The long-awaited QFC in Ballard opened its doors at the crack of dawn this morning, and much more dedicated local bloggers My Ballard have the pictures to prove it. Seattlest took a walk down the block a few hours later to see what all the fuss was about and to pick up some much-needed milk for our morning coffee. We were greeted by an impressive crowd and an equally impressive staff. QFC bigwigs wondered around the store checking their Blackberrys and generally looking official, but the staff was very relaxed and friendly. more ›

It's probably wrong of us to focus on this particular part of two recent bank robberies (hey, someone's in custody, end of story), but it just confirms something we've been thinking for years now: there really isn't that much difference between a Kroger QFC and Safeway. Now we have proof that the FBI--the FBI!--can't detect the difference either, as their Most Wanted poster for the bank robber details the robbery occurring at the QFC Wells Fargo on 15th Avenue East, and that's...a Safeway. Thankfully, CHS was happy to straighten the FBI out, but my god, we can't ask them to do that for every single customer who gets confused about which customer club card to pull out. more ›

Who knew that food could be so dangerous to your health? more ›

That's a really fabulous $15-entrance-fee dog park that Fremont's got over there. Not sure why they call it the Fremont Oktoberfest, though. It's nice that you can get some Hale's, Red Hook, and Beck's while out walking your dog, but Oktoberfest? Not sure we see the connection. Anyway, about the giveaway: there was a tent with "Win $1,000 QFC Gift Certificate" sign that we assumed (foolishly) had something to do with QFC, until we got our call about "winning a weekend stay at a resort." Sweepstakes should not be allowed around drunk people. more ›

Stalk of the Town returns! This weekend officially welcomes us to the rainy season. So how will Seattlest be reaffirming life and nourishing our collective creative urge? more ›

Well, unless you want your burger to be a bun, pickles, lettuce cheese, and condiments. Or perhaps of the exotic meat or veggie variety. Local QFCs and Fred Meyers (parent company: Kroger) are recalling ground beef purchased at their stores over the past few weeks. The beef is being recalled after an outbreak of E. coli in the Midwest traced to the beef. Of course this recall comes on the heels of the are-they-or-aren't-they-killer salmonella-tainted tomatoes outbreak, which has yet to be solved. more ›

The French call it Le Temps des Cerises, the Time of Cherries, the brief, shining moment when all's right with the world. For some, that's April, when the cherry trees are in their pink-blossom splendor. For the rest of us, it's mid-June to mid-August, when the fruit is ripe: cherry season. more ›

The Interbay QFC isn’t going to sit back and watch Tom Selleck’s legacy as a crime-fighting, moustache-sporting sex god fade into obscurity. Paying curious homage to the macho man’s distinguished legacy is a DVD rack shoppers must pass en route to the "10 Items or Less" check-out that isn’t so much a collection of movies as it is a celebration of every movie Tom graced outside his tenure as former Navy Seal Thomas Magnum. more ›

So goodbye old Broadway QFC! Goodbye, old Broadway Taco Bell! Goodbye, old house! Maybe now we'll see some action on the plans for the block, as reported by the Stranger back in June 2006:

This site will soon [Ed: Hah!] become a 6-story mixed-use building. On the ground floor there will be 25,000 foot of retail. "I'm looking for boutiques--like apparel," says the developer Bob Burkheimer. "Independent shops, maybe a restaurant. The idea is to get more street-level retail on Broadway, liven it up."

Local supermarkets QFC and Fred Meyer have issued a recall on bottles of their Everyday Living Bleach. The companies have issued a warning about the potential for explosion when opened. more ›