Tag Archives: small business

The Broadway Theater and the shuttered Pike/Pine Amazon Fresh — Sorting out what is next for the two biggest holes in Capitol Hill commercial real estate

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The old theater marquee has been boarded-up with hopes of lighting up for a new tenant

Capitol Hill will head into the new year with no clear plans for its two largest empty commercial spaces leaving an entire block of E Pike and one of Broadway’s most prominent corners shuttered, darkened, and disconnected.

A CHS review of real estate listings, construction and business permits, and details from commercial real estate professionals familiar with the properties shows that both the 7,200-square-foot former Broadway Rite Aid and the boarded-up 8,000-square-foot E Pike grocery formerly home to Amazon Fresh are likely to remain empty well into 2025.

Both of the spaces are especially challenging leases as their relatively massive square footage collides with the rates typically required in the current Capitol Hill commercial real estate market. Meanwhile, there are fewer and fewer smaller suites available with recent closures mostly quickly claimed by new tenants.

201 Broadway E, where the Rite Aid was shuttered a year ago as massive drugstore chains filed for bankruptcy to settle federal and state opioid lawsuits, the property is being marketed as the “historic Broadway Theater” as its owners look for a new tenant.

That search is a major challenge. The building’s longtime local ownership was not interested in talking about it.

“I spoke with the owner, and he prefers no comments at this time,” one agent involved with the listing told CHS. “Best of luck with your work.” Continue reading →

GSBA drops name but will continue to grow Capitol Hill Business Alliance effort — UPDATE

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UPDATE: When first published, this report included incorrect and misunderstood details about the change with the GSBA program. We apologize for the confusion and have updated our reporting with clarified information from the organization. Sorry for the mistakes.

The GSBA is making changes to the Capitol Hill Business Alliance effort but its work to help the Capitol Hill business community are actually growing.

The GSBA with membership of hundreds of businesses across Capitol Hill and the city says it will continue to represent the neighborhood’s commercial communities.

“Weā€™re excited to announce that, starting October 2nd, the Capitol Hill Business Alliance will officially become GSBA: Capitol Hill,” the group’s announcement reads. “While our name will change, our commitment to supporting Capitol Hillā€™s vibrant business community remains the sameā€”now as part of the larger GSBA network.”

The change comes five years after the Greater Seattle Business Association advocacy group launched a special Capitol Hill Business Alliance wing in hopes of filling the gap left by the financial implosion of the neighborhood’s chamber of commerce.

CHS reported in 2019 the sudden closure of the Capitol Hill chamber as the nonprofit representing neighborhood businesses cited financial difficulties for bringing an end to its advocacy and marketing efforts. A failed attempt to create an expanded ā€œBusiness Improvement Areaā€ sapped much of the remaining energy and resources of the group.

The Capitol Hill Business Alliance got new energy with a new leader and initiatives in 2023 challenges remain. When the Seattle City Council convened a small business roundtable last year, no Capitol Hill representatives were included.

A GSBA representative said it will continue to grow its work and influence here. The Capitol Hill efforts remain supported by city funding and the GSBA is being boosted to support a new effort to help create a new Pike/Pine Business Improvement Area to build on what the organization says is the successful BIA program on Broadway.

ā€œIā€™m really excited about the future of GSBA: Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill has always been my business home and one of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods,” Laura Culberg, GSBA: Capitol Hill Program Manager, said in an announcement of the update.

Learn more at thegsba.org.

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Capitol Hill ‘closed temporarily’ notes: Cherry Street Coffee, Local Bigger Burger, and NeĢkter Juice Bar

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Thanks to a CHS reader for the picture

The end of summer can be a chaotic time for small businesses with planned summer breaks to rest and recharge colliding with staffing challenges. Here are three recent food and drink closures on Capitol Hill with stories that will stretch beyond summer. Have a question about a “summer break” at your favorite neighborhood business? Let us know in comments and we can check into it.

  • Cherry Street Coffee: Reported issues over staffing and work conditions at the Seattle coffee chain have spilled over with a “temporarily closed” sign up at the company’s E Pine Capitol Hill location. We’ve reached out to the company to learn more but have not been able to connect with ownership. A thread posted to Reddit earlier this month lays out some reported issues with owner Ali Ghambari. Cherry Street expanded onto E Pine in 2014 after first coming to this part of the city on 12th Ave two years earlier. Efrem Fesaha and the “Mother Africaā€™s finest coffees” of Boona Boona now call that 12th Ave cafe home. Cherry Street hasn’t announced the E Pine temporary closure publicly so there aren’t any details about when they might be planning to reopen. We have also reached out to try to find out more about the reported labor issues but have not yet heard back. Cherry Street did not appear in a check of recently resolved investigations from the city’s Office of Labor Standards.
  • Local Bigger Burger: Why was the Broadway burger joint only accepting payment by Venmo? The bizarre payment setup was short-lived as the location is also now listed as “temporarily closed.” CHS reached out for details and a representative for ownership asked for discretion, saying they turned to Venmo as they were selling the restaurant “and instead of going dark during the transition, we have elected to continue to serve guests.” With the restaurant closed, we’re letting readers know what’s up. Debuting in late 2020 in a former burger chain space, Local Bigger Burger looked at the time like it might be the first in a chain of its own. But the business never took off and it has been part of a challenged group of investments by its ownership in restaurants and cafes across the city that have left a small trail of court proceedings and judgments in its wake. Last December, the parent company behind Local Bigger Burger, Alki Beach Cafe, and South Lake Union’s Local Coffee Spot was hit with a $40,972 default judgment over unpaid rent at the Broadway location. The company has two other cases pending litigation including a tangle with supplier Sysco over unpaid services. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the city issued a determination of a violation against Local Coffee Spot for violations under the Wage Theft Ordinance. The company was dinged $2,552.24 owed to the affected employee and $1,829.58 to the City of Seattle over the transgression, according to city records. State records show that Local Bigger Burger will live on with a new owner set up to take over the business and its sole Broadway location.
  • NeĢkter Juice Bar: Just as it seemed the mix of small businesses in the sprawling development above Capitol Hill Station finally had a toehold, one of the first small ventures to open above the transit station is going kaput. CHS reported here on the plans for the juice bar from franchisee Christina Miller as her small business led the way in the extremely slow start for Capitol Hill Station retail caused by pandemic delays and development red tape. One of the last pieces to complete the retail puzzle all-day cafe Seasmith finally opened to begin this summer.” But now as the puzzle was finally more complete, NeĢkter’s hole will need to be filled.
  • Don’t panic — this is good news about Carmelo’s: On the other end of the spectrum is a coming soon (finally!) Broadway opening. Yes, the signs have finally gone up for the new Carmelo’s Tacos on Broadway across from Capitol Hill Station. CHS reported here to start the year on the plan for the Summit Ave-born taco provider to expand into the former Broadway/Denny Starbucks location. Watch for the new Carmelo’s opening… soon.


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Capitol Hill Business Alliance holding in-person ‘Community Conversation’ sessions

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The Capitol Hill Business Alliance wants to meet with you — in person — again.

The group formed during the pandemic as a Capitol Hill-focused wing of the citywide GSBA business advocacy organization is moving its monthly “Community Conversation” sessions back into the real world with a community meeting planned this week at 10th Ave’s Little Oddfellows.

The change comes with new leadership. Former neighborhood small business owner Laura Culberg now serves as the CHBA membership manager.

The November agenda is wide open with the session hoped to give neighborhood business representatives the opportunity to discuss issues with Culberg and “chat about small business life here on Capitol HIll.”

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No Capitol Hill or Central District representation at City Council small business roundtable

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The Seattle City Council’s Economic Development Committee is hosting a roundtable discussion Wednesday with representatives for small businesses from across Seattle “to hear about the barriers they face as well as proposed solutions to create a more thriving city.” Nobody representing Capitol Hill or the Central District made the list.

The council says scheduled participants will include representatives from the Alliance of Pioneer Square, the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Association, the Ballard Alliance, Friends of Little Saigon, SODO Business Improvement Area, The U District Partnership, and the West Seattle Junction. Continue reading →

Now you just need a garage for your pandemic cider bar: New bill would make it easier to run ‘home-based’ businesses in Seattle

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Yonder Cider (Image: City of Seattle)

Don’t mess with a Seattle neighborhood cider bar. While solutions for the city’s biggest problems around equity, police violence, and homelessness have been elusive, the Seattle City Council is quickly nailing down the red tape that allowed complaints to take down a much loved neighborhood business in Greenwood.

A new “Bringing Business Home” bill introduced Monday would give more flexibility in city codes for small businesses run out of apartments, homes, and garages while Seattle remains under its COVID-19 emergency:

Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 ā€“ Northwest Seattle), Chair of the Cityā€™s Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee, together with Council President M. Lorena Gonzalez (Pos. 9 ā€“ Citywide), introduced C.B. 120001 on Monday, titled ā€œBringing Business Home, a Small Business Flexibility Bill,ā€ in an effort to provide additional support and a means towards economic recovery for small businesses adversely affected by current land use codes during the pandemic. After hearing from a small business impacted by the current rules, Strauss drafted, and GonzĆ”lez co-sponsored, legislation to adopt interim regulations to allow businesses greater flexibility to operate out of garages and residences.

“The proposed changes recognize that while the current COVID-19 economic recession has forced small, independent businesses to find creative solutions to survive, City regulations have not kept up,” the announcement reads. “This legislation allows small businesses to bring their businesses home, reducing one of their largest expenses, rent.” Continue reading →

With applications due for $4M next round, 10 Capitol Hill and Central District $10K Seattle small business relief fund grantees weigh in

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If you own one of the 9,000 Seattle businesses that applied for a $10,000 city grant early on in the pandemic but werenā€™t chosen during the first three rounds, there may be hope once again.

Seattleā€™s Small Business Stabilization Fund, rolled out in March, has now been revitalized as part of the City Council and Mayor Jenny Durkan joint $5.5 million COVID-19 small business relief package passed in August. Of the businesses selected in this upcoming round, at least two thirds must have five employees or less and identify as ā€œhigh risk of displacement or highly disadvantaged.ā€

So far, 469 businesses have received grants through this fund and over 60 of them are in District 3 neighborhoods including Capitol Hill and the Central District. The application period for this next round closes on Monday. You can learn more here.

For some Capitol Hill and Central District businesses, the grant was a necessary part of staying afloat during a time when federal and other sources of funding werenā€™t panning out. For others, itā€™s just one part of a larger effort to withstand the ongoing pandemic, especially in light of recentlyĀ  tightened COVID restrictions.

  • SugarPill: The Pine and Broadway apothecary was one of the first businesses to receive a city grant. Owner Karyn Schwartz says it was the first type of governmental funding SugarPill received, coming through at a much needed time when invoices from the previous holiday season were piling up along with rent and payroll. ā€œWithout that grant, SugarPill would quite possibly have not survived,ā€ she said. ā€œIt was a godsend in the early days of the pandemic.ā€ Situated just down the block from 11th and Pine, she says the grant carried SugarPill through six straight weeks of near total closure as limited capacity shopping and curbside pickup were halted during this summerā€™s Capitol Hill protest zone. ā€œIt provided me, most importantly, with a little extra time to think about my next move, and to do the horrific work of applying for every other kind of assistance with a slightly less paralyzing sense of panic,ā€ Schwartz said. Continue reading →

GSBA’s Chernin announces retirement as business org starts search for new leader

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The GSBA’s Louise Chernin, center, has been in the mix around Capitol Hill businesses for decades

A leader for the Seattle business community — and Capitol Hill — is ready to step aside.

The GSBA, the E Pine-headquarteredĀ LGBTQ and allied chamber of commerce that manages the Capitol Hill Business Alliance advocacy group, said Friday that CEO and president Louise Chernin will step down after decades of work in the business community.

“A decision may be both right and difficult at the same time, which is true of my decision to retire as President & CEO of GSBA, a position I have held for nearly 19 years,” Chernin said in GSBA’s statement on the change. “It is not an overstatement to say that serving in a leadership role in GSBA has been one of the most impactful, fulfilling, and life-changing experiences of my life.”

The GSBA says it is launching “a national search to ensure an inclusive and successful recruiting process for the next President and CEO.” Continue reading →

Grant program for Hill and CD small businesses doubles in size

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The GSBA has announced it has been able to double the size of a grant program developed to help Capitol Hill and Central District small businesses survive the economic turmoil of the COVID-19 crisis.

CHS reported last week on more than 150 applicants hoping for one of the 20 grants the new program was hoped to award. The community business nonprofit has announced that it has raised enough funding to provide twice as many grants: Continue reading →

A small program to help Capitol Hill and Central District businesses through COVID-19 has 150 applicants — and 20 grants to give

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Frame Central is taking appointments

The federal governmentā€™s Paycheck Protection Program officially ended on Saturday and — to give you a sense of how this is all going — progress on a new package of COVID-19 economic relief is stalled in the other Washington. In comparison to the trillions of dollars being debated in D.C., $2,500 isn’t much but a new relief fund from the GSBA for the Capitol Hill and Central District is hoped to bring some small measure of financial relief to a handful of shops, restaurants, and small businesses. And there is hope to grow the program to help more.

ā€œCapitol Hill didnā€™t just have to deal with COVID and anything related to that but also the protests, the riots, teargas, CHOP ā€” there were so many different layers that the business owners have to work through,ā€ the GSBA’s Ilona Lohrey said.

GSBA, Washingtonā€™s LGBTQ and allied chamber of commerce, is launching this project using a $50,000 donation from Comcast. GSBA will divide the donation into 20 grants of $2,500, but Lohrey told CHS they hope to raise funds to double that number and provide 40 grants. The first round of grant-giving will focus on businesses in Capitol Hill and the Central District and, in particular, LGBTQ, BIPOC and women-owned businesses. Continue reading →