The simply named Corner Mart at the corner of 8th Avenue NW and NW 85th Street is closed and it appears it is being renovated, judging by what can be seen through the window. Bluestone LLC has applied for a liquor license to sell beer, wine and kegs.

Tonya added some more detail, writing to us, “just wanted to report that last week the Corner Mart was closed for business. At some point throughout this weekend, it looks like the store was emptied and security bars on the windows removed.”

AJH posted in our forum that Cyndy’s on Greenwood’s eastern edge is closing today.

Sunday, August 9th, is the last day that Cyndy’s will be open!!!! My boyfriend went to breakfast there this morning and was shocked to see a sign that they were closing business as of TOMORROW! This is a great breakfast place that we’ve been frequenting for years, and we are sad to see it go. I guess some of the workers want to retire (a legitimate reason for closing down). The purchaser is the guy who wants to open a strip club, but there are some problems with financing/permitting. So it may be that the deal doesn’t go through (which I hope it doesn’t). Just thought I’d let everyone know in case you want to get that one last order of CFS in before Cyndy’s joins the graveyard of great Seattle restaurants.

The business at 10507 Aurora Ave. N has been known as Cyndy’s House of Pancakes since 1972. Businessman Bob Davis hopes to turn it into a strip club. Davis has a construction permit application on file seeking to add a stage and make seating modifications.

A restaurant employee says they’ll be open until about 1:30 p.m. today. She said there’s a chance Davis’ project could fall through. If that happens, Cyndy’s could reopen as a pancake house in September.

This in from our sister site, MyBallard, about a restaurant on the Phinney-Ballard border:

Less than a year-and-a-half after opening, Il Giardino is now closed.

The little Italian restaurant at the corner of 65th & Cleopatra opened in February of last year. The sign on the door thanks Ballard for the support.

We got notes from both Tara and Katie alerting us to a nail salon opening on the first floor of the Roycroft Condominiums, 6015 Phinney Ave. N., just south of Fresh Flours.

And Babyface Skincare is hoping to be open in the next week or so above A Muse Art Stamps at 7104 Phinney Ave. N. Babyface will be offering facials, sugaring and lash tinting.

That brings us to the closing. Pitcher Bros. & Family Carpets, 6510 Phinney Ave. N., moved into the neighborhood a year or two ago to our recollection, but closed up shop recently. Their number is already disconnected. According to their Web site, the family business has been in operation since 1937.

We got a note that King Falafel had closed. Stopped by this morning and saw that the signs were gone and the furniture and equipment was stacked up for moving.

Came by a couple hours later and met Lorenzo, the owner of Aloha Ramen, who was cleaning out the old equipment. He says King Falafel’s owner decided to move back to his home country of Egypt, opening up the space.

Lorenzo, who was born in Hawaii and raised in Okinawa, Japan, has been in the restaurant business for 30 years, including a long stint as a sous chef at the Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Oahu. He says he’ll be serving many types of ramen, as well as beef curry.

He’s hoping to open in the beginning of May, but it’s a bit early to nail down a date at this point, he said.

Thanks, Coral, for tipping us on this.

The Twelve Step Shop, a fixture in a craftsman style home at 6300 Phinney Ave. N. for 20 years, has closed. The building is for rent.

The building is commercial zoned and can be turned into a live/work space. The owners are asking $1,150 per month, plus utilities. Please call Julie Campbell or K.T. at (206) 542-4268 if you’re interested.

In the meantime, Mary Jacobsen, former owner of the Twelve Step Shop, says customers can still get ”recovery items” at her other store, Flat Majic Books & Gifts, 822 SW 152nd St., Burien, (206) 244-4537.

“Business fell off and I wasn’t able to make my commitments,” Jacobsen said of Twelve Step’s closure. “It was sad. I didn’t want to do that, but sometimes you have to, especially with today’s economy.”

Let’s hope this isn’t harbinger of more neighborhood business closings.