Greenwood Seattle

The Green Bean Coffeehouse, which was destroyed by arson last October, will be reopening this Friday morning at 7 a.m. in their new space at 8533 Greenwood Avenue.   

And it isn't taking long for various groups to host creative events in this coffeehouse and community space.  On Sunday, July 18, Artocratic, an online magazine, will be putting on the Food-As-Art Party:  

The Food-As-Art Party is in a few days, on Sunday July 18th.

We're starting on the early side because it's the end of the weekend. Try to get there between 5:30 and 6:00 so we can display all the creations before we dig into them. Sometime around 7-ish we'll start our Food-For-Thought Open mic. Anything you want to perform -- a poem, a song, a very short essay -- original or not -- is welcome!

We hope you are inspired, not intimidated, by this invitation to gustatory creativity! Bring anything that can be eaten, and call it art! If it's just not possible for you to bring something, we will enjoy your company in any case!

If you've been invited to this and you somehow don't know what Artocratic is... we are an online magazine that sometimes organizes gatherings in real life.

http://www.artocratic.com/

Greenbean Coffee House

8533 Greenwood Ave N, 98103

Sunday, July 18

5:30-8:30

Aurora|Seattle reported on some of Seattle's best places to watch the World Cup (which all happen to be on Aurora!) a few weeks ago.  Yesterday, the Seattle Times reported specifically on All Nations Soccer Bar & Restaurant just off Aurora on 130th Street:

The All Nations Soccer Bar & Restaurant in North Seattle may be an alternative. It's new and large, maybe the largest soccer bar in the area. Two dining areas and a bar area, with two screen projectors and four televisions.

It looks like the United Nations headquarters out front, with 48 flags. The owner is Brazilian but tries to be diplomatic, stocking cheese, charcuterie, beers and spirits from around Europe and North America. Still typical bar food, though. The baked paprika-rub chicken wings were spicy, but you'll still wish the skin was deep-fried crispy. The mini pizzas called "pizzettas"? A bit doughy, but good enough to fortify you between rounds of beer. Top them with sausage, Alpino salami, capicola or smoked chicken. There is an all-you-can-eat pizza deal on Fridays.

All Nations has never hosted a World Cup before, and I've never seen it packed. Don't know if the service will be efficient when the orders come fast and often.

(Note: Many soccer and European bars will show all games live, even 4:30 a.m. games, but call to double-check. Most will also show replays of the early-morning games during happy hour.)

All Nations Soccer Bar & Restaurant, 930 N. 130th St., at the intersection with Aurora Avenue North, offers happy hour 4:30-7:30 p.m. daily with snacks $2.50-$9 and cocktails $4.50-$5. All-you-can-eat pizza is $16 on Fridays between 5-9 p.m. (206-365-5165 or www.allnationssoccerbar.com.)

From Emily Brosius, SAGE Coordinator and Assistant Volunteer Coordinator at the Greenwood Senior Center:

The Greenwood Senior Center in connection with a group of community members is pleased to host "A Common Heart For Aurora,” for a night of reflection and celebration, this Friday, May 7, at 5:30 PM, at the Greenwood Senior Center.

Aurora Avenue faces the uphill battle of a negative reputation.  This evening is dedicated to the brighter side of Aurora and to connecting folks who care deeply about this well-known part of Seattle. 

The evening entails a catered meal from Eddie’s Pan Asian Restaurant located on Aurora Avenue, a brief word from an Aurora Advocate, recognition of a neighborhood hero, and time to chat with your fellow community members.  After dinner we will participate in a drumming circle led by Simone La Drumma. 

If you have an interest in creating a more inclusive Greenwood/Phinney neighborhood, please consider coming.  Eat a delicious dinner, meet people you might not have met otherwise, and gain a greater understanding of Aurora Avenue and our community.

Please email or call Emily at the Greenwood Senior Center by Friday morning if you are interested in attending.

emily@greenwoodseniorcenter.org  /(206) 297-0875

This announcement from Greenwood Streetscapes:

When

May 18, drop in anytime between 6:15 and 9:00 pm

Where

Greenwood Public Library, 8016 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle

What

If you live north of 85

^th Street in Greenwood, your street probably has no sidewalks. Come to an open house on May 18th to help shape a community-driven project to build sidewalks and streetscapes to connect the community. This is a kid-friendly event.

Talk with your neighbors about walkable blocks, make video impressions and photo collages, check out neighborhood stories and maps, cut and paste your own streetscape, enjoy snacks and beverages.

For more information, visit www.greenwood.streetscapes.org.

Join Seattle City Councilmember Sally J. Clark for a special Committee on the Built Environment meeting on:

Rowhouses, Apartments & Townhomes – New Rules for the Road

Saturday, March 20

10 a.m. – noon

Taproot Theatre in Greenwood (204 N 85^th St)

It’s time to change the way we design and shape new lowrise buildings in Seattle.  City Council will change the code to make quality, sustainable, well-designed multifamily housing that synchs with the neighborhoods where they are built – and we need your help!  This is a prime opportunity for Councilmembers to hear your feedback

Meeting Format:

 

• Council Staff will highlight some of the hot-button issues.
• Councilmembers will then work through some of the topics
• Substantial time will be dedicated to hearing from you, the attendees
• Coffee and doughnuts will fuel the creativity

Highlighted topics will include parking requirements, building heights, density limits, code simplification,and design review requirements.

Parking is available in the lot behind the theatre.  You can plan your bus trip here. Translation services available upon advance request.  Meeting space generously donated by Taproot Theatre.

Lean more about the Multifamily Code Update at Councilmember Sally J. Clark’s website, here.  Questions about the event?  Contact her office at (206) 684-8802 or sally.clark@seattle.gov

Today I was walking on Aurora.  While I was walking on the West side of Aurora, I looked up and saw what I thought was a pack of cigarettes jammed into the chain link fence.  Upon closer examination, I noticed that it wasn’t cigarettes protruding from the pack of Marlboro Reds, it was hypodermic needles!  I looked closer, and I also saw a metallic spoon jammed into the pack, along with the needles.  My guess is that this is the remains of a drug user’s supply.

I didn’t feel comfortable touching this item.  I snapped a picture of it , and moved on.  Does anybody know if there is a city run hotline to report something like this?  What type of etiquette is involved when encountering something like this?

For those of you who can't get enough of the Yeti mural installed behind Pro Ski at 90th and Aurora...

The North Seattle Herald-Outlook reported yesterday that the folks from Greenwood's Bherd Studios and Matamuros are teaming up again.  Artists John Osgood of Bherd Studios and Kevin Sullivan and Zachary Bohnenkamp of Matamuros will reportedly be creating a mural on a 140-foot wall that will be erected on 85th street in Greenwood during the reconstruction of the Eleanor Roosevelt building, which was destroyed by arson on October 23.

I woke up early this morning to a voicemail from my friend Andy that Greenwood's Green Bean Coffee House was burning down.  He and his wife, Lisa, a co-founder of the Green Bean, had gone into Greenwood to open the Bean for the day - only to discover that the Bean and three neighboring restaurants were being destroyed by a fire.  You can find news updates at the Times and Phinneywood, but let me just say here that this is a devastating loss for the people of Greenwood...

My wife and I have eaten multiple times at the neighboring restaurants.  Our thoughts are with the hard working families that ran these establishments.  We were, however, most familiar with the Green Bean.  We moved to Seattle three years ago to be a part of the Green Bean and the Sanctuary community that supported it.  Two of the three people we knew in Seattle before we moved here were Lisa Etter Carlson and Hayden Smith, who co-founded the Green Bean with Sanctuary Church.  Our life revolved around the Bean - we lived around the corner, we volunteered as baristas, and we built countless relationships with all of the fascinating people that came through the door.  The Green Bean was the first place to go to if we wanted to see people and the last place to go if we had work to do because there were always people with whom to "sit long, talk much"!  We will miss the chocolate chip coconut scones, the wobbly wooden tables that I couldn't fit my legs under, and the Mount Rainer painting that took up almost the entire east wall - but most of all we will miss bumping into the friendly baristas, the artists, the students, the homeless who found refuge at the Bean, and all of the unique neighbors with whom we regularly crossed paths in this physical space.  Indeed, the spirit of the Bean will live on and something will rise from the ashes, but right now it's time to grieve the loss of what was...

Cyndy’s House of Pancakes will be reopening soon, but the long-term future of the restaurant remains almost as murky as a cup of dark coffee.

Businessman Bob Davis had hoped to purchase Cyndy’s and convert it to a strip club.  Davis entered a purchase agreement with Cyndy’s longtime owner Gae Bowman, but the deal fell through due to Davis’s difficulties obtaining permits and financing for the project. 

On September 1 the City of Seattle dealt another blow to Davis’s plans.  The City declined to issue permits needed to convert the property to a strip club.  Davis is expected to appeal.  In the meantime, the Bowman family is preparing to reopen Cyndy’s House of Pancakes in the next two weeks, but they are also keeping the property on the market.

Cyndy's House of Pancakes has been at the corner of Aurora & 105th since 1972.

Community groups and neighborhood residents oppose the strip club.  They worry that a strip club could harm the character of the neighborhood and serve as a magnet for crime.  Bob Davis angered many residents when he told the Seattle Times, “It’s not like I’m going to be running down the neighborhood” and implied that the area was already run down.  “It’s not like it’s Laurelhurst,” said Davis. 

Locals took exception.  One letter to City officials noted, “Bob Davis thinks that since it’s Aurora a strip club is all right, but times have changed.”  Another letter elaborated, “Twenty years ago the area near Aurora was widely considered to be a ‘seedy’ part of Seattle. But many young couples and families with children have recently moved in, the character of the neighborhood has changed, and the crime rate has declined.  People don’t want the ‘bad old days’ to come back.”  One concerned resident wrote, “It may not be Laurelhurst, but every area deserves equal treatment.”

Opponents also claimed that Davis’s plans violated Seattle land-use laws.  City zoning laws contain “dispersion requirements” that prohibit the creation or expansion of “adult cabarets” located within 800 feet of “any community center, child care center, school, . . . or public parks.”  The Northgate Christian Academy, a private school located at 10504 Stone Ave. N, is 742 feet east of the Cyndy’s property. 

The City agreed with the community groups.  In its September 1 letter to Bob Davis, the Seattle Department of Planning and Development said the project could not receive permits because it was too close to a “child care facility” and thus “did not meet the dispersion standard.”

“Obviously, we’re relieved and pleased,” said one neighborhood activist in response to the City’s ruling.  “There were some technical issues where we disagreed with the City.  We would have liked to see a stronger ruling, but we’ll definitely take it.”

The City’s ruling is probably not the final chapter of this story.  “We fully expect that Bob Davis will appeal; he has a history of suing the City,” said a nearby resident.  “We may have won this round, but we know that Davis is going to get back in the ring.  It’s not over.”

Cyndy's trinity of syrups--maple, pineapple, and raspberry.

But there is good news for pancake-lovers on the horizon.  Cyndy’s House of Pancakes will open its doors again soon.  The Bowman family hopes to re-open Cyndy’s as soon as Saturday September 11 and certainly by the middle of this month.

Kitchen manager Mike said, “There may be some changes, but it will still be a great place for breakfast and lunch.”  Many of the old staff will be back, but there will also be some new faces.  Pancakes will still be a mainstay, but there might also be a few new items on the menu.

“Of course we’ll still have the dutch babies and chicken fried steak.  Those are classics!  We wouldn’t change a thing about those,” Mike reassured me.  And that is good news indeed for fans of the House of Pancakes.

But the Cyndy’s property does remain for sale.  Gae Bowman has run Cyndy’s House of Pancakes for over four decades, and the restaurant has been at its current location since 1972.  Three years ago, Bowman broke her hip, and she’s now looking to retire.  She put the property up for sale in late 2008.

Negotiations between Bowman and Davis have been ongoing for months.  Davis first announced his intention to buy the property in December 2008, and a sale appeared imminent in January but the deal fell apart.  Davis applied for permits in May, but was rebuffed by the City because his application was incomplete.  After these hitches, it looked like the sale was back on the menu in early August.  Cyndy’s closed its doors on August 10, and Davis filed a new permit request on August 18.  He sought to add seating, build a stage, and convert the property to a strip club.  Now that the City has denied those requests, he will have until September 22 to file an appeal.

Cyndy's signature red booths. Is this why Bob Davis thought the place would make a good strip club?

In an unexpected twist, city planners also found that Davis’s project violated another dispersion requirement--the requirement that a new adult cabaret can’t be within 600 feet of an existing one.  In 1987, the Liberty Bookstore at 10338 Aurora Ave. N, now known for its “Dancing Bears” sign, applied for a permit for “what would now be called an adult cabaret.”  After a lengthy appeal process, this permit was granted in 1989.  Accounts differ, but it appears that the owners either had strippers for only a couple of months or never did open an adult cabaret.  In any event, there have been no “dancing bares” here since 1990.

The City ruled that the actual use of the property was irrelevant.  The fact that the permit was still on the books was what mattered.  According to planners, “the authorized use for a portion of the building at 10338 Avenue North remains an adult cabaret.  From a zoning standpoint, the owners of that property could lawfully resume operation as an adult cabaret without obtaining additional approvals.”  This ruling puts a second obstacle in Davis’s path.

Bob Davis has, however, done well in his previous battles with the City.  The former owner of Giggles Comedy Club and the Urban Comedy Cafe, Davis sought in 2005 to turn from comedy clubs to strip clubs.  He sued the City of Seattle, claiming that its moratorium on new strip clubs was a violation of the First Amendment.  He won and garnered a $500,000 settlement.  A similar suit against the City of Bothell later in 2005 earned him $350,000.

While the Bowman family would like to a buyer who would keep the place as a restaurant, Davis has been the only one to meet the asking price.

Although the long-term future of Cyndy’s remains unclear, breakfast fans are delighted to learn that the place will be reopening.  One loyal patron reported, “I heard that they were going to be open for at least several months.  The way it’s going, it could be a couple years.  A couple more years of chicken fried steak.  Mmm.”

                                              Folks interested in the future of Cyndy’s House of Pancakes can send an e-mail to savecyndys@gmail.com to receive updates.

This Sunday the community will gather around Greenwood park (between 87th & 89th and Fremont & Evanston) to envision what our community can do with the space.  What do you think?  A wading pool?  A pea-patch?  A bird/butterfly garden?  A basketball court?  Game Tables?  More art?  More history?  More lanscaping?  Take this survey and let them know!  Food will be provided by local restaurants such as Olive You and Mr. Gyro's, ice cream by Molly Moon and live music!!!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nR9UYBXxnw6kROLxGCBh%2

http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2009/08/26/news/public-mee

A block off Aurora, near 130th St....

From the SPD Blotter: 

"On August 9th, at approximately 6:37 am, officers from the North Precinct responded to a call of a person down in the 13300 Block of Stone Avenue North. Officers arrived with the Seattle Fire Department and determined that the adult male victim was deceased. Homicide and CSI detectives responded to the scene and have begun processing the scene. This is an active and on-going homicide investigation."

http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2009/08/09/homicide-investigat