November 28, 2007
Afoot in Belltown
Seattlest wanders.
¡Mira! is no more. Not even the upside-down exclamation point was able to save it from the, er, difficult location (basement of the Labor Temple). Intrepidly going where so many others have failed is the Middle-Eastern Zaina, installing a clone of its Pioneer Square falafel stand in subterranean Belltown.
Cafe Minnie’s is no more. Belltown’s greasiest greasy spoon, and only 24-hour joint at that, was finally done in, not by crappy food and crappy service but by the ban on indoor smoking. That's the owner's story, and he's sticking to it.
Now, the guys behind the Virginia Inn Tavern, they know all about smoke-free. Never allowed a leaf or a curl in the joint since it opened. And are they crying? Nope! They're taking over the former gallery space next door and building themselves a full-fledged kitchen. Follow the details on the News page of VirgniaInnSeattle.com.
And lo, we come upon Txori. Part of the recolonization of Belltown by Madison Park. (Outbound, lest we forget, Café Presse and Quinn; inbound, the culinary influence of Crush on The Local Vine.)
Hey! You can get a short glass of Stella for two bucks! It's called a zurito. And a gilda (anchovy, olive and peppers on a crunchy slice of bread) for $3.50. Haven't had this much fun standing at a counter since, well, tapas in Spain.
Txori, 2207 2nd Avenue, 206.204.9771
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Cafe Minnie's closed?? Noooooooo!!!! :(
I don't care what the Yelp reviewers say about the bad service, I loved that place.
The story about them being put out of business by the smoking ban sounds fishy. This story says there's a state notice on their door saying they were closed for failure to pay taxes:
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/126380.asp
Regardless of whether your sales are decreasing, failure to pay taxes is just poor business management.
I left for a week.
When I came back, Minnie's was gone, the old Blue Canary (whose hand written sign still says the space has already been leased) has a professional sign above it asking for a leasee, the Txori has been completed and the soccer shop on 2nd and battery has closed.
New rule: I can't leave Belltown for a week, or major changes happen.... Perhaps I should leave for a month and maybe we'll get some Rapid Transit.
That soccer shop closed? Dammit!