Local Business Tidbits

Despite the attention, it's not just the status of Rainier Hardware and the Seattle P-I that are worthy of mention. Here are some other pieces of news from the local business landscape.

- Paper Cat, Pioneer Square's purveyor of playful paper products, will be closing its doors for good at the end of the month after 31 years. As in Rainier Hardware's case, an increase in rent is to blame (in this case an increase of 30%). They're currently having their final sale, so it's a good time to stock up on cards, pick up a few of the antique fixtures they used in the store and say goodbye to this Seattle mainstay.

- On a less sad note, the toy/clothing/misc. store and gallery OKOK is planning to leave their cozy little spot at the extended portion of Broadway. Over the next few months they'll be packing up and moving to Ballard, where they'll have a bigger space and stretch their leasing dollar. It threw Seattlest into a panic when the "For Lease" sign was first noticed, so it came as a relief that it was a relocation and not a closure. No moving sale has been announced yet, but the possibility exists.

- One night at the end of February, the owners of Wallingford's Electric Heavyland (one of the things we like) got a call from the SPD saying that their store had been broken into. In addition to leaving a big mess, the perpetrators made an attempt to get away with a lot of music. As it happens, the CDs aren't kept in their cases, so the cases are all they managed to get. That left a lot of CDs without a proper home, which Electric Heavyland is now selling at incredibly deep discounts. If you're into the music they sell, here's a time to bulk up your collection.