Madison Park businesses in the news

In the likely event that some of our readers are just not keeping up with other media, here's a quick survey of some local establishments that have received recent coverage:

Seattle Met's Nosh Pitt blog reported earlier this week that Cactus! just announced it's expanding to a fifth location, taking over space in Bellevue Square previously occupied by Z’Tejas.  Cactus!, began life 23 years ago at its current location in Madison Park, later adding locations in Alki, Kirkland, and South Lake Union.

Cafe Parco was chosen by readers of website Seattle Eater as one of 18 Best "Under the Radar" Brunches. The honor is slightly tarnished, perhaps, by the website's commentary that the list highlights destinations where "where the food is good, day drunkeness is welcome, and long lines are not." Cafe Parco was singled out for a "decadent brunch, French press and cocktails."

Canopy Blue was one of two Madison Park stores to be included on Seattle Magazine's "Best Shops in Seattle 2012" list, published in the December issue.  Judged "Best Women's Boutique" by the magazine, Canopy Blue was cited as "a must-stop for women hankering for casual yet elegant attire" and new owner  Danielle Ackerley was credited with bringing a "new joie de vivre" to the shop since taking over last summer.

The other local business on Seattle Magazine's list was the once-pop-up-but-now-apparently-permanent Guesthouse, which won the designation as "Best Housewares Shop."  Owner Kate Sehulster was singled out for her "eclectic finds" and the store was described as having been "wildly popular" in its initial carnation as a "pop up" last summer.

Meanwhile, down the road in Madison Valley, La Cote Creperie was the subject of a "heavenly" review posted yesterday on Seattle Weekly's Greasy Swoon blog. Describing the tiny French cafe as "uptown for the ladies who brunch Seattle style" (and not a particularly good place for the hungover), the reviewer notes that while quiche, pate, and salads are on the menu, excellent crepes are the thing.  We knew that.

[Cactus! is located at 4220 E. Madison St., Cafe Parco is located at 1807 42nd Avenue E., Canopy Blue is located at 3121 E. Madison St., Guesthouse is located at 4110 E. Madison St., and La Cote is located at 2811 E. Madison Street. The photo above was blatantly lifted from the Cactus! website.]

This and that

Trick or treat at Madison Park merchants Wednesday, October 31:  For those who may have missed the flyers in the windows of many neighborhood shops this week, we note that the annual business district tricking and treating event will occur on Halloween this year, from 3 until 6 pm at participating businesses. As usual, there will be a photo booth set up at McNae Park (aka "Triangle Park") in front of Bing's so that those so inclined can memorialize the occasion.

McGilvra Fifth Graders' Holiday Fundraiser:  It's the time of year again to start thinking about "holiday" trees, wreaths, and poinsettias--and perhaps even to consider ordering them for later delivery. If you are of a mind to do so, McGilvra Elementary School's fifth grade class will meet that need. Its annual sale to support the class's graduation and camp is underway, with orders for Noble firs, Douglas firs, red and white poinsettias, and fir-branch wreaths with cones being due by October 31. Click on the graphic at right to get a copy of the order sheet. You may drop your order off (with a check or cash) at the McGilvra’s school office through the end of the month. Or you can mail the order form (with a check or cash) to McGilvra Elementary School, 1617 – 38th Avenue East, Seattle WA 98112, Attention: McGilvra PTA.  Pickup will be on December 1 (though for a small $10 fee holiday trees will be delivered to any address within two miles of McGilvra).

Martha E. Harris Flowers & Gifts begins a new chapter:  The question of what will happen to the neighborhood's iconic flower shop, given Martha Harris's untimely passing earlier this month, was publicly answered late last week on the business's Facebook page, with this announcement:

Dear Friends and Patrons,
We are all feeling the loss from Martha’s passing. Her talent, her courage, her sense of community, her charity, her spirit, her laugh, and her fierce passion for life are qualities that we all cherished. With her passing, there have been many questions about the future of her life work and true passion, her store. I want to formally announce that Martha has passed her business, Martha E. Harris Flowers and Gifts, to me. I look forward to continuing her legacy by honoring her creativity, quality, and commitment to her community. Thank you very much for all of your support and well wishes during this incredibly difficult time.

We are all better having known her.

Sincerely,
Bruce A. Chester

In honor of Martha Harris, Cactus! will be running a Martharita in Martha’s Memory on the restaurant's feature menu for the next month or so and donating a dollar to her memorial at Swedish hospital for each order. Owner Bret Chatalis tells us that Cactus! is hoping to raise between $500 and  $1000 for the Martha Memorial Fund. The Martharita:  "Blanco tequila, lime, agave and Alize Passion Fruit Liqueur—served up with Martha style."

Remember, 520 is closed again this weekend: Yes, it's the usual drill, with a bit of a reprieve in recognition of Seattle Sounders game traffic on Sunday. At 11 pm on Friday night  the floating bridge will close, but Sr 520 will reopen earlier than usual, at noon on Sunday.  During the closure, crews will be setting 34 massive concrete girders over the highway for the 84th Avenue NE overpass, shift eastbound lanes near Evergreen Point Road to the north, and "complete other time-sensitive work."

[Graphic above by Pedro Ferreira on Flickr.com]

Impromptu bites the dust

The outdoor Christmas lights are still on, but the restaurant itself is dark and most of the furnishings have been removed. Impromptu is no more.

At the end of 2009 there was a sign on the door stating that the restaurant was closed, but I assumed that was just for the holidays. Now it's clear that was not the case. An announcement on the restaurant's website says it all: "Impromptu Wine Bar Cafe is currently closed. We thank you for your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

The restaurant, located at 4235 E. Madison Street, had mixed reviews since the change in ownership (and executive chef) over a year ago. While many found the food good to excellent, the various restaurant-rating websites also documented some curious service issues (my wife and I experienced one there ourselves, for that matter). In spite of being a very small establishment, it was usually uncrowded even during the height of the summer season, which is a very bad sign for a Madison Park restaurant. Most of the higher-end ones live or die by what they earn during the good weather (in other words, before the Washington Park Tower crowd heads south for the winter).

I am sorry to see the loss of any decent neighborhood eatery. Hopefully, there will soon be a replacement for Impromptu.

Meanwhile, across the street, Cactus! is on a two-week hiatus in order to renovate. As we reported in July, the restaurant is expanding its kitchen into part of the space that was once the Yankee Peddler. This will result in some reconfiguration of the seating area by the entrance. Hopefully Cactus! will be back in operation by January 20 or so. Now there's a restaurant that doesn't have to worry about lack of traffic, summer or winter.

Cactus! is expanding (again)

In a bold move that is counter to much of what’s happening elsewhere in the Seattle restaurant trade, Cactus! is about to extend its presence in Madison Park by taking some of the space vacated earlier this year by the Yankee Peddler. On Friday, the City approved a construction permit allowing the restaurant to make alterations to approximately 400 square feet of the space contiguous to its location at 4220 E. Madison Street.

Owner Bret Chatalas tells me that the planned remodeling will involve moving part of the kitchen into the new space. The principal advantage of this will be to create a better work environment for the employees and a more efficient operation. Expansion of the kitchen may also allow for a future relocation of the tapas bar into what is now part of the kitchen area, freeing up space in the front for 5-10 more seats. As anybody who has tried to get into Cactus! on a summer evening knows, the Mexican/Southwest themed restaurant remains very popular in spite of the current economic downturn.

At a time when some restaurants are really feeling the pain, and others such as Oceanaire and the Union Square Grill are shutting down entirely, Cactus! has a proven concept that continues to withstand the test of time. This Madison Park mainstay has been described by The Seattle Times as a “screaming success” since it opened in 1990. At least partly due to space constraints at the Madison Park location, Cactus! spawned two sister restaurants, one in Kirkland in 2002 and one at Alki in 2006. Anecdotal evidence is that all three locations continue to pack ‘em in, and Chatalas confirms that things continue to go well for each of the restaurants.

Cactus! Madison Park has already undergone one major expansion, when in 1999 it annexed the retail space one door to the north of its initial location. Now the restaurant is moving into space that is one door to the south (though the actual door and front of that space are now occupied by Red Wagon Toys). “I made the decision to make an investment in the future,” says Chatalas. “It was now or never.”