Great news from a reader tip (thanks, Brian!) – Tup Tim Thai has swapped out the “lost our lease” signs with the following:

The Uptown Alliance sent a letter to the property owners and management on May 9th, asking them to find an acceptable agreement to keep Tup Tim Thai open. Looks like Tup Tim Thai has reached an agreement, and will be staying put at 118 W Mercer St.

A few weeks ago, we got a tip from a reader (thanks, Mark!) about a liquor license posted at 20 Roy St. We followed up  and found owner Matt Storm busy at work on The Masonry – a wood-fired pizza and craft beer bar.

Future home of The Masonry, 20 Roy St

The Masonry’s menu will be headed up by chef Lucas Neve, formerly of Montlake’s Cafe Lago. Matt will be managing the craft beers himself, bringing his knowledge garnered from a past stint at Malt and Vine and his position at Seattle German Pubs.

The menu will stay fairly small, with offerings varying based on what Lucas finds fresh and in-season. The craft beer bar will also feature a rotating selection, and in addition to selling bottles, The Masonry will also fill growlers to go. Plus, for those whose tastes tend toward the grape, there’ll be a couple of house wines and a selection of bottles from wineries that are “great and often overlooked”.

Matt and team are hard at work on the new digs, and they’re currently aiming for a July 1st opening. According to Matt, “we can’t wait to get to know our beer and food loving neighbors” – so, mark your calendars for July and welcome a new business to Lower Queen Anne/Uptown!

Twice a year Queen Anne Dispatch, the Upper Queen Anne local shipper and boutique celebrates with a customer appreciation event. This Friday, May 17, the festivities run all day from 9am-10pm, with 20% off retail and more.

Le Reve will help kick off the day with tasty bakery treats and coffee service. Then around mid-day Icebox Grocery, the locally owned and operated mini-market will have drinks and samples available.

When the evening hours roll around, Queen Anne Dispatch will kick off a party atmosphere at 6pm with music by DJ Cotton Candy, wine, cocktails and appetizers. In addition, local mom and artist Kirsty Papadopoulos from Lucia K Jewelry and a rep from Lole will be on hand to chat and answer questions. Plus, mini manicures with Seattle’s own Butter London products. The party runs til 10pm.

All in all, a very local event – and everyone is welcome to join in the celebration, a one-stop shop of local businesses, artists, and products.

At Queen Anne View, we love tips. Readers help us cover the neighborhood and give us the heads up on new and interesting items. Recent tips? Calva Café closing, a new sushi place on Queen Anne Ave N, Cederberg Tea House – and that’s just from the past week or so. If you see something interesting or newsworthy, send it our way!

While we always dig up what we can on tips, available research sometimes leads us only so far. With that disclaimer, we received a tip on sushi happenings at 500 Mercer St sent in by a reader (thanks, Mark!) that we’ve followed as far as we can at this point.

Genki Sushi is no more
Photo courtesy of Genki Sushi

Here’s the scoop: Genki Sushi at 500 Mercer St closed in March (not sure how that one slipped by us or our usual tipsters…), but a new sushi spot, Ten Sushi, has applied for a business license at the same location.

Ten Sushi has also applied for a liquor license to sell beer, wine, and spirits, and it appears that the applicant, Shinichiro Takahashi, is a former Genki Sushi operations manager. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

If you have any additional info on this spot or any other neighborhood happenings, just let us know.

We’ve had several tips from readers this past week about a sign going up at the shop across the hallway/courtyard from Chase Bank at 1417 Queen Anne Ave N, so I took advantage of the splendid weather to stop by and take a look – sure enough, there’s a sign for a new tea shop, and the owners are keeping it local while sharing their South African heritage.

Cederberg Tea House is set to open in June, and it puts a different spin on the typical tea shop with traditional South African sweet and savory baked goods, South African Rooibos tea, and espresso for those of you whose beverages take a coffee form.

The new shop is a mother-daughter venture – that’s right, a new family-owned, independent business is moving into Queen Anne. Native South Africans Natasha Robson-Lovato and Cecile Robson, now at home in Seattle, are at the helm of the new tea shop. Cederberg Tea House originally began as a local catering company named after the region where Rooibos tea grows, and now they’re putting down roots on top of Queen Anne.

Photo courtesy of
Cederberg Tea House

Natasha and Cecile are busy getting it ready for a June opening, and the menu promises delicacies you can’t get elsewhere in Seattle:

• Rooibos Lattes and Cappuccinos: Rooibos tea is pulled through an espresso machine to produce a strong shot of tea with the strength and body of a regular espresso latte, but the unique flavor of tea. Cederberg promises you can’t get this traditional South African drink anywhere else in Seattle.
• South African treats: you can taste a wide range of baked goods including Koeksisters, syrup soaked doughnuts; Melkterts, traditional custard tarts; Hertzogs, jam filled tarts with a coconut meringue topping; Crunchies, coconut, oatmeal and butter cookies; South African Fudge (which has no chocolate – check it out), and more.

Co-owner Natasha says they’re looking forward to being part of the Queen Anne community and sharing a taste of South Africa:

Mark your calendars for June, and get ready to experience some new treats, teas, and coffee at the corner of Galer and Queen Anne Ave N.

Back in October, Pinkabella Cupcakes closed up shop and their spot in the Queen Anne Space building on Queen Anne Ave N. The storefront has been empty until this weekend… Friday night, nothing (I walked by after dinner out). Saturday, a tip from a reader (thanks, Aaron!) – the windows are papered over, and a sign promising sushi by June 1st is up in the window.

According to the City of Seattle business license applications, Sushi Samurai holds a license for the spot at 1817 Queen Anne Ave N. No more info yet on Sushi Samurai, other than the sign promising sushi soon!

Some local bookstore news to share – this week, Queen Anne Book Company is hosting an author event and kicking off its QABC Reads book group.

First up, the author event: tonight, Monday, May 6th, 7pm-8:30pm with local author Jennie Shortridge. Her latest book  is “Love, Water, Memory” and she’ll be joined by the Seattle 7 band. Shortridge is a member of the band, as is Garth Stein, author of “The Art of Racing in the Rain”. The Seattle 7 band (aka The Rejections (and Trailing Spouses), will be providing background music and entertainment for Jennie’s event.

And, if you’re looking for a book club, look no further than Queen Anne Book Company! They’re kicking off the inaugural QABC Reads book group on Tuesday, May 7 at 7pm. QABC Reads will meet the first Tuesdays of every month from 7:00-8:30pm, and is open to all interested readers. Discussion titles will be posted on the QABC web site and in the store.

The first meeting of QABC Reads will be a discussion of the top ten best-selling book group titles in the Pacific Northwest by co-owner Janis Segress and bookseller Wendee Wieking. Feel free to bring your favorite titles along with you, and by the end of the evening, the group will decide on the first book to be discussed at the June 4th meeting.

Happy reading!

Several weeks ago a sign went up outside Calva Café – “restaurant space for lease”. When a “for lease” sign goes up with a long-time staple still in the advertised spot, it’s usually not good news for said business. In this case, Calva Cafe is the only restaurant space at 1905 Queen Anne Ave N… and it’s closing.

In the past few days, we’ve received tips from multiple Queen Anne View readers who’ve recently dined at the mom-and-pop Chinese/Sushi restaurant, and I also talked with owner today about the restaurant’s future. After 7 years in business on Queen Anne, Calva Café will indeed be closing on May 24th, just a few weeks away. Calva, like other local Queen Anne businesses, is faced with limited options – pay an increased rental rate they can’t afford or close up shop on Queen Anne.

The landlord of the building has increased Calva’s rent twice in the past few years, and with the end of their current lease, the increase is just too much for them to stay in business on Queen Anne. Just as with Tup Tim Thai, Calva’s owners have always paid their rent and have been good tenants. They just can’t keep up with the cost of renting restaurant space on Queen Anne – an increasing cost that’s hard to understand given the number of empty retail spaces on both Upper and Lower Queen Anne.

Although they would like to keep the restaurant open, Calva’s owners have no plans at this time to relocate, so stop by to get one last home-cooked stir-fry meal or plate of hand-made sushi, and say goodbye before May 24th.

This Saturday, April 27th, the Queen Anne Book Company will host award-winning author Sherman Alexie from 1-5pm.

Alexie will be selling and signing copies of his books, doing spontaneous readings, recommending additional books, and chatting with readers. Plus, according to the shop, he’ll also take the floor as a bookseller for the day!

Stop by Queen Anne Book Company at 1811 Queen Anne Ave N on Saturday to meet Alexie and talk books between 1pm and 5pm. The shop will have copies of his books for sale, and feel free to bring in your own Alexie books for signing.

Looking for a fun, old-fashioned-with-a-twist fundraiser to help women with breast cancer? Local Queen Anne women’s lingerie boutique Beauty N Kurves has the event for you. Bodacious Vaudeville will take you back in time with old-school vaudeville entertainment, burlesque performances, and live music this Saturday, April 20th.

Bodacious Vaudeville is a festive evening of entertainment and fun for those 21+, all for a good cause. The event benefits Cierra Sisters, an organization that supports African-America women with breast cancer and welcomes all cancer survivors, supporters, caregivers, family and friends.

The evening’s celebration will take you back in time with shows by a burlesque performer, an aerialist, and an old-style vaudeville photo booth. Plus, the evening’s roster includes a fashion show and pop-up trunk show featuring Beauty N Kurves Lingerie, ScottiMarie Designs and Bow & Curtsey Jewelry, live performances by a cappella group 545 Express, 127th St. Dance Company, Lily Armani, music from DJ Victor Malice, and more.

Bodacious Vaudeville will take place at Vertical World Seattle (2330 Commodore Way) this Saturday, April 20th, from 8pm to 11:30pm. Guests are encouraged, but not required, to wear vaudevillian attire – per the organizers, the most important thing is for guests to wear whatever makes them feel most beautiful.

If you’re looking for an old-fashioned risqué celebration that benefits a breast cancer charity, buy your tickets online and get ready to step back into the past with a fun evening celebrating women of all shapes and sizes.

Local med spa Bella Fiore is hosting a happy hour to celebrate the end of your tax-season stress. On Monday, April 15th (aka Tax Day or the IRS’ big day), Bella Fiore will open its doors from 5:30-7:30pm for a free happy hour.

Enjoy a glass of wine, a free Isun make-up application, and test out a virtually pain free laser patch test. Plus, exclusive med spa specials offered only during Happy Hour. Join in the celebration at 1629 Queen Anne Ave N for an evening of pampering after hitting that tax deadline!

The first 20 RSVPs will be entered to win a complimentary Pain Free Hair Removal Session of your choice. Please RSVP via email or call 206.792.9448.

Last week we reported that Pink Ginger, a local Queen Anne women’s boutique, will be closing its 6th Ave W and Crockett St location at the end of this month.

At the time, owner Tina Christou didn’t have any firm plans for her next venture; however, today she let us know that she’s found a new spot in Ballard. So, Queen Anne’s loss is Ballard’s gain. She’ll be sharing a space with Ballard Home Comforts at 5334 Ballard Ave NW beginning in May.

In the meantime, Tina is still running a sale through the end of the month as she downsizes her inventory for the upcoming move. Her last day on Queen Anne is April 30th, after that, you’ll have to hop over to Ballard to visit her shop.