Tag Archives: union

OOLA says goodbye to Capitol Hill — again — as 14th and Union restaurant shutters

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Kirby Kallas-Lewis and KT Niehoff’s “all time favorite spot in their all time favorite neighborhood” will be available again.

The OOLA Capitol Hill restaurant has shuttered while its Georgetown craft spirits distillery will carry on.

The 14th and Union restaurant had been shuttered for a prolonged “temporary closure” that is now permanent. CHS checked in with Kallas-Lewis a few weeks back but the owners weren’t certain about their plans. Over the weekend, they posted the sad decision:

Kirby and I want to share with you that we will be closing our OOLA Capitol Hill Restaurant, effective immediately.
It has been a true pleasure sharing our little oasis on Capitol Hill with you all. Thank you for the magical moments and energy you’ve brought into the space, and for being so present for this great experiment.

But the couple reports the OOLA Distillery “lives on.” Continue reading →

A new place to play on E Union: Upgraded TT Minor Play Area unveiled

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(Image: Seattle Parks)

Seattle Parks is officially unveiling the $500,000 summer makeover of the TT Minor Play Area.

The E. Union playground next to the Seattle Public Schools campus was overhauled in June by volunteers as part of the Greater & Greener Conference, a gathering of parks officials and designers.

Seattle Parks says around 50 conference attendees joined the department and Play Creation to help construct the new play area, “which is now a vibrant community space for children and families.” The two main structures of the play equipment were donated by Landscape Structures and Play Creation, the city says. Continue reading →

A Seattle first at 14th and Union, the Heartwood’s residents can see, touch, and feel the timber — But challenges to affordable housing have trimmed the excitement

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With reporting by Alex Garland

In better times, you would hear more about the Heartwood, a recently completed mass-timber affordable apartment building at the core of Capitol Hill and the Central District, that puts its residents in direct contact with a building material more closely connected with the planet and the feelings of home.

The cross-laminated timber project is one of the first in the country to be designed with full exposure of mass timber in the structure. The newly opened building’s eight stories feature full exposure of its timber beams so residents and visitors can see, touch, and feel the wood. Other types can build higher — like this project on First Hill — but require that the wood be kept “encapsulated.”

But the Heartwood’s amazing composition has been overshadowed.

“[The timing surrounding the development and lease up of the Heartwood has presented challenges,” a spokesperson for the building’s developer Community Roots Housing tells CHS. “We’re seeing a softened rental market that has led to a slower lease up of the property than we anticipated, which is having an impact on other projects in our pipeline.” Continue reading →

Business Journal: Construction begins on 7-story development that will rise above Chop Suey, Diesel, and the Madison Pub

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A rendering of the planned development (Image: Board and Vellum)

Developers say work is finally beginning on the seven-story mixed-use development planned to slide into the block between Chop Suey and queer bars Madison Pub and Diesel at 14th and Madison.

The Puget Sound Business Journal reports Euclid Development says construction has started on the seven-story, 138-unit development with hopes of a summer 2026 opening. The project includes plans for new commercial space at street level on both Madison and Union as well as underground parking for around 50 vehicles, PSBJ reports.

CHS reported here in 2023 on the design plans for the project from 15th Ave E-headquartered Board and Vellum for the puzzle piece-shaped Tanager Apartments building and its “two towers” rising “around a courtyard teeming with vegetation and natural life — a forested oasis in the middle of a bustling neighborhood.” Continue reading →

With a new home in the city, Koko’s now open on Capitol Hill

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With reporting by Alex Garland

It has arrived a few Cinco de Mayos later than expected but Koko’s is now open on 10th Ave.

Gibran Moreno and Alexi Torres say they are happy to have created a new city version of the Koko’s original that adds to the neighborhood’s inclusive and open-minded communities.

“Capitol Hill is the place for me,” Moreno says. “As a gay couple, we feel safe and comfortable.”

Moreno — he’s the talkative one — and Torres created and grew the first Koko’s with Mexican and Salvadorian flavors and a beachtown vibe in the Pacific Northwest beach town of Seabrook. They have brought some of that relaxed energy to the backside of Pike/Pine where they now neighbor Capitol Hill fine dining veteran Lark and its Slab Sandwiches sibling.

The newly transformed space is filled with plants and light and art including creations from Oaxaca and a monkey from Michoacán.

CHS reported here on long delays to open the new restaurant due to pandemic challenges that slowed permits and construction for the Koko’s expansion to fill this 10th Ave space formerly home to a Heritage Distilling tasting room.

The first Koko’s was born in the planned Olympic Peninsula community of Seabrook, Washington and has grown into one of the “Best Restaurants in Washington State.”

Moreno and Torres hope their new Koko’s can fill a sweet spot on Capitol Hill as people return to more pre-pandemic ways. Continue reading →

It has been a long road to open on Capitol HIll but delays could be blessing in disguise for Koko’s

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(Image: Koko’s)

By Juan Jocom

The folks at Koko’s know what they are doing. They built the original restaurant into a widely respected dining destination despite its far-flung location in the planned Olympic Peninsula community of Seabrook.

Gibran Moreno and Alexi Torres also know their way around Capitol Hill, hoping to grow their new Koko’s Restaurant and Tequila Bar into the LGBTQ-owned food, drink, and good times community of the neighborhood.

But the long waits and slow processes of doing business in a booming again Seattle have been a challenge even for the experience Koko’s team.

“We’ve been working on this project for over a year and two months… But we are getting close. We are just waiting for our final inspection from the health department and then we should be ready to go,” Moreno said.

But even the final push comes with challenges. Continue reading →

With Bok a Bok-Stoup link, you can now order Korean fried chicken to your Capitol Hill beer hall table

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(Image: Bok a Bok)

You can now order food that will be brought to your table inside one of the great hangout spaces on Capitol Hill.

Yes, Stoup Brewing Capitol Hill has invented… the restaurant.

It’s more fun than that.

Thanks to the new partnership, you can order from nearby Bok a Bok and have your Korean fried chicken delivered to you at the E Union beer hall with QR codes with promised “secret deals” on the Stoup tables.

As an added bonus, according to this post to the CHS Facebook group, the food will be brought over to the brewery across the couple blocks of Pike/Pine by a Bok a Bok employee and not a delivery driver. Meanwhile, Stoup Capitol Hill’s schedule of food trucks including Birrieria Pepe El Toro, Bella M’Briana, El Gran Taco, MexiCuban, and Tummy Yummy Thai is still in rotation.

Meanwhile, you can also still order Bok a Bok at its 10th Ave counter or inside The Runaway bar.

The pairing marks a new connection for Bok a Bok which moved into the neighborhood next to Neumos in 2017. Stoup, meanwhile, celebrated its 2023 move into the neighborhood by releasing its first Capitol Hill-brewed IPA earlier this winter.

Stoup Capitol Hill is located at 1158 Broadway.

 

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CHS Pics | Stoup Brewing celebrates Capitol Hill Magic Hazy IPA, its first brew at Broadway and Union

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Stoup Brewing has made its first Capitol Hill beer.. The decade-old Seattle microbrewery that expanded onto the Hill last year with its acquisition of the neighborhood’s Optimism Brewing held a party Thursday marking the release of its new Capitol Hill Magic Hazy IPA.

“We went through a whole lot of it last night which we must say felt pretty damn good,” Stoup posted about the fun. Continue reading →

Skillet settles over fired employees, wage theft and paid sick leave violations

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(Image: Skillet)

Capitol Hill-born Skillet has been nailed for wage theft and violations of the city’s paid sick leave laws after firing employees over taking sick time and in retaliation for raising issues over the restaurant chain’s policies.

“Working in restaurants for a decade, I always assumed there was a legal exemption which meant we were not entitled to rest or meal breaks. There is not. That is illegal. It does not matter where you work or how busy you are. It does not matter if it is the holidays, or someone called in sick,“ Zara Sedore-Mallin, former Skillet employee, said in the announcement from the Seattle Office of Labor Standards of a $324,000 settlement over the company’s practices. “We have amazing labor laws in Seattle. You deserve to be able to eat, rest, and earn your full wage when you are at work. You are legally entitled to do so.” Continue reading →

Seattle Police investigate E Union gunfire and bullet damage

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Seattle Police found bullet damage across multiple blocks but there were no immediate reports of injuries after a reported shootout involving people on foot and in at least one vehicle Monday night near 21st and Union.

Multiple 911 callers reported around 20 gunshots just after 9 PM including callers reporting bullet damage to structures and vehicles on 18th Ave, 22nd Ave, and E Pike. Continue reading →