Cafe Parco to debut in the fall

Italian cuisine returns to the local restaurant scene

As early as October, after some remodeling to the Madison Park Cafe space is completed, Seattle Chef Celinda Norton and family, who until last month operated 94 Stewart in the Pike Place Market, will be bringing their talents to Madison Park with a new incarnation:  Cafe Parco.

As we reported yesterday, Madison Park Cafe has been sold.  Today we can give you some of the details, thanks to MPC owner Karen Binder, who shared with us her email to her patrons about both the sale and the new owners' plans for the space.  She describes the transition to new ownership as "good fortune," noting that Norton "has all the qualities of the person I was hoping to leave my legacy to:  a smart, quirky, strong, talented, capable woman chef."

Just last month, the Nortons sold 94 Stewart, confiding on the restaurant's website that "we are already working on our new adventure."  Now we know, at least in general terms, just what (and where) that adventure will be.  According to Binder, Cafe Parco will be serving Italian cuisine seven days a week, both lunch and dinner, with brunches on the weekends.  94 Stewart was known for its Fried Avocado, once chosen as a "Best Bite" by The Seattle Times. We understand it won't be one of the selections at the new place, however.  The Nortons (including Celinda's son Nic and daughter Lindsey) are planning "something new and different" in this new venue. Just what the menu will be is something we intend to ferret out in coming weeks.

Binder, meanwhile, will not be exiting from the Seattle culinary scene. She says she intends to continue both her catering and wine-selling businesses (madisonparkcafe@aol.com).  She'll be back in action after a several-week sojourn in Hawaii for the birth of a grandchild.  In the meantime, however, she is not taking a page out of the Sostanza exit strategy (sell the place and get out of town by morning).  She will be on board with the Madison Park Cafe through brunch on August 29, she says, "So, come on in for a swan song meal and say goodbye to the old joint!"


[Photo of Celinda Norton by Cris Bisch on SustainLane.]

Madison Park Cafe sold

It's been a more or less open secret for some time that Madison Park Cafe owner, Karen Binder, with more than 30 years of successful MPC operation behind her, was seeking a buyer for her iconic space across from the Madison Park tennis courts (1807 42nd Avenue E.).  She confirmed to us today that she has sold her restaurant, the details being announced to her longtime patrons by email.  This is the fifth turnover of major restaurant space in Madison Park in just the last two and a half years, beginning with Sorella's in 2009, Impromptu and Sostanza in 2010, and Bing's earlier this summer.

We will, of course, cover the full story of the plans for a new restaurant at the MPC site when they become available.

Local restaurants in Seattle Restaurant Week

One Madison Park restaurant, Madison Park Cafe, and four Madison Valley Restaurants (Cafe Flora, Crush, Luc and Voila! Bistrot) are participating in Seattle Restaurant Week, which begins on Sunday. The two-week celebration allows diners to sample 150 Seattle-area restaurants during the April 10-14 and April 17-21 periods and get three-course dinners at a reduced fixed price ($15 or $28, depending on the restaurant).  Madison Park Cafe, according to owner Karen Binder, will be offering $28 three-course meals with choices, and will have some "fun glass pours available that pair with the dinners."  This is Binder's 32nd year of operating the neighborhood's French bistro.

Madison Park Cafe, along with as Cafe Flora, Luc, and Voila! Bistrot, will also be participating in Dining Out for Life on April 28.  This national project, now in its 18th year, provides a fund-raising avenue for local AIDS organizations.  Seattle's Lifelong AIDS Alliance will receive a donation of 30% of each diner's tab the night of the event.

And speaking of local restaurants, Seattle Met Magazine reports on the return of Happy Hour and Cactus! in a posting today, and Madison Park Conservatory got a seriously good review from the Seattle Times yesterday.

Short takes No. 11

The case of the vanishing swings

The big swing set in the play area of Madison Park was suddenly missing its swings last week, though the cause was not immediately evident. On Wednesday, however, an explanation was provided by the parks department, which reported that it had removed the swings due to safety concerns.

It seems that during a routine safety check, an inspector detected that the swing set’s top rail, which is twelve feet high, tends to bow considerably, especially when “a large person” is on the swings. According to Seattle Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter, the top rail was actually bowing as much as two or three inches. This, in turn, was causing other structural bending, which is unusual. The swings have been removed until the problem can be addressed with the manufacturer.

While the swings are presumably in the Park for the use of children, their occasional use by “a large person” must be engineered for. As Potter notes, “play equipment safety is the highest priority for us.” The opportunity to swing in the Park still exists for those who can maintain proper ground clearance. The much lower, two-seat swing set remains functional—though probably not comfortably so for “a large person.”

Spa del Lago on the move

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One of the neighborhood’s several spas, and the only one with a hair salon, is getting ready to pack up and move out. But it’s not going very far. When the New Year opens, Spa del Lago will be located just across the street from its current location. Its new digs will be on the first floor of the Villa Marina building, 1928 43rd Avenue E.

The move is reportedly necessitated, at least in part, by the recent sale of the building in which the Spa has long been located. But the move also fits nicely into the plans of Villa Marina owner Lakeside Capital Management, which is in the process of converting the building from apartments to retail/commercial use. Another ground-floor retail unit in Villa Marina is being built out as retail space on the 43rd Avenue side of the building. That space, which is next door to Maison Michel, should be available for lease in the first quarter of next year.

As MPB readers may recall, the Villa Marina Apartments was slated last year to be replaced by a ten-unit condo project. Changes in market conditions, however, forced a change of plans; and the conversion of the existing building to commercial use was the outcome.

No word yet on what will be happening to the current Spa del Lago space at 1929 43rd E.

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Madison Park Café to ring in the New Year

Karen Binder is about to celebrate her 31st New Year’s at the Madison Park Café and would like us all to come celebrate the occasion with her. She reports she’s planning a special fixed-price New Year’s Eve dinner, promising both a glass of free sparkler and “great fun.” The menu is available here.

Binder and a business partner opened the Café in 1979, and it’s been serving French-bistro cuisine since Binder assumed full ownership of the restaurant in 1999. It is, without challenge, the longest-running white-tablecloth eatery in the neighborhood.

The Madison Park Café will also be doing a Christmas Eve Dinner this year, with an “early-ish” seating, says Binder. For reservations to either event call (206) 324-2626 or visit the website. The Café is located at 1807 42nd Avenue E.

Chase lowers the voltage

From the moment the large neon sign was installed above the Chase (née WaMu) branch in the summer of 2009, it was controversial in certain quarters. The Madison Park Community Council (MPCC) certainly took a dim view of the bright sign, which it felt violated the sign standards for the Madison Park business district. The goal of those standards is to exclude large, lighted commercial signs from the neighborhood. Though not every Madison Park commercial establishment adhers to the voluntary standards, the MPCC still hoped that it could get Chase’s attention to the issue and, hopefully, convince the Bank to be a bit less visibly present at nighttime.

Now, almost 18 months after the effort began, the Council can finally report success. Chase this week installed a smaller neon version of the Bank’s logo above the entrance to the branch. To get this action, the MPCC’s Kathleen O’Connor reportedly went straight to the top at Chase, asking for the help of Chase’s Washington President, Phyllis Campbell.

Rumor has it that the next target of the tone-it-down effort may well be Madison Park Conservatory’s newly installed representation of a flying Canada Goose, a skeletal image which is lighted at night. No confirmation of this, however.

Update: Since our original posting, the Community Council put to rest the rumor that anyone there has a problem with MPC's goose. Board member Lindy Wishard, in fact, reports that she "worked directly with the owner to insure that his sign was in keeping with the guidelines," adding that "we're grateful to Cormac [Mahoney] for caring about the sign and his storefront."

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