Developer To Demolish Eastlake's Living Room

"You're ridin' high in April, shot down in May," Frank Sinatra used to sing. For Hines Public Market Coffee, at Eastlake Avenue East and East Lynn Street, the shooting starts in late July or August, when their building is scheduled to be demolished and replaced by a new one.

Last year a Hines barista, Bronwen Serna, won the U.S. Barista Championship. This year--well, it's Seattle, people. She'll find a new shop. But it's the principle of the thing, the ironic contrast! That's what we're after.

As the P-I reports, Hines owners John Horner and John Sandall say they couldn't reach an agreement with R & A Investments on rent in the new space being built, but are still hoping to remain in Eastlake neighborhood.

Paradoxically, the developer believes that the new building and new tenants will preserve the neighborhood's ambiance, and that Eastlake deserves "a great neighborhood meeting spot." Color us crazy, but we thought they already had one. Because we have extensive training in decoding developer-speak (it's a sort of pidgin), we suggest that "great" can be read as "more expensive."

"Some people get their kicks stomping on a dream," Frank added, in the same song. We're sorry, Hines. You're getting a raw deal.