The new bar The Stepping Stone celebrated its “soft opening” Friday night on 24th Ave. near 59th St., just a few doors down from Cafe Besalu. A two-piece jazz band provided the background tunes while dozens of friends and curious neighbors stopped by to take a look around.

The menu, while still in its early stages, features a few wines, beer and sake. Similar to The Dray, The Stepping Stone features some very cool wood furnishings, but with a focus on sustainability. The bar top, for example, originated from a Ballard warehouse. The benches and foot rest at the bar are made from bleacher wood that came from a school in Oregon. And the cool walnut table tops were cut from naturally fallen trees. All in all, another cool addition to the Ballard neighborhood.