The Green Bean Coffeehouse, which has been sharing space with Greenwood Sip & Ship for the last few months since its former building was burned down by an arsonist, will soon move into the old McDonald’s building.

The building, on Greenwood Avenue and about North 86th Street, has been empty for several years and many people have complained about it being an eyesore, with frequent graffiti markings. The lot will someday be developed by Greenwood Shopping Center Inc., the same folks who built the new Piper Village mixed-use development and who own the land under Fred Meyer. In the meantime, the property developers had hoped someone would lease the building for a few years.

You can read all about it in Sanctuary Church’s newsletter. The church owns the Green Bean.

Local henna artist Antoinette is hosting a “Henna for Haiti” event at Makeda Coffee, 153 N. 78th St., from 6-9 p.m. Saturday.

25% of all transactions will be donated to Partners in Health and makeda coffee will be matching that 25%

You’ve no doubt seen all the work happening at 6510 Phinney Ave. N. That space is turning into In the Red Wine Bar & Cafe, owned by Chad W. Campbell and Brian Folino. They hope to open sometime in March.

(Photo by artman1951.)

Campbell was laid off from a telecommunications industry job last summer and took that as a sign to switch careers. Even though his family lived in Queen Anne, they spent quite a bit of time in Phinney, particularly at El Chupacabra. He looked around at various potential sites in the neighborhood before settling on the building that also houses Davern Safe & Lock.

But Campbell and Folino didn’t want an upscale, slick wine bar. They wanted something that was reasonably priced, around $5 a glass, and, since Campbell has an almost 3-year-old, it needed to be family-friendly.

“We wanted something that was more affordable,” Campbell explained. “We didn’t want people to break the bank with double-digit glasses of wine.”

And they wanted them to have yummy, but not overproduced, food to go along with it.

“The food will be kind of simple,” he said. “We won’t have a hood so we can’t do open flame or deep frying. We’ll do some soups and bruschetta and small plate salads. Little bites if you will. And we’ll probably have a few vegan things on the menu as well.”

In the Red will also serve coffee in the mornings (Folino trained at Capitol Hill’s famed Espresso Vivace). Campbell said they’ll probably open at 6 or 6:30 a.m. Coffee and pastries will be available for sit down or take-out. Eventually they may serve simple breakfasts as well, and they’ll have free WiFi.

Furniture and dishes will be mismatched eclectic, with comfy couches and chairs, and hopefully a little fireplace. “We don’t want to come across as being too slick,” Campbell said.

They’re still working out the hours, but they will probably close at 11 p.m. weeknights and midnight on Friday and Saturday.

“Phinney is a fantastic neighborhood, plus there isn’t a wine bar per se in the neighborhood. We feel like it’s a good little neighborhood and a good little corner,” Campbell said. “I think that we’ve got a lot of factors that will make us successful. The neighborhood in itself is supportive of these kinds of places.”

The new Couth Buzzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. is starting Open Mic Nights at 7 p.m. every every Wednesday. The evening is hosted by musician/philosopher Katie Weller. Sign-up starts at 6:30 p.m.

Come and share your music, poetry, stories, whatever. Drinks and food available. You can learn more at our Facebook page: Couth Buzzard Espress Buono or website: www.buonobuzzard.com. And don’t forget our Family Game night every Thursday at 6, and the Writer’s Group on Mondays at 7 p.m.

Who else in the neighborhood sponsors open mic nights? Let us know in comments.

The new Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. is adding meetings and entertainment in its new space.

Starting Monday, Feb. 1, they’ll be hosting a new writing group at 6 p.m.

Leader, Marilyn Stauter calls her approach “Guided Spontaneity.” For more information contact Marilyn Stauter at stauter5687@msn.com, or 206-633-5687.

And every Thursday from 6-9 p.m. is now Family Game Evening, with cards and board games.

Chess, Go, Bridge, Scrabble, Dominos and more. The Cafe will also be open for drinks and food. 206-436-2960.

The new Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. celebrated its grand opening today with crowds of book and coffee lovers, plus some great music.

When we stopped by this afternoon, two members of the Parisian-themed group Rouge were performing. Singer Janet Rayor was singing in French about what happens during a chance encounter in a crowded place.

Later on, two students from Rosewood Guitar performed mostly holiday classics.

Speaking of Rosewood Guitar, the students’ teacher, Robert Vierschilling, told me the guitar studio hopes to reopen on Feb. 1. Rosewood was seriously damaged in a Nov. 5 arson. Vierschilling says there was more damage than originally thought, plus they decided to do some upgrades, so it’s taken longer than they planned.

Couth Buzzard Espresso Buono’s grand opening party continues until late tonight, with a cabaret-style music performance from 7-10 p.m.

Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Café opened in December at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. and is now getting ready for its Grand Opening party on Saturday.

It’s an all-day event from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., with music throughout the day, free food and beverage samples, and cabaret-style entertainment from 7-10 p.m.

The store recently changed its website and email addresses. The new website is www.buonobuzzard.com. Penny Wight, owner of Espresso Buono Garden Cafe in Lynnwood and now the café portion of the Greenwood store, can be reached at penny@buonobuzzard.com.

Book aficionados Theo Dzielak and Gerry Lovchik can be reached at theo@buonobuzzard.com and gerry@buonobuzzard.com. And their new phone number is 206-436-2960. Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends.

The store is available in the evenings for meetings and events. The Chess and Go Club is already scheduled to meet there every Thursday at 6 p.m.

The store is always looking for books to fill their shelves:

We are especially looking for good fiction, science, philosophy, and books on Agnosticism and Atheism (we have tons of various books on religions).

And they’d love to have your arts and crafts to display on the walls. (Penny in the café asked the PhinneyWood Kid, now 4, to create a masterpiece using glitter glue, so they’re not being snobby about the kind of art!)

Don’t forget that State Rep. Reuven Carlyle is inviting constituents to join him for a cup of coffee at one of four locations this Saturday, including our neighborhood. Let him know your concerns and priorities for the state.

Crown Hill - Café Fiore, 3125 W. 85th St. - 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Phinney Ridge/Greenwood - Herkimer, 7320 Greenwood Ave. N. - 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Magnolia - Serendipity, 3222 W. McGraw St. - 1-2 p.m.

Queen Anne - Café Fiore, 224 W. Galer St. - 2:30-3:30 p.m.

The 2010 legislative session is a short one, beginning Jan. 11 and running for 60 days.

State Rep. Reuven Carlyle is inviting constituents to join him for a cup of coffee at one of four locations this Saturday, including our neighborhood.

“The Legislature convenes on January 11 and we’re again facing a massive deficit of nearly $3 billion,” Carlyle said in a press release. “It’s critical that I hear from our community directly about your views, issues, concerns and thoughts on the budget, taxes, education and other important issues. I’m asking people to reach out and share your views so I can better represent you in Olympia during these difficult times.”

Here’s the caffeinated schedule for Saturday, Jan. 9:

Crown Hill - Café Fiore, 3125 W. 85th St. - 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Phinney Ridge/Greenwood - Herkimer, 7320 Greenwood Ave. N. - 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Magnolia - Serendipity, 3222 W. McGraw St. - 1-2 p.m.

Queen Anne - Café Fiore, 224 W. Galer St. - 2:30-3:30 p.m.

The 2010 legislative session is a short one, beginning Jan. 11 and running for 60 days.

Rep. Carlyle is also the guest speaker at this Friday’s Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Phinney Neighborhood Association, 6532 Phinney Ave. N. The meeting starts at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and muffins; the main meeting gets underway at 8 a.m. It’s free for Chamber members; $5 for non-members.

The new Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. had hoped to have its grand opening party on Jan. 9, but they just changed it to Saturday, Jan. 16. The celebration lasts all day, with food and entertainment.

Come on by and check out our new and beautiful bookstore. Try items from our great new menu of coffee, Italian sodas, Panini sandwiches, soups and much more. If you are interested in performing, reading poetry, playing music, helping out, then please let Theo know. You can call me at the store at 206 436-2960, my cell 206 418-9522, or email me.

Couth Buzzard/Espresso Buono had their soft opening on Dec. 16.

Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe had its soft opening at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. last week, but now plans its grand opening celebration for Jan. 9.

Well, the New Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe had a week exceeding our expectations! A special thanks to all our old and new friends who came by.

And, our Grand Opening Party is Saturday, January 9th all day. Food, Fun Entertainment. Come on by and check out our new digs. Let me know if you can help, or if you want to do a little performing.

Theo, Penny and Gerry

The Ballard News Tribune reports that the new incarnation of the Couth Buzzard bookstore, with Espresso Buono Cafe, hopes to open in their new location at 8310 Greenwood Ave. N. on Dec. 16. But they need help stocking the shelves in order to hit that target date.

Read the full story here.