Over the last year the Interbay Neighborhood Association has thrown support behind the Interbay Urban Center development, whose major tenant is Whole Foods, on 15th Ave W. Filling the remaining slots has been a slower process. And according to the INA, the newest tenant could be a new Washington State Liquor and Wine outpost.
The INA reports that the new liquor store will join Whole Foods, The Magic Dragon Chinese Restaurant, Peet’s Coffee and Tea, Subway and Interbay Cleaners at the Interbay Urban Center in May, though the Washington State Liquor Control Board could not verify this information at this time.
“We’re not advertising for that yet, it’s not chiseled in stone,” said WSLCB representative Sandy Hill.
Still, the INA seems eager to welcome Liquor and Wine. They claim that the closest current liquor store, located in Lower Queen Anne at 515 1st Ave N, is inconvenient due to the lack of parking and accessibility to the majority of the hill. The new store, they say, will provide a much needed alternative for many Queen Anne, Interbay and Magnolia residents.
We waited in anticipation of what types of business would fill the remaining store fronts. The new liquor and wine store is a welcome addition and has a large parking lot for easy and safe access.
(Photo courtesy of the Interbay Neighborhood Association).
Update 11:46 a.m.: WSLCB Communications Consultant Anne Radford has just verified the new Liquor and Wine store. “We will open a state liquor store in Interbay at 1827 15th Ave. W. Suite A-22 in May. We will announce hours/opening date when available,” she wrote QueenAnneView via email.
Has anyone seen Rocky? Rocky is a chocolate Labrador/Vizsla who was last seen at 6th Ave W and Comstock at around 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 11.
Rocky is micro-chipped and registered, but was not wearing his collar at the time he went missing. According to Rocky’s owners, “He is really friendly and full of energy.”
If anyone has seen Rocky or knows where he might be, please call Bray at (610) 597-0054.
Update 10:15 a.m.: Rocky has been found! Bray wrote,
Just picked him up, a gentleman found him and took him in for the night. He tried to see if he had a chip, which he did but it didn’t register, so they turned to craigslist where I had also posted an ad. So a word of advise for others who lose their dog, post signs, put an ad on CL, notify QAview, and local animal hospitals. Took only 12 hours to get him home.
I you were in Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square, Downtown Seattle or Queen Anne yesterday, you may have spotted a Glee-themed flash mob dancing through the streets.
The same folks who orchestrated the three-part Michael Jackson ‘beat it’ flash mob (recognize the guy in the red jacket?) in Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market and Kerry Park back in August–One Degree Events–were also behind the 1,000-person strong Glee flash mob that performed all around Seattle yesterday, Saturday, April 10.
In preparation for the mob, One Degree put choreographed instructional videos up online, and hosted training sessions around town leading up to the event. At 10 a.m. yesterday participants gathered at Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill for a last-minute practice session, before going on to bring Glee cheer to Westlake Park, Pioneer Square and Seattle Center (just below the Space Needle). This explains why I saw so many people running down the hill yesterday dressed in Glee-themed glamour!
Did you or anyone you know participate in or witness the Seattle Center Glee flash mob? Post links to pictures and videos below or email us at tips@queenanneview.com.
This it the fourth Seattle store for co-owners Greg Waring and Greg Scott, who decided to open a bake-at-home pizza joint that focused on seasonal, local and organic food and drink after years in the restaurant and consulting business.
“Zaw was our mid-life crisis,” Waring said. “If it doesn’t have a bit of soul, it doesn’t go into a bite of Zaw.”
Greg and Greg opened up the new shop yesterday for training, creating a few practice pizzas for Queen Anne-ers free of charge. They will also be extending their hours for this particular location based on community feedback (2 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 2 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday).
“We had a lot of Queen Anne residents who were driving to Ballard or South Lake Union,” Waring said. “We got a lot of requests. So when this location became available, we snapped it up.”
Zaw is using the opening of the Queen Anne location to introduce a number of new products, including bake-at-home cookies (in classic chocolate chip or double decadent chocolate), as well as new local drinks, wines and beers.
Every Zaw pizza has the option of whole-wheat or gluten-free crust, and is wrapped in a cardboard circle with plastic wrap and baking instructions (10 minutes to cook), reducing the pizza box waste by 3/4.
Vermont-based author Howard Frank Mosher will be at Queen Anne Books at 3 p.m. this Sunday, April 11 to talk about his latest novel Walking to Gatlinburg. Mosher, who has written ten novels and a travel memoir, will be presenting an informative slide show called “Transforming History into Fiction: the Story of a Born Liar.”
Where do the boundaries lie between history and fiction? How far can a novelist go in appropriating and “transforming” history into fiction? Using his personal slides, and stories from his travels to the old Erie Canal, Pennsylvanian Amish country, the battlefield at Gettysburg, historical sectors of Richmond, and the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains, Mosher will discuss his use of historical events and characters in his just-released Civil War novel, Walking to Gatlinburg. As part of his research for the novel, Mosher read more than 100 Civil War histories and novels – his favorites are Cold Mountain and The Killer Angels – and retraced the entire trek of the novel’s hero, Morgan Kinneson, from northern Vermont to the Smokies.
For more information, check out the Queen Anne Books website (where they’ve also reviewed Mosher’s latest book).
Love vegetables? If you do, you’re in luck! Vegfest 2010 is coming to Seattle Center this weekend! From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11 vegetable lovers can stop over at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall for some 500 free food samples, cooking demonstrations by chefs from all around the country, presentations from doctors and dieticians on the latest in nutrition, and more!
Tickets for Vegfest are $8 for adults and can be purchased at the door. Kids under 12 get in free. Check out the full event schedule here. Vegfest is sponsored by Vegetarians of Washington.
Emerald Bay Equity has put 2.1 acres of Queen Anne Ave N property at the top of the hill on the market, looking for either a partner or buyer to step in and take over the company’s current redevelopment plans, according to a report by our news partner, the Seattle Times.
The property package includes the half-block where Metropolitan Market is located, which EBE would like to redevelop into a four-story 120-unit apartment complex with 40,000 square feet of ground-floor space for the longtime neighborhood grocery and other retailers (with underground parking), two retail/residential projects that were recently completed across the street–Sweetbrier and Eden Hills–and a fourth smaller redevelopment site. From the Times:
Emerald Bay principal Joe Geivett said he would prefer a joint venture over a sale.
“Getting financing is challenging,” he said. “That’s been the single biggest barrier.”
EBE purchased the Met Market property for $14 million back in 2008, when the then owners were planning to turn it into a larger mixed-use complex housing QFC. At the time many residents, alongside the Queen Anne Community Council and Queen Anne-Magnolia Design Review Board supported the EBE takeover, and according to QACC land-use review committee chair Craig Hamway, the best option for the community would be to continue the relationship with EBE. From the Times:
“It would be a shame if he had to sell,” Hamway said of Geivett [EBE principal Joe Geivett]. “He’s been good to work with from a community standpoint… He’s viewed as a pretty responsible developer.”
Of EBE’s two finished projects at the top of the hill–Sweetbrier and Eden Hills–the Sweetbrier still has a number of retail vacancies.
A few days ago we reported that the grass at Trolley Hill Park had been damaged, presumably by a Bobcat tractor that appeared to have left tracks all over the park. One of our readers, Stephanie, tipped us off to the situation and expressed concern over who was responsible.
“There are tire tracks all over the lawn up there. There is a Bobcat sitting next to what looks like a residential rockery job adjacent to the park but it doesn’t look like simply collateral damage. Maybe someone came and took the Bobcat for a joyride? If it’s Park Dept. or some landscaping employee, they need a map,” she wrote.
Parks and Recreation Public Information representative Joelle Hammerstad did a little digging for us, and found that the Bobcat was not commissioned by the Parks department, and in fact belongs to a private company, Total Grounds Management, who was hired to do some work on a private residence near the park, at 515 Howe St. Joelle wrote,
It appears that there was some miscommunication between the homeowner and the on-site project manager for TGM.
Seattle Parks and Recreation did not give TGM permission to use the park for access to the private residence for their construction project. Nor did we give them permission to use the park as a staging area. We have spoken with TGM and asked them to remove a pile of gravel, as well as the bobcat from the park.
According to Joelle, TMG apologized for the incident and has agreed to work with Parks and Rec to repair the damage to the park. Parks and Rec and TMG will be meeting this coming Monday, April 12 to review the restoration plan.
Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson and Rep. Reuven Carlyle are hosting a town hall meeting for residents of the 36th legislative district at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 19 at the Q Café, located at 3223 15th Ave West in Interbay. The main focus of the meeting will be to discuss the 2010 legislative session and the future of our state.
“For the past two legislative sessions, the state has faced fiscal challenges not seen since the Great Depression,” Kohl-Welles said in a press release yesterday. “We will be sharing with constituents how the Legislature addressed these challenges in passing the operating budget with a combination of budget cuts, new revenue and closing of tax loopholes, federal stimulus funds and using some of the reserves.”
“We have a lot to talk about,” Dickerson said.
Kohl-Welles, Dickerson and Carlyle will also discuss legislation affecting the 36th District, which encompasses Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard, Belltown, Fremont, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood and Blue Ridge, and will allot time to hear comments and questions from constituents.
“While email and phone calls during session are great, getting together and talking about our community is hugely informative and motivating as a lawmaker,” Carlyle said. “Our state is facing huge issues, and we need everyone involved in the solutions.”
Residents who live near the Aurora Bridge may be in for some sleepless nights as work gets underway to build a fence across the City of Seattle Landmark. The work starts Monday, April 19 and will last for one month.
Two lanes of traffic across the bridge will be closed Sunday through Thursday for construction from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. According to WSDOT, the work will be incredibly noisy. In fact, they’re even offering free industrial strength earplugs for residents who call 206-267-6019.
To get an idea of what the final design entails before the meeting, take a look at the enhancement plan (.pdf). As always, the community meeting is open to the public and will be held at Bayview Manor, located at 11 W. Aloha St.
Seattle restaurateur Michael McConnel, who owns two local chains–Caffe Vita and Via Tribunali (both of which have locations in Queen Anne) and has a hand in a number of other Seattle enterprises–has been charged with assault, hit and run, and DUI by city prosecutors this week after he allegedly crashed into another motorist and proceeded to attack him on the evening of Wednesday, March 31.
QueenAnneView obtained the police report and charging documents detailing the strange series of events that night, first reported by SeattleCrime. According to the SPD report, a car driven by McConnell rear-ended another vehicle at the intersection of Broadway and James Street near Seattle University, while the victim was waiting at a red light at around 6 p.m. on the 31st. According to the report, McConnell refused to exchange information with the victim, who reported smelling alcohol on his breath. The police report also states that McConnell’s lawyer, who arrived at the scene moments later in a separate vehicle, allegedly attempted to cut a deal with the victim, offering him $1,500 for the damages to his car if he agreed not to call the police. McConnell reportedly refused to pay and then walked off, returning a few moments later when he allegedly punched the victim in the chest with both fists. According to the report, McConnell then left on foot, leaving his car behind.
Police caught up with McConnell later that evening at one of his restaurants, arrested him and took him to the East Precinct, where he reportedly refused to take a breathalyzer test. SeattleCrime reports that McConnell has pleaded not guilty on all charges.
Both Caffe Vita and Via Tribunali serve beer and alcohol at several locations. Back in December Caffe Vita applied for a liquor license at its Queen Anne location, at 813 5th Ave N. And last month the Washington State Liquor Control Board approved licenses for both the Queen Anne and Capitol Hill coffee outposts.
However, WSLCB spokeswoman Anne Radford told SeattleCrime that the board may seek cancellation of these licenses should the McConnell receive criminal convictions. McConnell is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, May 3.
More than a hundred people gathered at the scene of Sunday’s tragic accident Thursday night to remember Kellen Jones, Spenser Millard and Mike Turner.
Friends and family held candles, laughed and cried, hugged each other, and wrote messages on the Taco Time pole that was hit by a Pontiac Firebird carrying the three Ballard High School graduates. A teenage exchange student named Ashlynn was critically injured in the crash.
“You boys will be missed greatly,” reads one message on the pole. “We love you. Rest in Paradise. Class of ‘08.” Another message reads, “I miss you so much. You’ll always be my teddy bears.”
Complete coverage and video of the vigil from our sister site MyBallard here.
For a suggested donation of $10, attendees will be able to sample nearly 5,000 cupcakes created and donated by the 13 professional, 51 amateur and 4 youth bakers for the event. There will also be raffles for prizes including a wine gift basket, Cakespy artwork, Bella Cupcake Couture, party kits, cupcake wrappers and more! Here’s a sneak peak at the Cupcake Camp schedule:
This week for its Second Saturday Free Movie Series, the Queen Anne Movie Guild will be screening Dirt! The Movie, which delves into the the world and wonders of–you guessed it–soil! From the Guild:
It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and under-appreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.
The opening scenes of the film dive into the wonderment of the soil. Made from the same elements as the stars, plants and animals, and us, “dirt is very much alive.” Though, in modern industrial pursuits and clamor for both profit and natural resources, our human connection to and respect for soil has been disrupted. “Drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”
Narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis, Dirt! is described as a “call to action” for the reconnection of humanity to the environment we live in. The film encapsulates the environmental, economic, social and political impact of soil by sharing stories from experts all over the world who “are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.”
The movie teaches us: “When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt and humans has been intimately linked…The only remedy for disconnecting people from the natural world is connecting them to it again.” What we’ve destroyed, we can heal.
As always, the QA Movie Guild’s Second Saturday Series is free and open to the public. The screening of Dirt! The Movie will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 10 at the Queen Anne United Methodist Church, located at 1606 5th Ave W (the pink building next to the Queen Anne Library). Movie goers should use the Fellowship Hall entrance located on W Garfield St.
The Queen Anne Community Center‘s Spring Flea Market is happening this Saturday, April 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A variety of vendors will be setting up booths in the community center lobby and gym for the event, which is free and open to all ages.
“There’s going to be a number of vendors out there–arts and crafts stuff, antiques, stuff from peoples’ houses,” said one community center employee. The Queen Anne Farmers Market will be at the flea market selling posters and totes for the upcoming 2010 season, which kicks off next month.
If you’re a fan of bargain shopping, stop by and check it out. If you’re a local vendor, or simply looking to get rid of a few things, consider getting a booth at the market. Booths costs $25 and the community center will provide up to two tables per vendor. For more information, stop by the Queen Anne Community Center, located at 1901 1st Ave W, or call (206)386-4240.
The bake-at-home pizza company seems eager to become part of the Queen Anne community. In an email sent out to Zaw’s mailing list this morning, the company wrote, “We’ve already made some great new friends-watch for us at Queen Anne Little League’s opening day on Saturday, April 17th, as we prepare fresh Zaw pizzas, Farmer’s Market style, in support of the Little League.”
Zaw sells custom bake-at-home pizzas and salads utilizing local, seasonal and organic ingredients, Northwest wines and microbrews, and bake-at-home cookies out of their stores for pickup or delivery. Zaw also offers every pizza with a choice of traditional, whole wheat, or gluten-free crust. The restaurant already has locations in Ballard, South Lake Union and Capitol Hill. All Zaw locations are open from 3 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 3 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Bike delivery is available from 4:30 to 9 p.m. daily. Correction: Zaw’s Queen Anne location will be open at 2 p.m. daily, as opposed to 3 p.m. at its other stores. “We held some kitchen tasting sessions with local residents, and got a lot of feedback that we should open earlier at this store, so we listened!” said Zaw co-owner Greg Waring.
The Interbay Neighborhood Association has been awarded a $17,000 matching fund Small and Simple grant through the city’s Department of Neighborhoods to fund the construction of two small parks/sitting areas to service local businesses and their patrons.
“The Interbay Neighborhood Association was concerned that there was no place to sit outside for the over 100 employees working north of Dravus Street,” INA Executive Director Bruce Wynn wrote on the INA blog.
The award funds will be used to construct two “mini parks” with sitting areas. One will be located next to the Denali Fitness building on Bertona, between 16th Ave W and 17th Ave W. The other will be next to the Dusty Strings building, located at the north end of 16th Ave W.
Wynn says the INA will be matching the grant money through additional funding from the Burlington Northern railway, the Office of Economic Development, and a number of volunteers, landscape designers and builders whose time can be counted toward the matching amount. If everything goes according to plan, Wynn estimates that the mini parks will be completed in the fall.
“We have hired a landscaper who will oversee the building of the two mini-parks. We are in the midst of permits now and that takes about 3 months. We hope to begin building by June and have it completed by the end of September,” he wrote in an email to QueenAnneView.
According to Wynn, the project will make Interbay’s business area, which hosts hundreds of employees and customers every day, a more approachable, comfortable and neighborly environment.
“When the parks are completed employees and relax and soak up the rays on a beautiful day in Interbay,” he wrote on the INA blog.
One of our readers, John, wrote in to report another car prowl at the top of the hill this week. His car, he said, was broken into at 2nd Ave N and Galer on the evening of Monday, April 5. He wrote,
My car was parked on the street across from the Queen Anne High School building and had the right rear window broken in. The thief took an old brick of a laptop that I had sitting on the floor in the back seat due to be recycled. It doesn’t work and has a corrupt hard drive, but the cost of the repair will be several hundred dollars at least. My only solace is that the thing was garbage and waiting to be disposed of anyway, but I’d rather have done it on my terms.
John filed a police report, but hopes that SPD will send more patrols through the neighborhood from time to time to deter prowls like this one. Until then, he offers a bit of advice to neighbors:
Keep your cars free of anything appealing! Anything promising like an ipod, briefcase, backpack, or unopened mail could be a target. Even if they steal something worthless, it’ll still cost you to fix the damage.
If anyone experienced a similar prowl on Monday night or witnessed any suspicious activity, please comment below.
See ratings and reviews of
Vermont-based author Howard Frank Mosher will be at Queen Anne Books at 3 p.m. this Sunday, April 11 to talk about his latest novel 
Emerald Bay Equity
A few days ago we reported that the 
The Aurora Bridge has been the scene of countless suicides, and officials hope this new fence will discourage would-be jumpers. The Seattle Landmark and Preservation Board 
Seattle restaurateur Michael McConnel, who owns two local chains–
Queen Anne’s own 
This week for its Second Saturday Free Movie Series, the 
