The Yard Cafe, 8313 Greenwood Ave. N, is out of soft-launch mode and is officially open today. Patrons soaked up some drinks and filtered sun on their patio this afternoon.

Expect it to be more difficult to get a  seat on Monday, when the weather is expected to be dry and slightly warmer than today.

The Ridgeback Cafe just opened a short time ago in the old Renick Printing space at 500 N.W. 65th St, next door to Slave to the Needle.

Owner Justin Taft said they received final permit approval from the City of Seattle at 2 p.m. and rushed to open the family-friendly cafe months after they originally intended to open.

“It feels fantastic. It’s been such a journey, but it’s been a great experience,” a very satisfied and relieved-sounding Taft said. “We’re so ultra prepared. We are so stoked.”

No stranger to the restaurant business, Taft also owns Georgetown’s well-regarded Hangar Cafe.

The cafe will be open 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Fridays, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sundays. Taft eventually hopes to hold communal dinners on Sunday evenings.

The Ridgeback will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu includes crepes, waffles, sandwiches, light tapas, soups, salads, beer, wine, desserts and Stumptown Coffee. Taft says The Ridgeback (so-named because it’s on the backside of Phinney Ridge) provides a “pro-family friendly” option on a street with a lot of bars.

He’d been looking for a second location for some time and saw the “for rent” sign go up in the window the day it was posted, while he was on one of his frequent visits to The Sneakery.

You can find out more about the cafe on Ridgeback’s Facebook page.

The Green Bean Coffeehouse folks, who are renovating the old McDonald’s building at 8553 Greenwood Ave. N, now say they’re hoping to open June 26.

They were originally aiming for Memorial Day weekend, but had to back off on that date due to delays in getting permits and some planned vacations, according to their blog.

The coffeehouse and three other businesses were destroyed by an arsonist last fall. Green Bean has been sharing space at the Greenwood Sip & Ship, which sits across the street from the former McDonald’s.

Here’s what it looks like inside. The outline of the order counter can be seen on the floor.

Visit their site if you’re interested in volunteering or contributing items that will help them open in the new space.

Several people alerted us to the For Lease signs that appeared on the building where Kelly’s Fresh Produce was expected to open on the corner of North 83rd Street and Greenwood Avenue North. We just spoke with the building owner, who says he is indeed looking for a new tenant.

“The Kelly in Kelly’s Produce changed his mind, so we’re looking for a new produce vendor,” owner Jim Greene said today.

He says he’s got a couple interested people looking at the space. Greene says he hopes to have interior renovations done in the next week or so. One noteworthy element is a produce-themed mural on the interior north by artist Jim Carey. Here’s a picture of the partially completed work.

There’s also a comment thread on this subject in the forum.

The 85th St. Market at the corner of NW 85th Street and 8th Avenue NW opened Friday and here’s a look inside today:

We can’t compare the convenience store to the old place - we avoided it, as did a lot commenters on some of our earlier posts. As you can see from the picture, the cheery yellow paint, new floors and new lighting brighten it up quite a bit.

Owner Chuck Shin, pictured, says they’re getting in more inventory and are at about 70 percent of where they want to be. They’ll get hot food in soon and they’ll be bringing in some dairy products as well. They’re even considering a hand-dipped ice cream station during the summer.

Two things they won’t have is malt liquor and porn, which some commenters on those earlier posts said attracted a negative element to the area.

The building has been repainted and new security lighting has been installed all around the building to further discourage loitering. There are plans to repave the parking lot this summer to further improve the visual appeal of the property.

“A lot of people have come in to say they’re glad we’re here instead of the other store,” Shin said.

Festivities, including a live radio broadcast and a six-piece mariachi band, are ushering in the opening of the cozy bar that’s been in the works for months at Taqueria Tequila at the corner of NW 85th Street and 3rd Avenue NW.

Mariachi Fiesta Mexicana is belting out peppy music until 9 p.m. and La Gran D 99.3 FM is broadcasting live cut-ins from the parking lot until about 8 p.m.

While the Hernandez brothers have been running their family-owned business in the neighborhood for 10 years, today marks the first time they’re able to serve the second half of their namesake. They have 19 kinds of tequila, including several varieties of Don Julio and Hornitos.

Customers can get the same food in the bar as they can get in the restaurant, which also added oysters to the menu today. Customers “can have in here the same experience as they have in the restaurant,” said Gerado Perez, brother-in-law of the Hernandez brothers. “If they like the food in there, they’ll like the hospitality in here,”  he added. 

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.”

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.

Lotus Jewelry & Gift recently moved into the spot formerly occupied by Twig Children’s Boutique at 8317 Greenwood Ave. N.

The store features a range of jewelry including Egyptian and South American pieces, as well as some home decor items. Before opening in Greenwood, Lotus Jewelry & Gift was located at Northgate Mall, according to Ahmed, the owner.

The store also does jewelry and watch repair and is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday.

Twig, you may remember, is moving its business online-only.

From our sister site, MyBallard, here’s some info on the grand opening of Take 5 Urban Market, including giveaways and a drawing for prizes from the market at the corner of 8th Avenue NW and NW 70th Street.

We stopped in last night for dinner. Perched on the stools along the window, we enjoyed their daily dinner special (roast beef, veggies and mashed potatoes), toothsome mac-and-cheese and a zesty pulled chicken sandwich. For more store info, including their menu, here’s a link to the market’s site.

Mary Land let us know that New’s Noodles, 8576 Greenwood Ave. N, opened Friday.

“The Spicy Noodles and the Pad Se Ew were awesome!  The red curry was
great too,” she says. We’ll add them to the food & drink guide shortly.

Hazel, a new salon going in at 5817 Phinney Ave. N. is styling itself as an environmentally friendly styling option.

The salon will carry an organic line of products, including an organic hair coloring option, and other “green” products, but two other things may really set them apart: Sugaring and hair mats.

Sugaring (I’m told) is less painful than waxing (not that I know how painful that is, either) and it’s more environmentally friendly.  The salon will be the first on Phinney Ridge to offer this service, according to the new owner, who asked not to be named yet for fear of jeopardizing her current styling job. The next two closest sugaring options are in Ballard and Fremont.

Hazel will also be collecting clipped hair and sending it to Matter of Trust, which turns human hair into mats used to soak up oil spills.

The salon will have three chairs and is slated to open sometime around June 15.