Construction crews have been busily transforming the former Upper Queen Anne Blockbuster building into a brand new Umpqua Bank branch, which had planned to open this month.

While Queen Anne doesn’t have a shortage of banks, those who were excited to check out the new banker on the block will have wait. Umpqua has pushed back its opening of its new branch another month, to Wednesday, July 20. But when the bank does finally open, they’ll be luring Queen Anne-ers in with the scent of fresh, free coffee.

Twirl Cafe is having a grand opening celebration this Saturday, October 9 from 10 a.m. onward at its brand new digs in the Sweetbrier building, at 2111 Queen Anne Ave N.

We first heard that Twirl was coming to Queen Anne back in June, when we spoke with Queen Anne resident and Twirl owner Rebecca Pelletier. The idea behind Twirl was to create a community oriented family-style gathering space—part kids play space, part cafe.  Pelletier ultimately decided to open her play cafe in Queen Anne, thanks to the neighborhood’s vibrant community atmosphere.

Twirl will offer classes and activities for kids and adults, childcare services (while the parents enjoy some downtime or in-house workshops), and yummy health-oriented eats. And from the look of things so far, even the food will capture the Queen Anne feel. ‘The Howe,’ ‘The Galer,’ and ‘The Bigelow,’ are all specialty sandwiches on the menu.

Read more about Pelletier and Twirl Cafe here.

Longtime Queen Anne coffee post The Grinder, located at 41 Dravus St. off Nickerson (and just around the corner from Tully’s), closed up shop on Wednesday, April 28.

In a letter posted on the door to customers and patrons, owner Kristin Wilhite, who started the Grinder after graduating from SPU 15 years ago, wrote:

“The time has come to close the doors of The Grinder. For 15 years I came to work looking forward to who I would serve that day. I worked hard to not only provide you with good coffee, but with a safe place to laugh, cry, converse and be heard.”

Kristin, who gave birth to her son Max just three months ago, wrote that while she will miss The Grinder, she is thrilled to be starting a new career as a stay-at-home mom.

In her letter Kristin expressed the gratitude she felt for her customers and friends over the years.

“I have: Witnessed relationships turn into marriages. Freshman enter SPU and graduate four years later. Shared in retirements and in promotions. Celebrated our local, now well known author. Lived vicariously through your travels and heard your stories… Watched customers become parents and parents become grandparents. Made more friendships through serving coffee than I ever could have imagined. The stories are endless!”

Kristin invites anyone with a memory to share about The Gridner, to post it on the coffee spot’s Facebook wall.

El Diablo Coffee will be celebrating ten years on the hill next month, and to commemorate, they’ve decided to party all through May!

Beginning May 1, El Diablo will be introducing daily, weekly and monthly specials, including the “Diablito,” a new, limited edition concoction made from espresso and sweetened condensed milk.

For the actual anniversary, fittingly May 5th, i.e. Cinco de Mayo, El Diablo will be hosting an all day party!

Queen Anne Books will also be joining in the May celebrations for a few days, having a sale from May 5th to 9th, and the 1st annual “Galley Giveaway” with purchase. (Galley’s are free copies of books put together before final publication and handed out to reviewers–for some famous authors, these can be considered rare).

All the more reason to follow their devilish advice and consume lots and lots of coffee and cake in May! Happy ten years El Diablo!

(Thanks to Bruce for the tip!)

Looking for a little caffeine boost today? Luckily you live in Seattle where coffee shops are just about the only thing open on Christmas day. And right here on Queen Anne there are plenty of Xmas coffee options.

Upper Queen Anne

• Caffe Ladro – open until 12 p.m.
• El Diable – open until 3 p.m.
• Starbucks – open until 1 p.m.
• Peet’s Coffee & Tea – closed
• Caffé Fioré – open until 1 p.m.
• Caffe Appassionato – open until 3 p.m.
• Bustle – closed
• TeaCup – closed

Lower Queen Anne

• Caffe Ladro – open until 12 p.m.
• Uptown Espresso – open until 1 p.m.
• Caffe Zingaro – closed
• Caffé Vita – closed

This isn’t news, but it’s just so quintessential Queen Anne. And it’s Friday, so I thought I’d share a little fun. If there’s anything we can’t get enough of on the hill – or citywide, for that matter – it’s coffee shops. And although this is really a Seattle thing, I like to think we on Queen Ann have the best selection. And I don’t play favorites; I love all our Queen Anne coffee shops with the same fervor. I usually have to rotate just to keep it fair.

This morning, while at El Diablo, I was handed a soy mocha with a little devil on top (sticking his tongue out at me, I believe), and I thought to myself, now that’s worth saving.

But, alas, I drank him. Still, kudos to Queen Anne’s amazing baristas (or baristos, in this case?). Happy Friday!

Peet’s Coffee and Tea finally opens at the Whole Foods complex on 15th Avenue West. Monday, June 1st at 5:00am marks the officially opening of this new coffee option for Queen Anne and Magnolia.

On Sunday afternoon, a group of Peet’s employees were working hard to get the placed spiffed up and ready for customers to start rolling in. 

Store manager Brian Doyle sees a great opportunity to catch morning commuters who need a convenient jolt of coffee or tea as they head to downtown Seattle. In addition, he is working to make this new location a popular place for community gatherings and meetings.

Brian also mentioned that Peet’s is known for having the freshest beans in the business. So if you happen to swing by and give them a try, let us know what you think.

Two favorites in our life, coffee and chocolate, will be paired at an upcoming event in Queen Anne. The event will give guests a much better understanding of how chocolate and coffee are produced and brought to the consumer, and how to spot quality in a vast sea of products on the market. 

Brent Martin, the owner of Muse Coffee Co, 1907 10th Ave W., and Lauren Adler, owner of Chocolopolis,1527 Queen Anne Ave Nhave put together an event pairing our single origin coffees with her single origin chocolate.

This event will take place on the 19th of February at 7pm at Muse Coffee Co.  Cost is $25 per person.  Reservations can be made by calling 206.271.5749 and asking for Brent. 

As I walked along Queen Anne Avenue, peering into the many new stores that have sprung up in the last year, I decided to stop at El Diablo, one of Queen Anne’s more eclectic coffee houses with its collection of colorful artwork, hand painted tables, and colorful interior.  El Diablo is NOT located on Caffeine Corner (Boston and Queen Anne Ave.) but in the center of the “Ave.” across from Bethany Presbyterian Church and is a surprising favorite among those who really “know coffee” and can appreciate the subtleties of Latin coffee.

Just behind El Diablo is another treasure, Queen Anne Books, which looks exactly the way you would expect a traditional bookstore in Queen Anne to look.  Stop by and browse or join one of the drop-in book clubs.  Just appreciate that you have two of Seattle’s favorite recreational venues right here in the neighborhood.

The Teacup, a specialty tea shop on Queen Anne Ave. will soon relocate into the old Tulley’s location on Queen Anne Ave. and Boston.  Currently “Caffeine Corner” is home to several coffee and tea shops including Starbucks, Peets Coffee and Tea, and Café Lladro.

When asked if the Teacup and Tulley’s had engaged in a bitter bidding war over the lease that resulted in the Teacup paying exorbitant rates for the lease, Elizabeth, the owner of the Teacup just chuckled.  “Not true,” said Elizabeth. “We’re just a small business. There’s no way we could go up against an international company like Tulley’s and expect to win.”

According to Elizabeth, they had been looking for a new space for almost two years and were thinking they might have to leave the hill in order to expand their operations.  Fortunately for the Teacup, Tulley’s management offered them their lease and space when they decided to close down that location.

The Teacup plans to offer many more varieties of tea and to create a more spacious and comfortable environment for their customers. A Grand Opening celebration is planned for October. 

Just in time for Queen Anne residents who are feeling the effects of our shortened days and chilly mornings.

Not all that new, but a welcome newcomer to the Queen Anne Ave. coffee ghetto, is Peet’s Coffee and Tea.  This store features free WiFi service, coffee beans that have been roasted within the last 10 days, individual pots of tea from black to green to herbal, and a nice assortment of pastries.

Coffee shops like Peet’s cater to individual preferences, but what is assured is that you receive friendly service and a nice environment to read the morning paper.  Or better yet, connect up your computer and start reading through your news blogs like the Queen Anne View or the Magnolia Voice.

Coming soon to the corner of Queen Anne Ave. and Boston – Seattle Teacup.