Featured Stories

Do you like delicious muffins? Do you like helping people truly in need? Our friends at Queen Anne View alerted us to the fact that Macrina Bakery is donating all of their cafe profits for Wednesday the 3rd (TODAY) to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund. 

Macrina in Belltown is located at 2408 1st Avenue. They'll be open until 7PM this evening.

Thankfully, the ever astute folks at Mama's Mexican Kitchen on 2nd have understood Belltown's  dire situation. We're running out of bars! The great bar shortage is upon us! Oh the horror, there's no place to get a little sip of the Devil's nectar around here!

Running to the rescue is the opening of Papa's, a new bar in the back of Mama's. If you'd like to see some pictures of the cozy spot or get a glimpse of local artist Joey Nix's latest creation, swing over and "read all about it" from Lydia Heard - one of the PI's neighborhood bloggers.This new bar offers something different for Belltown. Instead of smelling like cheap cologne after a night of socializing, you can revel in the glorious aroma of re-fried beans. Mmm, lovely.

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It's not all real esate doom and gloom here in Belltown. In fact, there's a new "start-up" headed to the fertile creative ground of Belltown. TechFlash has the scoop;

Redfin is in the business of finding people new homes. But the Seattle online real startup has some new digs of its own. The company is moving from its Pioneer Square headquarters at the Dexter Horton Building to new offices in Belltown, taking over the former Cranium space in the Market Place Tower at 2025 1st Avenue...

...Cranium vacated the sixth floor offices after Hasbro purchased the gaming company in 2008. But Cranium did leave behind some remnants from its wacky culture, including what McGarty described as some pretty intense and funky purple carpet. That will be staying, but the company has already painted some of the walls.

Bill will talk about his activities with the nightlife businesses in Belltown and how they impact our neighborhood environment. This is a meeting for all of your who have opinions about noise, club issues, alcohol abuse, trashed sidewalks and "Good Neighbor" agreements with the community. Bill brought a few of his friends along to help us have a lively discussion about Nightlife In Seattle.

Where: 2821 2nd Ave., 6th Flr., Beaumont Room - Bay Vista Residential Tower (2nd & Broad)

When: 7PM

Who?

- Bill Reddy, City of Seattle Nightlife Organizer

- Jim Kenny, Seattle City Attorney's Office, Asst. City Attorney, West Precinct

- Thomas James, State of Washington Liquor Control Board, Enforcement

- Loren Richie, State of Washington Liquor Control Board, Enforcement

The second Bell St. Park meeting was held this evening at the Olympic Sculpture Park's Paccar Pavilion. The first meeting was a raucous occasion. Most of the community came prepared to let off some steam about the continual drug dealing and crime problems that have plagued the neighborhood for the last couple of years. The first meeting was overwhelmingly focused on safety.

The second meeting consisted of reviewing the basic design principles that SvR Design Company was utilizing as a basis for the first mock-ups that the public has seen of the park concepts. SvR presented two basic design strategies. The first they termed as "Sluicing". This is a throwback to the fact that Belltown used to be a massive hill until being sluiced into the ocean (Go Green Ancestors!). The second option was codenamed a much less phonetically catchy "Measured Improvement". 

At this point, I'm really not going to try and walk you through the design principles of each option. Check out the embedded flickr set that I dorkily took during the entire meeting. Just, keep in mind, that for some unfortunate reason the two options were mistakenly labeled opposite. Sluicing = the angular smorgasbord. Measured Improvement = the sensible right angle fest.

Conclusion.

The most important goal of this project should be to attract a steady stream of people. This is the key factor that will solve crime. Both options are going to have the same net effect on the amount of people walking through Bell Street. It is my opinion that either option will be a nice place to walk through. However, as we've all learned from the beautiful, yet ineffective Growing Vine Street, it doesn't matter if you have a bunch of fancy planters and Frank Lloyd Wright water features - it's not enough to get people to stick around.  

What we need is infrastructure which will enable economic development and new business. The better of the two options for this goal is the "Measured Movement" option. The Measured plan calls for large areas of community gathering spaces and expansive open spaces. This is wonderful. I love the design. The biggest gripe that I have, is that the whole damned project is on the wrong side o the street! Unfortunately, there is little room for businesses to move in and take advantage of the larger sidewalk space. So, kiss the dreams of expansive Las Ramblas cafe seating goodbye.

I feel like an old codger who hasn't taken his fiber here. But, I really believe that this project needs to attract new business to be a true success. Otherwise, I'm afraid the fears of the community are correct. This project could be a massive opportunity pissed into the wind.

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I know, I've been really slacking off and putting the honest job of neighborhood blogger to shame. But, lets be honest. How many ambulances can you chase down the street to get a couple pictures? Wait a second, we never even did that. But seriously, at what point does all that foolery just seem silly.

That being said, it's just been super busy on the "real job" front. So, I've had to play loyalties with the job that actually brings home tasty bacon. Also, the holidays were awesome. Sometimes, it really does take a moment of reflection to figure out what's next and more importantly, what could be better? Here's some of the key issues that I'm hoping to solve in the re-launch of BelltownPeople.com

• More writers
• A better looking site
• Content that focuses on people

Those are the three big things. So hey, no promises, but we'll see what kind of changes and improvement we can scratch out over the next couple of days. Thanks for staying tuned in.

It's that time of the year when the nation's productivity grinds to a halt. And thank goodness. We've all got better things to do supposedly; stuffing ourselves silly with great food, stoking the furnace of capitalistic freedom by shopping, and oh yes, spending time with the people we love.

We'll be back soon Belltown. If you missed it, we're also looking for creative people that are interested in adding to the dialog and showing off. Well, maybe not so much showing off, but at least writing and sharing what ya love about the neighborhood. If you'd like to saddle up too, just e-mail me (belltown***people@gmail.com). We'll be meeting up soon to trade some ideas.

Looking forward to kicking it up again soon. new. improved.

Eco Encore Community Book Drive: Join a local environmental non-profit, Eco Encore, in attempting to gather 1 ton of books by November 30. Eco Encore prevents usable media such as used books, CD's (in original cases) DVD's and Software from entering our already overflowing landfills. With an emphasis on reuse and recycling, Eco Encore distributes it profits to over 15 partner organizations in he Pacific NW. For more information on Eco Encore, and to find drop off bins in the Seattle area, please visit www.ecoencore.org

Belltown is an incredibly diverse neighborhood and I really feel like the site is lacking some additional perspectives. That's why I'd love for people to pitch in and contribute what they'd like. You don't have to post once a week, but if you've got something to share, the neighborhood wants to hear it!

We're looking for the following;

1 - Belltown news writers

2 - Photgraphers

3 - Artists

4 - Promoters

5 - People with a cause

Anyone can post on belltownpeople.com I mean it. This site is meant to be a community bulliten board. My motive for starting it will remain the same, I just want to get the neighborhood dialog going. So, dont be bashful. If you're interested, send me an email. BelltownPeople@gmail.com.

Spur Gastropub. Called Washington Chicken Confit. This is truth, not to be debated. I am the biggest connoisseur of wings that you will probably ever come across.  And nothing has ever been better than these. I remember tasting something like them at the Chicken Wing Contest held...

Seattle's political news source PubliCola is throwing an interesting event at DelRey Monday night. If you're a political junkie, or just plain interested in how the hell McGinn pulled off his mayoral upset, this is an event you'll be crying about missing.

From publicola

Sure, you can go to lots of forums and listen to reporters and random consultants give their 20,000-foot analysis of this year’s mayoral campaign.

But we’ve rounded up the political strategists who actually helped come up with and execute this year’s campaign game plans—Team Mallahan and Team McGinn—to face off one more time.

Come to the Del Rey in Belltown on Monday night November 23 and hear McGinn’s gonzo strategist Bill Broadhead (from the Mercury Group) and sharpshooter Mallahan spokeswoman Charla Neuman explain their strategies, Monday-morning quarterback themselves and each other, and fill you in on how they were reading, playing, and trying to outsmart one another.

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I sat down with the president of the Belltown Community Council a few weeks ago. His name is Richard Nordstrom. If you've been involved in Belltown affairs, you probably already know him. However, I thought it would be a great idea to learn a bit more about the man behind the mission. I've often wondered to myself why Mr. Nordstrom is so motivated? Belltown is a great place to live, all things considered. But, as anyone who's been involved in the micro politics would know, it's a thankless job.

Mr. Nordstrom has been instrumental in getting Belltown back in the game. During his short tenure, the Belltown Community Council has launched a revamped website, hosted the successful Belltown Pet Parade, and most importantly, has unified the voice of the community. The last item is the most imperative. Richard told me during our meeting that one of the main reasons he has been so passionate about being involved in the council is the fact that Belltown is the city's densest neighborhood, however it seems like the community's voice isn't heard. That's going to change....

Everyone has their opinions on restaurants. I try to avoid writing whole posts dedicated to one restaurant, because there are just so many wonderful choices in Belltown for dining that all do something well. But today I am writing about my experience at La Vita E Bella because it feels like it is a part of me, a part of the neighborhood of Belltown.

I am half mexican/half italian, just as an aside, and this restaurant exuded a sense of familiarity for me. I walked in and immediately felt  like I was in a 1990's mexican restaurant. Yes it's 1993 in theory..the aesthetic is  that eclectic, so much so that looking at the orange, blue and red walls coupled with plastic multicolored light fixtures over the bar, made me want to have a margarita. Literally, I had a craving for a margarita!  Yet Sinatra was playing in the background and the joint had the beautiful aroma of Italian food. It was laid back, but not in service or quality of food.  The Italian guy with the thick New York accent took our order, it was fun to just hear him speak, he sounded exactly like my dad.  Our busser was so attentive that  our water glass never got half empty.  My husband ordered the Rigatoni and I ordered the Halibut, we switched plates half way through the meal. The Rigatoni was Freakin Amazing! The Halibut was delicious as well, but i've never tasted a more rich and perfectly balanced sauce as to what the rigatoni was made with. It was amazing, i licked my plate...almost.  Great, Great  food.

When the meal was over, and the tiramisu and white chocolate covered sorbet were devoured, i thought to myself: So what if the ambiance is not hip and posh? There are far too many restaurants in Belltown with that vibe anyways. This joint is a Gem. Truly a Belltown Gem. It felt like i stepped back ten years to see a glimpse of the local Italian place  when Belltown was less seven condo buildings. Its annoying when all of the restaurants look the same anyways, super minimalist with nothing to distinguish it from any other place. This place is quality, the Rigatoni is where it is at, and I felt like it was my neighborhood Italian joint where i could go to get a little taste of home.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 7pm - 9pm (was previously planned for Nov 19)

PACCAR Pavilion, The Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Ave. (Western Ave. & Broad St.)...

While hosting family in town last year, my sister-in-law and I picked up some fruit and veggies at Pike Place. The “nicest man” helped us pick out delicious goodies, some things we had never even heard of. He gave us recommendations, was happy to give us a sample of something random and juicy, and even helped to point out the ripe produce for us when we couldn’t tell. (I don’t know about you, but staring at fruit and wondering what it looks like inside is always a challenge for me.) We spent 30 minutes bopping around that stand, having great conversation about produce and recipes with the “nicest man” who happened to work at this produce stand. When we were done we had spent a bundle and had so much fun doing it. We left and walked across the street to see the fish being thrown around and after watching for 5 minutes or so, we felt a tug on our hair, it was the “nicest guy” here to give us our bags and bags of produce that we’d somehow forgotten!Dough'p! We sure felt stupid.  He looked around for us, spotted my sister’s big head of blonde hair and saved the day. It would have been horrible to get home without our intricately picked out produce!

I didn’t know very much about picking out fruits and vegetables. I had no idea what was in season, and had no idea what to do with things like leeks (which are great in corn chowder and frittatas by the way) and even what the difference between a Ranier cherry and any other ol' red cherry was(I still don’t think I know that one). This nice man who made my produce shopping less intimidating and who was filled with knowledge about all things produce, always stuck out in my mind. And every time I’d walk past this stand he’d be chatting and helping out someone in the same way he did for my sister and I. So….. I decided that he would be the very first person featured for this “Pike Place People” version of Pike Place Stroll on BelltownPeople.com (say that really fast a few times)!! For most Pike Place Strolls we will tell you about some delectable unique shop, but for special ones, we will feature the special people who make this Market our neighborhood market and not just the infamous Pike Place Market.

Meet Brian Bright! The “nicest man.” He grew up in Eastern Washington farm country and has worked at Corner Producefor the last three years. He loves being able to meet all different kinds of people from all over the world. He said jokingly, "I don’t need to travel, people from all around the world come to me". When I asked him, “quick response: What is your favorite fruit or veggie that you get excited about when in season,” he proceeded to give me a long list of everything yummy in season. At the moment, I thought it to be a good salesman. But if I were him I would have a long list of every season’s delicious treats as well…I mean honestly watermelon does not sound appetizing right now in the 40 degree weather. But a warm baked apple dessert does! I think that was the case with him. He seemed to sincerely enjoy what he does. No bullshit sales ploy here. Mind you, for the interview, I did walk away with a few bags of Brian picked out produce, but really enjoyed having conversation with him all the while.  Here’s Brian: helpful, sweet, cool to chat with, filled with produce knowledge, a guy you would want to be bros (friends) with, a true gem to us locals at the Market. Because of Brian, I will make Corner Produce “my” produce stand at The Market. I mean the stands pretty much sell all of the same things anyway. The relationships/community are what make the difference in where I will shop, in my book. The produce at this stand mostly is all from the Pacific Northwest, so whatever is in season here will be what you get to choose from.  Also, for the locals…this shop is especially great because it is open from 6am-6pm and you don’t have to walk through the whole market sea of tourist crowds to get there. From Belltown, I stay on First Ave until I get to Pike and then cut right at Pike. It’s the second stand on the right. Tourists avoided.

Lastly, I asked Brian what his favorite stand at the Market was, as someone who really knew the market, so that I could do my next interview on his recommendation. And he told me the Filipino restaurant around the corner washands-down his favorite. Family owned and operated for years, amazing food. Imagine how funny that was when I just heard the same recommendation from my UPS guy that I ran into while he was walking out of that stand with to-go boxes in his hand just 20 minutes prior. More to come on this restaurant for our next edition of Pike Place Stroll….next week! In the meantime, stop by corner produce, say hi to Brian and get some great local produce.  Thanks Brian for being a part of this community and for making Pike Place Market feel a little bit more like our neighborhood market....

The Belltown Artwalk is this evening and for that matter, every second Friday of each month. The artwalk has been steadily increasing in popularity. The addition of Belltown's City Hostel Seattle has served to make this an event you shouldn't be missing.

A highlight for this week is the cash n' carry art sale that will be taking of Bedlam Coffee. Artist Obi Kaufman is bringing along more that a hundred of his latest creations and will be letting them loose unto the world for no more than $50.

If you're interested in mobbing the scene, there's a pack of people meeting up at the Rendezvous at 7PM. If you happen to collect some great pictures, drop me a note and we'll feature them on the site.

Lydia Heard wrote an exlcellent article for the Seattle PI's Inside Belltown Blog. It features a thorough summary of the ideas proposed as well as a lively debate in the comment sections.

From Seattle PI's Inside Belltown

It was a crowd. We have almost 12,000 residents in Belltown, but usually only a dozen, two dozen, attend meetings. I'm no good at crowd estimating but I'd guess at least 150 people were filling the Paccar Pavilion last night for the first public input meeting on the Bell Street Park Boulevard. I think the design team and moderators were a little overwhelmed. They hadn't been expecting so many people, judging by the fact that they ran out of comment forms before I got there, and by the lack of amplification which would have helped with the large audience. Belltowners usually just don't show up like this, and it appears that when they do show up it is because there is some controversy.

more at the PI...

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The Bell St. Park meeting was held last evening at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Kudos, hoorah's, and many thanks to the Belltown Community Council and the Olympic Sculpture Park for hosting the event and providing a forum for community involvement and input.

The overarching topic of the evening was public safety. Citizens don't feel safe on Bell street and they're sick and tired of the perception that nothing is being done to resolve the issue. There were also some evaporative vocal concerns about the parking spaces that will be lost once Bell St. turns into a one lane pedestrian friendly boulevard.

Knowing that this project is moving forward, what should be the goal? I believe the primary goal of this project should be to draw a steady stream of people through the Bell Street corridor. Otherwise, I think the neighborhood concerns are valid, this will turn into a fancy runway for dealing crack and pissing your pants.

As a summary of the ideas that have already been collected on this site - the top three are;

• Increased Cafe Seating - Big sidewalks to encourage new cafe's which would build infrastructure to keep people happy outdoors even in the rain.
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• Art Walk Areas - A rotating mural wall featuring local artists as well as an area that would encourage artists to sell and display their art on the boulevard.



• Food Cart Hook-Ups - The necessary electrical conduits and parking areas need to be designed into the plan to accomodate Seattle's favorite food carts.

Some new ideas brought up during the meeting were;

• Local Plants - include local fauna and (gasp) fungus that would naturally serve to break down fossil fuel emissions. Great idea!
• Allow Parisian Art Booths - This is another great idea to offer a rotating and seasonal kiosks to artists and craftsmen. The alternating product would keep a constant focus on Bell St.
• Hanging Flower Baskets - Hey why not, they're gorgeous and remind me of delicious salads.
• LIGHTING - Everyone agrees that the lighting needs to be artful, yet serve the purpose of deterring crime.
• Bike Racks - This was one of my favorite ideas. Lets have local artists design bike racks along the boulevard!
• Kids Play Areas - This heartwarming idea was submitted by a young mother who would like to see some safe areas set up for her children to play. I agree wholeheartedly with this idea and would love to see something for the families that are living downtown.
• Performance Space - Incorporate areas where a stage could be set up for special events.

My main concern with the plan thus far is that the boulevard is currently planned to run along the north side of the street. There's two good reasons for this. 1 - The city planners note that the north side of the street gets the most sun. 2 - There's a lot of mature trees on the south side of the street that they want to protect. Here's the big problem though. The SOUTH side of the street includes most of the businesses. Without stimulating economic development on the available south side, this project could be a wasted opportunity. There are a lot of businesses and potential development opportunities if this project was built on the south side. However, there's very few options for expanded business offerings on the north side.

If you have additional concerns, let off some steam in the comments. I'd love to hear your opinions and will do my best to make sure your voice is heard during the meetings. Please be thinking of ways that this development can enrich the vibrancy of Bell St. How can we ensure that this is a busy area and not just a big sidewalk?

The Bell St Park Boulevard meeting was last evening. The discussion was spirited. But, before I get into the munutia of a relevant sort, I thought I would address another pressing matter for the Belltown populace. Fixie vs. Carbon.

Enjoy.

This is a few weeks over due, (sorry!) but we now have the results! Please see the 5 Fall photos taken and listed below by our neighbors/readers. Not all of these are taken in Belltown, but due to the low response of photos of fall in Belltown, I decided to include the other entries as well. Thank you SO much for entering your photos.  I’ve included the photos and photographers websites below , if applicable,  so that you can get a better look at more of their work.  The winner of this photo contest will have his/her photo incorporated into the Belltown banner above until Thanksgiving. Please take just a moment to vote on your favorite photo below by posting a comment with your vote for the photo that you like the most. Thank you! 

Photos after the Jump.....

While visiting Paris last month, one of my favorite experiences was to stumble into a local open air market complete with crepe stands, wine shops, local produce, etc. It was my favorite because it was a place where the community clearly came together and met. There were local markets in every neighborhood. Imagine Pike Place Markets that were predominantly for locals, not tourists, in Capitol Hill, Belltown, Queen Anne, SLU and Pioneer square. We do have the neighborhood Farmer’s Markets in our Seattle neighborhoods, and i love them…but none of them are open every day like our Market.

We are lucky enough to have THE market, Pike Place, in our neighborhood, yet I find myself not frequenting it enough. And that is quite silly.

So Pike Place Market: Tourists…we’re taking back our market! Weekly, I will be interviewing one of our local vendors at Pike Place Market in a series called “The Pike Place Stroll” in order to help make our market more familiar and personal. This is purposed so that we can get to know the people at our neighborhood market and know more information about the vendors that they work at. (I mean there has to be at least 200 shops/vendors, right?!). I would love to know more about them, the secret hidden awesome ones, the ones that don't look so exciting from the outside but have the most amazing food, etc. 

I would love to hear about Your favorite Pike Place Vendors/Shops…Feel free to share your story by commenting below and we will incorporate it into this series! (For example: I’ve been going there every week for 2 years, Bob has the most amazing crab pie, his family has been working the shop since 1950, he has a Swedish accent and wears funny shoes, etc. etc.) Or feel free to just name your favorite shop and I’ll do some research.

See ya at the Market.

Belltown: Its time to invest in the future of your neighborhood. Bring your Ideas to the Bell Street Park blvd Community Meeting tomorrow, Tuesday November 10 th, 2009. This is our neighborhood, so let’s own it.. Invest some interest in  this park and its capacity to help shape our community. Ask yourself what things would you like to see in this park? What ideas do you have that could increase visitors to the space (more people around=less shady activities)? What aspects of Seattle culture could be incorporated to make this space different than just a typical park?...

I thought this was worth sharing to change it up a bit..

Our friend at Hideous Belltown has the scoop that the condominium building Moda is facing a perilous financial situation.

I received an email from tipster Chad on Friday. He detailed an outlandish story: he was walking by the Moda Apartments on 3rd, between Bell & Battery and saw some rather large men scaling the side of the building on tall ladders, apparently without the knowledge of Moda management. They proceeded to partially dismantle at least five of the building's balconies and throw them into their truck. When Chad asked the guys about it, they said that the Moda owed them $20,000 and they were repossessing the balconies due to lack of payment.

Read More at Hideous Belltown

Calls to Moda Management have not yet been returned.

UPDATE: Got a hold of someone at Moda. She declined to comment and when asked if this was just a maintenance issue, hung up. If you live in one of these units, drop me a note so we can get your side of the story.