According to a notice on the door, New York Pizza & Bar is renting the space at 500 Mercer Street, Suites 2-4, and is currently doing construction in preparation for opening.

New York Pizza & Bar currently has two locations in Washington State – one in Bellingham and another in Lynden. We’re waiting to hear back from the owners on when they plan to open the new Seattle location.

* Thanks to Patrick and Jenn for the tip!

There is currently no website or any online information for the business, and no permit applications have come through the city for that address. But whoever “Mo” is, we’re guessing he’s not from around here, considering the misspelling of Queen Anne (sans the last ‘e’) in the sign.

Still, in the current economy, where vacant storefronts have been sitting empty and idle for months at a time before a new retailer moves in (if ever – just look at both of Queen Anne’s former Blockbusters: the Upper location was left empty for almost two years before reopening as Umpqua Bank earlier this month, and the Lower QA location is still hollow from its March closure), it’s surprising to see a business closure turn around into a new opening so quickly. What do you think – is this a sign that things are looking up for Uptown’s business district?

Currently, vendors have to work out deals with local business owners, which is why you always see food trucks in parking lots or outside local companies. The new guidelines would allow for street food carts to park in specific spaces throughout the city on their own.

With the new legislation would come changes to street food vendor rules as well.

These called for increased parking fees; upping the buffer between sidewalk vendors and business entrances/exits (from 10 to 15 feet) and schools (now 1,000 feet, before it was 200 feet); and notification of nearby property owners. Previously vendors were to notify all owners within 100 feet of their site; now they will have to inform owners on each side of the street as well as those on the adjacent block when the slinger is situated on a corner. The legislation dictates no more than two merchants are permitted per block; if there is little or no commercial activity, that number could increase.

Not everyone is a fan of the proposal. Many restaurants are against the measure as an increase in street vendors could leads to a decrease in customers for them. See the full details here.

The City Council is expected to consider the bill on Monday, July 18.

We’ve been hearing rumors that a Oaxacan restaurant was planning to open in the space for some time now, but this month we got some definitive evidence–on June 14 the owners of “Mezcaleria Oaxaca” applied for a liquor license application at the former Flame space, at 2123 Queen Anne Ave N, to offer spirits, wine, and beer in the restaurant/lounge.

One reader, Jenny, thinks the new restaurant might be a second location for popular Ballard spot La Carta de Oaxaca.

“I noticed that there is a liquor license application on the door with the name “Oaxaca” on it.  I’m hoping the Ballard location is expanding because if it is, we’ll finally have a decent Mexican place on the Ave,” she wrote.

The new restaurant will join the handful of other distinctly different Mexican restaurants at the top of the hill, including the relatively new La Luna, which opened up at Queen Anne Ave N and Boston back in April, Tenoch Mexican Grill, which opened in Vincenzo’s former corner spot on Queen Anne Ave N and W McGraw in April 2010, and Malena’s Taco Shop, a longtime popular neighborhood spot at W McGraw Street and 7th Ave W.

I’m currently waiting on a call back from La Carta de Oaxaca’s manager to find out if this restaurant is in fact expanding to Queen Anne. I will update this story as to whether or not this new eatery will be a new location for a local chain, or a brand new Oaxacan place under different ownership, as soon as I know more.

* Thanks to Jenny for the tip!

Now just two years and a few months later, Sezoni has shuttered its doors somewhat suddenly.

“Walked by Sezoni (ex-Vincenzo’s) last night and there was a big Closed sign on the door,” writes Mark. “Another good restaurant gone? Just had pizza from there last week!”

Exactly why Sezoni’s owners decided to close up shop is still unknown, as is what, if anything, will replace it. A voice mail left with the business, as well as a note to its reservations email account, have not yet been returned. While Sezoni’s website is still active, its online ordering system has been disabled. There is no information on its Facebook page as to why the business has closed. We’ll update this story as soon as we learn more.

* Thanks to Mark Taylor for the tip.

Since the closure we’ve received a number of emails from Queen Anne-ers wondering why this new Asian fusion noodle shop left so suddenly, many of whom were disappointed to hear the news.

“We really liked the place and went there pretty often,” Mark Taylor wrote. “It’s very weird.”

There isn’t a lot of information indicating why the new business closed. Wanna Noodle’s website has since been taken down and now redirects to a Wikipedia page on Noodles. Wanna Noodle’s Facebook page has also been taken down, and there are no faulty permit applications, liquor license or restaurant inspection problems for the business on file with the city. An email to the former Wanna Noodle contact address has not yet been answered.

While the reasons for Wanna Noodle’s sudden closure is somewhat of a mystery, Hesch & Shain commercial real estate broker for the space at 12 Mercer Street, Constance Shain, confirmed that the business is officially closed.

“It is unfortunate that the former business has closed,” Shain said. “And it is not because they weren’t doing well.”

Shain wouldn’t elaborate on why the business has shuttered its doors, but she did add that a new operator will be going into the space, “though I can’t confirm what the concept will be,” she said.

We’ll keep following this story, and will update this post with any developments.

La Luna‘s manager Tony Lopez describes the cuisine as “inspired Mexican food,” or Mexican fusion on the finer side.

The restaurant, which is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch and happy hour, opened on Friday, April 15, and so far the response has been fantastic.

“Reception has been great so far,” Lopez said. “We’ve had tons of neighborhood people coming in.”

While the inside of the restaurant hasn’t changed much, La Luna did add a few flat screen TVs and a number of ‘fire tables’ (yes, you read that right) for festive indoor and outdoor seating.

La Luna is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. and most items range from $6 to $12 in price. Currently there are two happy hour times, though Lopez says these may change as the restaurant settles into a regular schedule. For the time being patrons can get $1 off well drinks and the bar menu from 5 to 6 p.m. daily, and $2 off from 3 to 5 p.m.

To find out more about La Luna, check out their website, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

• How To Cook A Wolf
• Betty
• Crow
• Pagliacci Pizza
  
• Macrina Bakery
  
• Portage

See the full list of participating restaurants for more spots where you can dine and donate tomorrow.

Seattle Weekly’s annual Voracious restaurant guide

In the “Things That Swim” section, Canlis and chef Jason Franey were commended for the menu – a mixture of new dishes and original plates from the restaurant’s early years.

In the “Veggies” section Book Bindery was called out for a salad – “one of the greatest salads ever” – made out of more apples than vegetables.

Check out the full guide to see some other nearby notables, including the selections just across the water in Fremont. What do you think, Queen Anne? Any shocking omissions from the list?

That’s because the two restaurants have merged, according to an Elliott Bay Pizza Co. employee who spoke to us over the phone this morning.

While the sign on the door at Flame says it is only closed for renovations, adding “Y’all kin get yer got juicy delicious flame broiled burgers next door at Elliott Bay Pizza,” in fact the restaurant changed ownership this week, the Elliott Bay Pizza Co. employee confirmed.

The man who owned both Elliott Bay and Flame decided to consolidate the two restaurants – and their vastly different menus – and sell the Flame location. The renovations inside are on the part of the new owner, he said, adding that he does not know what the new owner plans to do with the restaurant.

A call to the new owner has not yet been returned. In the meantime, most of the original Flame menu (burgers, fries and onion rings, chicken tenders, BBQ sandwiches, and salads) can be found at Elliott Bay Pizza Co. alongside its existing pizzas, pastas, salads, calzones and subs. The only items not available in the new merger are Flame’s tacos and shakes.

And as for the fate of Flame’s old homestead, we’ll keep you posted as we learn more about what will be moving in.