Tag Archives: retail

San Francisco men’s fashion retailer Taylor Stitch coming to Capitol Hill

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Pike/Pine’s Excelsior development was named for the Excelsior Motorcycle and Bicycle Company that at one time called its corner home (Image: Excelsior Apartments)

The Valencia Street shop (Image: Taylor Stitch)

Taylor Stitch is preparing to open its first store outside the Bay Area on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

City permits show plans for the new shop in the massive Excelsior mixed-use development on E Pine just above downtown where it will join a mix of retailers including the likes of Warby Parker, fellow fashion retailer Marine Layer, Aesop skincare, and a Seattle outlet of California’s The Pressed Juicery.

The block of retailers and businesses that call the 300 block of E Pine home in 2020 would likely amaze and confound any Capitol Hill resident of 1999. Continue reading →

Flowers Just 4 U closing shop after 40 years of business in the CD

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(Image: CHS)

When you are ready to retire from the flower business, you are ready to retire — even if you are only a few weeks from Valentine’s Day.

Flowers Just 4 U will mark its final day of business Friday after 40 years in the Central District.

Owner Mary Wesley told the South Seattle Emerald earlier this month she has been holding out hope a buyer will come along to keep a flower business going at 23rd and Cherry. Wesley said she also was invited to reopen her business on the corner after the planned affordable Acer House development demolishes the old building and finishes construction. Continue reading →

Recycle and reuse? New thrift shop lined up as Lifelong to say goodbye to Broadway store — UPDATE

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(image: CHS)

Lifelong, the Seattle nonprofit dedicated to helping those living with HIV, is shutting down its thrift division. A change on Broadway is coming but the old Lifelong Thrift Shop looks like it is being set for some vintage recycling with a new thrift entity lined up for the space.

The nonprofit said it is closing its thrift division in a Monday announcement. “We hope to carry on in the same space with a new name, unaffiliated with Lifelong and will be sharing details online and in our windows as they are finalized,” the announcement reads. UPDATE: Lifelong said it pulled down the announcement to update some information included in the post and will be making a new announcement soon.

Details on the timing of the change have not yet been announced. The Broadway store was Lifelong’s only retail location.

Business license filings show a new entity lined up for the 312 Broadway E address. The new thrift shop project includes current Lifelong Thrift director Tamara Asakawa, according to the filing. Continue reading →

New Galerie Orsay Paris-Seattle brings a French connection to Broadway

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(Image: CHS)

(Image: CHS)

Like many first-time Seattle visitors, Simon Lhopiteau was struck by the city’s natural beauty when he first visited five years ago.

“Between the mountains and the water, what I recall is being able to breathe good, fresh air,” Lhopiteau, an art historian, curator, and dealer, recently recalled. “In Paris, it doesn’t exist.”

After moving from Paris to Seattle two years later with his husband, Romain Darde, an international contract attorney at Blue Origin, the vibrant, active, and open-minded art community inspired him to open Galerie Orsay Paris-Seattle on Capitol Hill.

Located in the Loveless Building at the north end of Broadway’s commercial strip, the gallery occupies the vacated storefront occupied for 10 years by the clothing company Freeman. It’s an expansion of Lhopiteau’s Paris gallery, which he opened in 2004.

“When we were considering moving to Seattle, I thought about either getting older in my gallery in Paris or getting younger with a new adventure and a new gallery in Seattle,” Lhopiteau, 59, explained. “I chose to get younger!” Continue reading →

Capitol Hill’s Nook & Cranny Books has lost its lease — You can help it find a new home

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(Image: Nook & Cranny Books)

Capitol Hill’s Nook & Cranny Books has lost its lease and is raising funds to help it find a new home.

“Nook & Cranny needs your help getting over this hurdle,” owner Maren Comendant writes. “We are pursuing small business loans for the long-term, but your support will help cover the upfront costs of a significant move: deposit and increased rent, additional shelving and furniture, and rebuilding inventory.” Continue reading →

Capitol Thrill shop closes on E Pike

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(Image: Capitol Thrill)

Just over three years of business is a pretty good run for a tiny retail operation. Sadly, the thrill is gone. Capitol Thrill has closed.

The E Pike boutique shuttered headed into the holiday break as owner Jeff Gonzales told customers about his planned closure citing the location’s expensive lease and spotty business.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of you who have supported my little shop over the years. Your smiles, stories and support have meant the world to me and I have treasured every moment creating a safe space for queer artists, brands and community in this incredible neighborhood,” Gonzalez said. Continue reading →

Rufous and Co. now humming with design and gift ideas on 15th Ave E

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By Emily Riehl

Holiday shoppers looking to keep their dollars in the neighborhood have a new option on 15th Ave E that also features sustainable products, accessible design services, and a commitment to causes like fighting homelessness.

Rufous and Co. in many ways is a front-end, user friendly interface for interior design — a new home decor and design shop on the street level of the new Hilltop Apartments building that serves as a fun place to shop and the start of working with owner Jim MacLean to shape Seattle living spaces.

“My design approach is very client driven. When a client has an aesthetic, I make sure it’s appropriate for the house, the architecture of the home, and I try to push them to think of things they didn’t think of before or provide them with resources that they didn’t have before,” MacLean says. “I try to make it very collaborative and keep the client thoroughly involved in the process.”

After studying design at Cornish College of the Arts, MacLean developed a strong interest in visual merchandising and spent 20 years at Nordstrom, starting as a part-time employee in college, and eventually rising to the role of a regional manager. He has collaborated with renowned brands like Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, and for nearly 24 years, has led his own design firm, working with at least a dozen clients, some including the Seattle Art Museum and Saint Mark’s Cathedral. He has contributed to in-store development and visual merchandising for companies like L’OrĂ©al, Clarisonic, Sur La Table, and Things Remembered. Continue reading →

As $25B Albertsons and Kroger merger fizzles, Capitol Hill still has two QFCs and two Safeways

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Inside the Broadway Market QFC

A day after legal rulings blocked the proposed $25 billion agreement, the planned merger that would combine the Safeway and QFC grocery families is off leaving behind scraps of Capitol Hill paperwork and plenty of uncertainty about the future of the neighborhood’s grocery shopping needs.

Tuesday’s legal decisions included a crippling injunction issued by a federal judge following a three-week hearing in Portland over the proposed merger combining the Albertsons and Kroger companies. Albertsons says it is now backing out of the agreement and suing Kroger over its failure to secure regulatory approval for the massive merger the companies have said was necessary to address spiraling costs and competition from Walmart and Amazon.

On Capitol Hill, the multibillion dollar deal was already in motion with early maneuverings. This summer, CHS reported as a company formed by C&S Wholesale Grocers applied to assume the liquor license for the QFC grocery store in Capitol Hill’s Harvard Market shopping center. Both Capitol Hill QFC grocery stores appeared on the roster of “Planned Divestiture Store, Distribution Center, and Plant Locations” as industry giants Kroger and Albertsons promised to shed hundreds of locations as they worked toward the merger.

A $1.9 billion sale of locations would have included 579 stores across the country including 124 in Washington to be acquired by C&S, owner of the Piggly Wiggly brand that was once a staple on Capitol Hill and across the city. Continue reading →

Likelihood says ‘economics and crime’ behind giving up on Capitol Hill sneaker shop

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Daniel Carlson, left, and Aaron DelGuzzo of Likelihood

The closure of a boutique sneaker shop just short of its ten-year anniversary is a blow to the continued efforts to grow the backside of the Pike/Pine entertainment and retail district.

Likelihood marked its final day of business at its original Capitol Hill store over the weekend.

“It was a really tough decision,” Daniel Carlson tells CHS. “The CH store is where it all started. We put our heart and soul into making it work. The economics and crime just caught up to us. It was a gut wrenching decision since so many of our customers loved coming into that location. We are going to transition and put all our energy into making our SLU location even more spectacular.” Continue reading →

Flowers for the People comes to E Pine bringing bouquet freedom to Capitol Hill

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(Image: Flowers for the People)

By Calvin Jay Emerson/UW News Lab

Something new is blooming in Pike/Pine as Flowers for the People, a design-it-yourself bouquet boutique, has opened in the former home of the neighborhood apothecary.

Owner Mick Payment has been selling flowers for the last 12 to 13 years, but his love of flora goes back much further. He grew up in his mother’s flower shop, Bloomer’s, a local staple on Downtown Bellevue’s main street. His mom’s positive influence is what inspired the creation of his own store, which he sees as a continuation of the family business.

“I have this painting of her original shop, I want to put it up soon,” Payment says. “She’s like, you know, she set such a precedent for me. I didn’t completely redo things. I’ve just kind of kept what’s worked and made it more accessible.” Continue reading →