Showing posts with label Spa del Lago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spa del Lago. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

One tough neighborhood?


Another business folds

Word on the street last week was that Spa del Lago had closed up shop, so we decided to check the story out (that's generally a good plan of action before reporting rumors).  The Spa's website, however, is still up and functioning, with no notice of any closing. The voice message on the Spa's phone line, meanwhile, does not mention that the place is out of business. So we concluded we'd better head down there and get to the bottom of situation.

Spa del Lago was unoccupied today, other than by boxes, broken furniture, and a garbage can or two. The "Closed" sign on the door told the tale. The Spa had been open for only about nine months under its current management.

For many years Spa del Lago had been a successful neighborhood business, though the owners ultimately split up and listed the space for sale in 2010. Apparently much of the Spa's clientele followed the co-owner to the newly established Terzo Salon across the street. After many months on the market, the Spa location was eventually occupied last June, though not for long.

It's been a difficult year for many small businesses in the area, and it seems that Spa del Lago in its new incarnation never quite found its audience. One longtime Madison Park resident on hearing of the Spa's demise commented, "This is one tough neighborhood."  But it's also been one tough economy.  We understand this is not the last report we will be making this month of a local establishment closing its doors.

[Spa del Lago was located at 1929 43rd Avenue E.]

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Spa del Lago about to return


Let no one say that you can't get your hair coiffed or your feet pedicured in Madison Park.  By our count there are already eleven salons and spas of one kind or another operating here.  But they are apparently about to become an even dozen. The "For Sale" sign came down and the "Under New Management" sign went up the other day at Spa del Lago (1929 43rd Avenue E.).  The reopening is scheduled for sometime in June.

Spa del Lago, full-service day spa, was a Madison Park mainstay for many years; but in late December it shut down.  Part-owner Tom Walsh and some of the crew decamped for space across the street, opening in January as Terzo Salon in the Villa Marina building.  The old Spa del Lago space, a first-floor retail condominium unit, has been dark since that time.

Whether the Spa has now been sold or the space just rented out to a new tenant is unclear.  The King County Assessor's on-line reporting system does not show a sale of the unit, as of today.  But there is often a delay in recording property sales. Spa del Lago's website also offers no clues. It has been up and running all along, indicating that the spa is open for business. It appears that that disconnect is about to be rectified.

Photo courtesy of Spa del Lago.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

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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