Here’s the latest happenings on the neighborhood food scene:
Free Slices on Saturday at Pagliacci Pizza on Stone Way
The Pagliacci Pizza location on Stone Way at N. 40th St. (4003 Stone Way N.) has transformed from a tiny take-out spot to a sleek ‘n snazzy dine-in restaurant, complete with a new pizza slice bar. To celebrate, they’ll be handing out free slices (2 per person) on Saturday (September 14), from 11:00am to 4:00pm.
Patty’s Eggnest Now Open
The popular breakfast spot, Patty’s Eggnest, returns to Wallingford after a 5 year hiatus. Patty’s Eggnest (now at 1715 N. 45th St.) has quickly filled the space formerly known as Chabela’s (and La Casa Azul and Selena’s Guadalajara) and is serving lunch and dinner as well as breakfast. If you go, let us know what you think.
American Pie Closes
The American Pie Bakery and Cafe has closed its location in Wallingford Center. According to the shop’s Facebook page:
“We opened our second location, in Wallingford, almost two months ago and we closed the doors last Thursday, doh! Oh well, that’s how the pie crust crumbles. We were hoping for (and told about ) lots of foot traffic and lots of moms w/ baby strollers but they didn’t appear. I guess they were on vacation. Anyhow, Wallingford Center required us to be open 7 days a week and way too many hours. Payroll was being paid out of my pocket because sales were averaging $25-30 a day….lame.”
Happy Hour at Satay
Satay Malaysian Street Food (1711 N. 45th St.) is now hosting Happy Hour every Monday through Friday from 4-6pm with 2 for $4 drink specials and $5 food deals. Now that’s something to be happy about!
We went to Satay last week to use the new kids room. It was great. My husband and I could eat a meal uninterrupted while our son played. The kids room is separate from the rest of the restaurant. We ordered Tofu Satay, Mee Goreng, Curry Puff and Roti. All were outstanding.
If they go the way of American Pie it certainly won’t be for a lack of trying: kids room, dog-friendly, happy hour, trivia night. I encourage everyone to stop by.
Shoot… I meant to go to American Pie, but never got around to it. Unfortunately, the only reason I knew it existed was because of Wallyhood, and even though I live only a couple of blocks away, I was never reminded of its existence.
Wallingford Center really needs to figure out some way of exposing the inside to the outside, as other than Pharmaca, Ace, and Chutney’s, nothing else is really visible from the street. A small forest of sandwich-boards would be better than nothing, I guess… The historic status of the building probably makes adding signs tricky.
If Patty’s Eggnest wants some of that Wallingford lunch business, they should put their lunch menu on their website, or at least post it in the door so people can see it.
You know what’s lame, American Pie, your total lack of marketing (and, apparently, patience).
Is Patty’s open for dinner? It looks like some locations are but not all. We are running low on family restaurants in Wallingford for dinner.
I tried the pies at American Pie and they were consistently good (both sweet and savory) but it did seem like their Wallingford store was a little half-assed. The selection was pretty limited and if you got there later in the day they seemed to be out of a lot of their selections. Seems like they might have been better off going for a larger store or partnering with one of the local coffee shops.
In addition to posting their menus on their door, Patty’s Eggnest should include dinner hours on their door, since now it says they close at 3. (Or at least it said that on Saturday when I walked by.)
I didn’t even know American Pie was open, did they have a sign up? I think the closing of Paren’s closet and the toy store before that has really cut down on the mom/dad/kids traffic.
@2, it wasn’t actually accessible from inside Wallingford Center, but the store was facing 45th (essentially between Chutney’s and Pharmaca) so I’m not sure why people didn’t see it.
@4, they faced 45th, had a sign up, and a board down on the sidewalk. As for patience, what part of “$25-30 a day” in sales makes you think any small business should (or could) continue to hold out? What’s really lame is both Wallingford Center’s requirements and people’s unreasonable expectations.
@6, though I went in a few times, agreed that it didn’t seem like an ideal setup. A larger space where they could do more baking or partnering with a coffee shop might have worked better.
I tried Patty’s Egg Nest for breakfast on Sunday and was very disappointed. The atmosphere and service left much to be desired and the food was bad. I could not believe that my $10 breakfast plate could be made up of such low quality ingredients. I was really hoping for a nice brunch spot in walking distance but this does not seem to be it.
I have been to Pattys twice since it opened and the food was great!! Ordered the same thing both times Acupolco Scramble and my wife lives the Swedish pancakes. Welcome back to the Hood
What Wallingford Center needs in an anchor tenant on the inside which will draw people in. The store needs to be something people will visit all the time, not just occasionally. A store which you have to go into the center to access rather than through a door from the sidewalk. I not sure what would work given the space they have to work with, perhaps a Trader Joes, or a Starbucks. Before you dismiss the idea of chain store remember that if one tenant can increase the foot traffic inside the center then all the other stores will do well.
We went to Patty’s Eggnest last week and I thought the food was solid. The hashbrowns were perfectly crispy on the outside. Yum!
I got some savory pies from American Pie and they were really tasty. I liked the idea of a little stand there, but I think I prefer buying treats where they’re being made: Trophy, Pie in Fremont, Fainting Goat… I guess it seems fresher, even if that’s not the case.
I’ve heard so many complaints over the last several years (since the garden store closed) from the small-business owners (and neighbors who looked into spaces there) who say it is hard to negotiate leases and hours of operation. It is a charming space and I do hope that they figure out how to make it a more desirable place to shop and be a tenant.
They used to have an anchor tenant, for me at least: Second Story Books. They closed something like ten years ago and I haven’t been inside that building since, even though I’m two hundred yards from it eight hours a day.
went to American Pie a few days after it opened – the pie i got from there was really dry and not that good.
If I was Lorig: The center needs a kids bounce house downstairs, add kid-friendly restaurants, and then bring back toys upstairs. Parents on rainy days would flock there.
There was an American Pie in the Wallingford Center?!? Oh man, I totally would have gone if I knew it existed.
I went to the Patty’s Eggnest in Greenwood once and it was super expensive, super mediocre, and filled with weird little passive aggressive signs about not touching things, no substitutions, etc.
But, I heard they’re all independently owned and operated? Is that true? I’ll try this one at least once and hope for greatness.
I tried to go to American Pie twice during normal dinner hours. They were closed both times. They had no hours or phone number posted on their door, no acknowledgment of the Wallingford location on their website, and no information on the message when I called a phone number I found online.
They were worse than the short-lived hot dog stand in Big Wheel Auto Parts that I never could find open. Which makes me wonder…did I indeed see some life at that Big Wheel widow recently?
The Big Wheel window is now a sandwich shop. Tried a sandwich once there; it was a bit overpriced for what I got. The guy running it (Pat?) is really nice though.
Kuma Coffe has been closed for weeks now on Stone Way between 41st and 42nd. Today I noticed a sign on the door “Cellphone Repair”. Ugh, not as nice having that shop close to where I live instead of a nice little cafe. Oh well, better than an empty store front. Speaking of, when the hell will there be ANY street level retail tenant in the Noble, Wally, or Prescott apartments? “Street level retail” reads nice on a development board, but none of these spaces are attracting businesses.
I hope Pagliacci will have a mug of beer for purchase like (the late) Mad Pizza in Fremont used to. It’s nice to be able to have a beer with pizza-by-the-slice since fast food eateries don’t offer that option.
Eltana is in the Prescott and seems to be doing all right. But it’s got to be awful lonely there for them.
I had no idea American Pie was there either. I agree with the idea that Wallingford Center’s configuration makes it quite difficult for the inside businesses to attract customers without some form of magnet inside. Since Second Story Books closed, the only place I patronize is Richard’s Frames, but how often does one need a frame?
@22: According to this blog post, the Stone Way Pagliacci will have beer and wine.
I agree that pattys looks really boring inside – my wife and I tried it and find it a step below mediocre. It’s too easy to make good breakfast at home so you have to step it up to earn my dollars. On the other hand I love the design at Pagliaccis – looking fwd to giving them a shot.
@chris – Yes, all Patty’s Eggsnest locations are independently owned. You may have actually read that on wallyhood.
Frankly, I went in there once and couldn’t find the place (The Pie Place). Wallingford center needs a serious makeover. That place could be so cool but it always seems bordering on survival. I don’t own the place, but I have some ideas that I think would make that place rock:
1. turn it inside out- put all the business in a center “island” and allow the shopper to enjoy the windows and natural light around the outside perimeter.
2. Bring in market retailers that are popular elsewhere (i.e. a seafood shop, butcher, bakery, coffee ROASTER, the cupcake place, really good products in a place you would want to hang out in the winter!). Think of it as a locals Pike Place Market/ Farmers market
3. Make a very cool play area for kids! What, one table that is dirty with some trains on it!!?? Come on! How depressing! There are families and kids out there just itching to part with their cash for the right experience.
LET’S UP THE GAME IN OUR HOOD!
Tried a couple of the new/updated places listed above:
– Patty’s: Nice and pleasant service, but the corned beef hash I had appeared to be out of a can — kind of a bland machine-made paste with tiny cubes of potatoes. Eggs and fruit sides were fine, and the rye toast good.
May just have been one bad dish on the menu; I might give them another shot. However, Julia’s around the corner has about 15 breakfast and lunch items that I really, really like; so I’m voting with my wallet. I’d hate to see Julia’s go.
– Pagliacci’s: Pizza is as delicious as always — I got it take-out. However, I like the expanded size, and it seems like it’s much more open and pleasant for the folks making the pizza. Nice to see someone throwing pizza dough up in the air as I came in.