift ready for new beginning in longtime Broadway thrift shop space

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By Caroline Carr

When Lifelong announced it was getting out of the thrift business in January, they were naturally met with disappointment from the community. At the time, they couldnā€™t yet reveal what would come next for the Broadway thrift shop that had been a quintessential Capitol Hill spot for more than twenty years.

The Lifelong nonprofit will be moving away from retail to focus its efforts on an expanded kitchen and meal services mission doubling its size in Georgetown, making way for a new effort in reuse and recycling: Magpie Thrift.

The new beginning on Broadway starts next week.

Magpie will be a thrift store that encourages patrons to reuse, recycle, and make do with less.

ā€œAlthough we are sad and have been grieving the loss of that identity, life is about moving forward and creating new things,ā€ said owner Tamara Asakawa who previously served as the longtime director of Lifelong Thrift.

The new store will be a space for shopping along with upcycling workshops, senior downsizing assistance programs, and community events.

Magpie will begin as a for-profit venture that will fund the launch of Everly, a nonprofit created by Asakawa. In time, she hopes to raise the money to merge the two entities and return the thrift back to its roots as a nonprofit. Asakawa was intent on transparency with the storeā€™s new for-profit status, and is confident that this is both necessary and temporary. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill grocery stores have been doing it for years — Now, the city is looking at one Seattle Safeway to see if closing off second entrance is unsafe

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The 15th/John Safeway (Image: Google Maps)

The companies behind Capitol Hill’s grocery stores will be watching as the city considers a complaint against a Seattle Safeway over the practice of closing off second entrances as the big chains try to deter shoplifters and thieves.

A “Notice of Violation” over city code was issued first in January to the 8340 15th Ave NW Safeway over a complaint about the grocery’s shutdown of one of its two entrances. Continue reading →

Magpie Thrift, part of larger mission of reuse and inclusivity, to open on Broadway

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Here’s hoping the strong window display game will continue in the space (Image: Lifelong Thrift)

It will be a smooth transition and the launch of a new Seattle nonprofit dedicated to reuse and recycling as Magpie Thrift opens on Broadway this spring.

The new store will take over the Lifelong Thrift space — and mission — on Broadway. Continue reading →

Give Ladie Chablis a boost by helping fund new Capitol Hill shop La Cha-Bliss Wines

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Want Ladie Chablis to pour you a glass?

The Seattle drag queen is making plans to open a Capitol Hill wine shop and could use a boost.

“This will be my first retail business and I am extremely excited. As we all know starting a business involves many steps. Developing a business idea, researching for the right location and securing funding. So far I have come up with a business plan to create a retail wine store. I have decided on a legal structure to become an LLC. I have applied for my license and applied for business insurance as well. I found an incredible location on a busy street in Capitol Hill in Seattle,” Howard Russell writes in the community fundraising pitch for La Cha-Bliss Wines, a new 12th Ave wine shop being planned by the drag performer and longtime Seattleite who has been busy around the Capitol Hill community serving on the boards at GenPride, the YMCA, Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle, and Emerald City Softball Association.

Lady Chablis is still busy in the neighborhood

You can join the fundraiser here.

Russell saysĀ La Cha-Bliss Wines will be a retail boutique store that sells domestic and international wines from Washington, Oregon, California France, Italy and Germany. According to permits, the plan is for the shop to join the 1400-block of 12th Ave next to the former BarrioĀ which is also lined up for the new Mint and Martini to fill the large restaurant space.

In the fundraising pitch, Russell says it hasn’t been easy securing funding for the project as he is ready to sink $10,000 from his 401k to reach the $30,000 launch inventory cost.

You can learn more about helping to support Russell’s effort here.

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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.

Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support šŸ‘Ā 

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