Honestly Good Food and Drink

Just on the Southwest edge of Wallingford, along the Burke Gilman Trail sits an old train station which, over the last 80 years has hosted several iconic Seattle businesses. In addition to a train station, this spot has been a bicycle shop, a café and now, a (mini) bar with killer Korean street food.

I first discovered Minibar when my husband’s hockey team rented it out for a holiday party. Wandering in, I was delighted to see that the former Solsticio Café had been revived…and this time, with adult beverages!

I popped in again the …

Visions of Wallingford, the neighborhood community project, is culminating in a film screening Thursday, March 16th at the Good Shepherd Center. Tickets are free and going fast – sign up here. Help is needed! Volunteers can sign up here.

The project has been part learning, part dialogue with the intention of collaborating on a vision for the future of the Wallingford’s built environment. We first covered the project and it’s leader, Ari Hock, in May of 2022. Since then, we have been delighted to have community members sharing about the related events on the pages of Wallyhood including a neighborhood …

Wallingford’s unique and wonderful Seattle Meowtropolitan Cat Cafe has closed temporarily due to a health issue in the cat population. All cats have been returned to the partner shelter.

I swung by today and in addition to the sign, I was able to speak with the owner, Andrew and manager, John. They didn’t have many more details to share. Just that all the cats are doing fine and they look forward to reopening. They promised when they have more information, they would send it our way.

The kitties would love your support, though! Consider picking up a gift card, some …

Back in October, we wrote that the Kiddies Parade, a neighborhood institution for over 70 years, may be in danger of being discontinued in coming years due to lack of support. The parade, run this year by Celebrate Wallingford, is in dire need of both financial support and volunteers. Back in October, they sent postcards to many residents to try to drum up support.

In describing the scope of the need, Blake Garfield (of Bedrooms and More, a major force behind the parade for many years), chairman of Celebrate Wallingford’s board, told us back in November “It costs roughly $10,000 …

Pharmaca Integrative pharmacy is a small chain of integrative drug stores – the Wallingford store is on the corner of 45th and Wallingford. They started in Boulder Colorado in 2000 and had about 25 stores in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

They’re regular drug stores and also sell a wide range of natural supplements and remedies, including homeopathic items. In addition, they are compounding pharmacies – can formulate products not found on the shelf.

Pharmaca was acquired by Medly Pharmacy in June of 2021. Medley started in Brooklyn NY in 2017 as a bricks & mortar store and …

Just after the turn of the year to 2023, Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen announced that he would not seek re-election to the District 4 seat that he has held since 2019. Like many other seats on the City Council, Pedersen’s is up for reconsideration in November. District 4 includes Wallingford and something of a mixed bag of other neighborhoods in north Seattle (e.g., Eastlake, Fremont, Laurelhurst, Maple Leaf, University District, View Ridge, Windermere). Pedersen, who distinguished himself on a left-leaning Council as a centrist, has weathered some particularly tumultuous times for the city during his tenure.

As Councilmember Pedersen …

As a buyer-focused realtor in Seattle, I’ve heard many concerns from home shoppers during open houses. Most recently, one tour stands out. The width of a brand new townhouse with its many stairs and tight corners made some prospective buyers question whether the primary bedroom could fit its namesake—a bed—into the room. I tried to reach a better understanding of their housing needs by asking them, “If you could live in any style of house, what would you choose?” to which the wife replied, “My favorite type of home is a Craftsman.” 

I had recently produced a video about the …