My Ballard

A while back we wrote about the Couth Buzzard used book store closing. It turns out that Ken’s Market, which is at the opposite end of the building on Greenwood Avenue, is taking over the entire building.

In an update to the earlier post, the Buzzard will now get to stay in their space through July — one owner says it’s taking Ken’s longer than expected to get remodeling permits. The plan is to start that end of the building and work north toward the original store at the corner of 73rd. 

Ken’s has been in it’s current space since 1955. No word on what the expansion means for relative newcomers Allusia and the Greenwood Bakery. Share more details if you know ‘em.

Calvary Lutheran Church merged with Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church earlier this month, and now Calvary Lutheran’s building on 23rd and 70th is for sale. For just under $2 million, you can own a sanctuary with “amazing stained glass” that seats 279. Calvary Lutheran merged with Our Redeemer’s after years of declining attendance, reports the Ballard News Tribune.

A black lab mix was found roaming around 32nd on Sunday evening. “She is very sweet, shy at first but quick to warm up,” explains Emily, who found the dog. “We’re trying to find the owner ASAP.”

Lauren updates in comments: “The sweet dog has been returned to her owners, thanks to Emily!”

Firefighters briefly created a stir on Market St. this Sunday afternoon as they responded to a fire at Market Street Traders, that new fair trade shop that opened late last year (where the Scandinavian Gift Shop used to be.)

Turns out it was a minor furnace fire. Meanwhile, the new owners (who also own Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on the waterfront) are getting ready to open up “A Little Trade Cafe” inside Market Street Traders.

Nick’s Boats and Motors closed down last summer after more than 50 years in Ballard. When they left, this message remained on the window…

Today, the business on 65th just east of 8th was demolished.

No word yet on what will replace it. We shot some video below:

Update: Paul adds in comments, “Dennis Nick, the owner & former proprietor, was there and taking photos as well. He said that the property has not yet been sold, that since it was on the site of a former gas station that it would be worth cleaning up pre-sale.” You can see more photos here.

With Sunset Bowl closing on April 13th (see story below), its owners will auction off equipment and furnishings from the bowling alley on April 22nd. While Murphy Auctions doesn’t have a list of the items online, they’ve posted a few photos to give you an idea of what will be for sale: everything from the machines that align the pins (below) to the vending machines. We’ll venture to guess that many people who’ve visited Sunset Bowl over the years may be interested in buying a piece of history. The auction preview begins at 8 a.m. at Sunset Bowl on the 22nd, with the auction beginning at 10 a.m.

Despite efforts to keep Sunset Bowl open until the land’s new owners began demolition in a year or so, it looks like the bowling alley’s last day will be April 13th, as initially scheduled. But, as we’ve been reporting, the new owners are interested in the idea of building a new bowling alley into the luxury apartment development. So there’s hope a new Sunset Bowl may return. Today’s Seattle Times has a good story today that looks at the battle to save Sunset.

Just because Mother Nature knows you’re not quite ready for spring just yet, winter has made a return visit. Doree shot this photo from the backyard of a home just east of 8th Ave. around 1:30 p.m…

ThatGuyEric shot this photo in the Ballard Flickr pool…

And the one below came from Sunset Hill. “Twenty minutes ago there was a *lot* more, but it’s melting fast,” TM writes at 2:45 p.m…

If you have a photo, feel free to email it to us at tips@myballard.com.

Update: Seattle Daily Photo snapped a bunch of terrific shots on Flickr.

Updated: The Ballard Bridge is back open now after a head-on accident between a car and a SUV at 11:45 a.m. Fortunately, it appears the drivers suffered only minor injuries. (Update at 12:45 p.m.)

We admit, we’re not the hippest kids in Ballard. So when we heard that this unmarked space at 608 65th St. is some kind of semi-secret music venue, we were intrigued. Some call it “The Space.” Others, “608 Club.”

Turns out, it’s the home studio of Estradasphere, a band of “multi-instrumentalists” whose innovative style bridges classical, jazz and even metal. It’s also where some visiting bands come to play from time to time, like Faun Fables last weekend. Seattlest blogger Michael van Baker attended and snapped a photo inside. “They were playing to about 30 of their closest-friend fans, and it felt a little weird to be there,” he admits.

According to the sign in the window, Nau will open soon in the old Sonic Boom store in Fremont. If you haven’t heard of Nau (they have one other local store at Bellevue Square), it’s a Portland-based clothing company that strives to combine trendy/outdoor fashion with social responsibility. Many of its fabrics are made from recycled materials, and 5 percent of its sales are donated to social or environmental organizations (you get to choose one from a list when you make a purchase.) And the fashion is very Seattle cool. Can’t wait!

Adds Nina in comments: “Odd location. Their clothes are pretty expensive so I would imagine they would want to be closer to the downtown shopping. I hope they do OK, but it’s too pricey for me.”

Following our general rule for new restaurants, we waited a couple weeks after the Ballard Mandarin Chinese restaurant on Market St. and 8th Ave. opened before giving it a try. A couple of things to get out of the way first: if you’re looking for an elegant dining experience, this isn’t the place. It’s newly remodeled, but the decor is very sparse. And they don’t have their liquor license yet, so I had to forego my traditional Tsingtao beer with dinner. But the food is tasty. We ordered General Tao’s chicken, vegetables with prawns, egg rolls and egg drop soup, and it was all good. (Not as good as many of the places in the International District, of course, but this is Ballard.) The service was prompt and courteous, and the bill was reasonable. All in all, we were impressed, and we grabbed a take-out menu on the way out the door.