The Seattle Times today has an article that celebrates six great businesses in what it calls “old Greenwood, gritty Greenwood” on Greenwood Avenue North between 84th and 85th streets.
The article gives props to Insurrection Apparel and Boots, Mr. Gyros, Neptune Coffee, Sweet on You, Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co., and Pig ‘n Whistle Bar & Grill. The article even called the neighborhood “hip.”
42 responses so far ↓
1 Paul M // Jan 8, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I would hardly call Olivers Twist, Picnic & Stumbling Goat “Greenwood”.
So glad that Greenwood has been declared “hip” now.
No mention of Naked City, Gainsbourg, Gorditos, Green Bean and other great local hangouts. Lazy journalism.
2 david stoesz // Jan 8, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Yeah, why did they make the cutoff at 85th? That’s exactly where the prosperity leaves off and we have all those empty store fronts. THAT’s where we need some publicity. 85th seems to be some sort of line of death. If you’re REALLY looking for gritty that where you’ll find it.
3 Chris // Jan 8, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I hope Sweet on You closes down, what a waste of a great space. I can forgive the prices, but not for Dreyers ice cream and terrible “Gelato”
4 The other Chris // Jan 8, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I agree about Sweet on You, I don’t think Gelato is supposed to have ice chunks in it. And the last time I was in there it smelled like there was a gas leak.
5 sloveniafencer // Jan 8, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Now that that area has been declared hip, I can comfortable trod there in my $200 Diesel jeans, irreverently labeled t-shirt, and my man purse containing my exalted collection of 7″ singles of obscure Slovenian electronic music from the months March and April from the year 1994.
6 jm // Jan 8, 2009 at 5:26 pm
The Seattle Times used be gritty, but now it’s wimpy.
7 Susan // Jan 8, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I have nothing against Phinney Ridge (actually, I love Phinney Ridge!) but Phinney Ridge is not Greenwood and I wish people would learn the distinction.
I had gelato at Sweet on You once, about two weeks after it opened, and it was both wildly overpriced and not very good. I’ve been to Pig & Whistle 4-5 times since they reopened and I haven’t had a good meal there yet.
I do think that Greenwood is picking up the pace in exciting changes all of a sudden, and perhaps soon could even be called “hip”, but this author didn’t do appropriate research. Naked City and Gainesbourg weren’t mentioned at all, and both are great new places that are actually in Greenwood.
8 Whopper // Jan 9, 2009 at 7:30 am
“Phinney Ridge is not Greenwood and I wish people would learn the distinction.”
Trust me, as soon as I smell meth in the air and see gangbangers I know I’m in Greenwood. No mistaking it.
9 Bill // Jan 9, 2009 at 8:58 am
They are looking for gritty Greenwood(-Phinney)? I’m not sure how any of those places are gritty and/or old. Maybe laid-back. But if you want the former two where’s The Baranhof or the Kort Haus?
10 etta // Jan 9, 2009 at 9:59 am
I noticed that the photo accompanying the story appears to feature a gay couple walking down Greenwood Ave. Does that illustrate “gritty” or “hip”, or is it implying that Greenwood is the new Capitol Hill?
11 Kelley // Jan 9, 2009 at 11:37 am
Greenwood does have a huge gay population–Yay! Maybe that’s why my two favorite ‘hoods are Cap Hill and our cozy little neck of the woods.
For those of you that are afraid of culture, (I’m talking to Whopper here), maybe you should move to Bellevue. That might be where you belong.
12 carlie // Jan 9, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Greenwood is becoming very cool place maybe next Fremont?. Ipressed with very tasty italian gelato, cafe Darte and crepes and live juices at Sweet On You wov it rocks and rocks……. Olive You is the most authentic med food you can get in town. Live belly dance and smooth jazz it is cool. King kebab is most delicious. yeahh we must pay for good things……… otherwise processed junk is everywhere. Olive You and Sweet on You very generous and most authentic offerings and care for hood and community……………………
13 Paul M // Jan 9, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I believe that Olive You & Sweet On You have the same owners.
14 Chris // Jan 9, 2009 at 2:36 pm
What a coincidence (Carlie’s comment that is)
15 Whopper // Jan 9, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Wow, I didn’t know smoking meth was ‘culture’, thanks for the education.
16 etta // Jan 9, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Carlie does also mention King (Falafel Grill ), which makes great falafels and lamb shwarma sandwiches and is NOT owned by Mr. Olive You/Sweet on You.
17 Maria // Jan 9, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Yes I agree Phinney Ridge is NOT Greenwood. What’s funny though is everyone I know who has lived in Greenwood for years now lives in Phinney Ridge yet not a one has moved????? Old timers KNOW that Phinney starts at the bend on Greenwood and goes south but I guess realtors can sell Phinney easier?
I loathe articles like this one. It’s how neighborhoods become homogenized burbs in the city. One ‘organic’ gelato and it will all be downhill from there. Why do burbites insist on moving to the city only to want to create a burb again?
18 Whopper // Jan 9, 2009 at 8:45 pm
” One ‘organic’ gelato and it will all be downhill from there. ”
Yes, much better with greasy spoons, McDonalds and meth heads. So old school. So true. So real. So full of sh*t.
19 Whopper // Jan 9, 2009 at 9:15 pm
“Why do burbites insist on moving to the city only to want to create a burb again?”
Why are you such a hater? Did it occur to you that city people sometimes like organic gelato?
20 Maria // Jan 9, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Answering a question with a question is defensive.
I love gelato. ALL gelato is organic. For that matter McDonalds is organic. It’s the mind set friend not the gelato. ‘New’ school is just old school with Madison Avenue tossing in a higher price tag and a fancy name.
21 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 8:00 am
“Answering a question with a question is defensive.”
Or it’s a sign of astonishment at someone’s stupidity and narrow mindedness.
FYI Seattle is hardly a city. It’s a bunch of villages slapped together. Some of these villages are still populated by a bunch of losers apparently, who call anything they don’t like, or more often can’t afford, ’suburban’, ‘Bellevue’ or the always entertaining do-it-all pejorative ‘yuppie’.
22 Maria // Jan 10, 2009 at 8:52 am
A person paying $5 for a spoonful of ice cream is why we have an economy in tatters and Americans in debt up to their eyeballs. There are many defaulting business loans as there are home loans right now. I like gelato. What I don’t like is failing businesses that turn into failing banks and loss of jobs. Organic is a meaningless term used to sell over priced goods. We are seeing the result of asking too much for too little value. The businesses that used to populate Greenwood offered value and necessary goods. Many still do but they disappear every day and are replaced by places that will never make it. That’s what harms neighborhoods. It is very apparent that the US cannot sustain the level of consumerism we have seen now for years. We have lost what offered value, replaced it with trends and will end up with boarded up neighborhoods.
There is a new place opening at 8th and Market. Business after business has failed there. Only the little store that was there for 60 years made money. The Wicker Basket on 70th and 8th made money, not a lot but enough to sustain a family. They lost their lease to a place that if they ever open, seems they are having financing issues, will last maybe a year.
A city always evolves from combined villages that in turn become neighborhoods. That’s what a city is.
23 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:11 am
Did it occur to you it’s expensive because it’s well made? Made with expensive, quality products and crafted by talented, passionate people not just squirted out at some factory?
If you hate this ‘expensive’ stuff, you’ll hate Europe too I guess. THe French are famous for expensive things like good cheese, good wine, good pastries. If you think the new businesses on Greenwood Ave are responsible for the current economic problems, you’re delusional.
24 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:14 am
“That’s what a city is.”
That’s funny, because you come across as a provincial, bitter, middle aged bumpkin. If $5 gelato is what you think will cause the end of the world you should try the €5 stuff I had in Rome last summer.
25 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:17 am
“that will never make it.”
Wait, isn’t that’s what happened with those old dumps you love so much?
I’m confused….or maybe you are.
26 Maria // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:38 am
If we lived like locals do in Rome we could buy $5 gelato. The store on 8th and 70th did not fail. Speculators bought the building is all and they lost their lease. Your anger is misdirected Whopper. I am not causing this reality I am just observing it. If this lifestyle was affordable we would see houses selling and not see high end businesses closing all over town. It took subprime loans and overwhelming consumer credit card debt to keep this all going for as long as it has. We are living the result of that. What one can afford and what is wise to spend are not the same thing. When exactly did Americans lose that understanding? In our desperation we are losing great places to live.
It’s not about what one can afford. Most old neighborhood people could buy and sell the new population. They can do that because they lived financially intelligent lives. They shopped locally at businesses that offered value. They bought a house and lived in it for 30 years. They are saddened to see the good neighborhoods they created being lost to speculation and trends that will be over in a few years . Back in the 60s and 70s I knew well the branch VP of WAMU in Ballard. At that time his branch was the wealthiest branch in the entire chain….in Snoose Junction no less, not in Bellevue!! The Bellevue branch lived on loans.
I often find myself right in the middle of the argument. I am old neighborhood but also new neighborhood. I grew up here but left for many years and have now returned. I don’t hate townhouses and condos, in fact I like them. I am for increased public transportation and less cars on the road. I agree with parking fees and high density housing. I like seeing new business come into our hoods. The problem is that what is coming in is not sustainable. What changed? What changed is our neighborhoods became trendy and the new money flooded in. Unfortunately trends never last but they swallow up what was good and what worked well. I am all for change and progress but I am for it done in a sensible manner. Trends and speculation always fail.
27 Meetio // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:40 am
I agree with Maria, it would be much better if we all bought mass produced, 50 cent gallon buckets of ice cream made in China and not this fancy stuff, hand made by people, not machines.
28 Meetio // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:43 am
“Unfortunately trends never last but they swallow up what was good and what worked well.”
Yes, I still hate ATM machines. Tellers were good and worked well.
29 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:51 am
Maria, do you also hate the $3 croissants made at Besalu in Ballard along with this mystical $5 gelato (which, btw, I’ve never seen in Seattle)?
30 Maria // Jan 10, 2009 at 10:24 am
I don’t hate any of them. The problem is sustainability. How many threads on these local blogs are about businesses opening then closing in a year? When we learn to live like Europeans, in tiny rented apartments and no giant car to drive to the mall, and no malls for that matter, we can sustain this type of business. In Europe bakers and other shop owners live in apartments over their stores fronts. I hope we do become a society like that but I wonder if many others really realize what changes it take to get there. I DO like quality food and quality goods. I like living in a neighborhood where I know those I trade with and they are my neighbors. What you call old dumps did offer me that at one time. They can again but not before we ALL make major changes in how we live.
31 LarryB // Jan 10, 2009 at 11:05 am
Maria - Have you been to Europe in the last 20 years? Cars and malls everywhere. Giant Hypermarkets that make WalMart look tiny. Sure, they have better transit, but the only reason their homes are smaller is that they have a higher population density.
Sustainability does not require a hairshirt, and luxuries are not evil.
32 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 11:08 am
With European taxes and unemployment rates? Even europeans are moving away from that thru the EU.
We can agree on one thing; no more credit to people who can’t afford to pay it back. That was the mistake in the US. As a member of the upper middle class professionals club I’m well aware of those folks using credit to wiggle into our club. At least in Europe the lower classes know their station.
33 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 11:48 am
“In Europe bakers and other shop owners live in apartments over their stores fronts. ”
So little shops selling expensive, well made goods like $5 gelato and $3 croissants are ok in Europe, but not ok in the US?
“I hope we do become a society like that but I wonder if many others really realize what changes it take to get there.”
Well, we’d have to slash the per capita income by about 30%. ARe you volunteering?
34 jm // Jan 10, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Good grief, everybody knows PhinneyWood.com decides who is hip and who is grubby. This blog is driving the two daily papers out of business.
35 etta // Jan 10, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I hate Haters.
36 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Larry, luxuries are always evil to the bitter and jealous.
37 Maria // Jan 10, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I have never worn a hair shirt and luxury and indulgence are my middle names. Of course they are ok here too but in order for them to work we need to adapt to a different lifestyle. It’s all about choice. The Ballard blog, since I posted last, has two more trendy places closing doors. Ballard Ave will be a ghost town of empty businesses by summer. You can be angry at me Whopper but that will not change the reality. You want what Europe offers but are unwilling to live the life that allows for this. It’s your choice not mine. You are just too angry and hating and blaming to see what is out there or even to hear what I am saying.
Of course we all know you are not a professional upper class type but if you were you would realize that you don’t live in a vacuum. I have no interest in selling $5 gelato but if you do and want to be successful you will have to lower your income hopes. If you want to make money there has to be someone able to buy what you offer. They have to be able to live where you offer your goods too. I don’t know why you are so angry but it’s not my fault. There is always room for a very small number of high end places. Take a walk down 1st Ave and note that Baby and Co has been around since the 70s but there are at least a dozen other high end places that have disappeared just the last year after only a few years or even months in business. The same thing is happening in Ballard and will happen also in Greenwood.
I have no problem with high end gelato and occasionally eat it but I do have a problem with empty businesses. If these places were sustainable I would be all for them. I want to have a neighborhood where I can buy from local business but they have to offer more variety. The Market almost died and would have if it had not been turned into a tourist draw. Do you want to live in a tourist destination? Years ago when I lived closer to downtown I did my weekly grocery shopping at The Market. Not anymore. You can hardly get down the aisles and get dirty looks from tourists taking pictures. Broadway was once hot but now is closing up. Is that what you want for your hood? Whole Foods/Paycheck may not survive the year. It’s not working Whopper and it’s not my fault. Being angry at me will not change anything. I am out there trying hard to spend my money as fast as I can locally but there is just not enough offered. If I was alone in this businesses would not be shuttered more every day. I am urbanite, not some old hippy. A neighborhood that works and grows is a varied place.
38 Whopper // Jan 10, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Well good luck time warping youself to the 1970s. Me? I’m looking forward to my Amazon Fresh.
And fyi, I’m from europe but find your ignorance of how the economies there work very entertaining.
39 ballard dude // Jan 11, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Hey Whopper and Maria,
boring boring boring. Maybe you two can exchange e-mails and continue this obviously important rant in private.
40 Maria // Jan 11, 2009 at 4:12 pm
dude I am not here for your entertainment I am here for my entertainment. XXXOOO
41 js // Jan 11, 2009 at 6:36 pm
right on ballard dude
42 RED // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Sweet On You is an insult to my intelligence.
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