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Bastille Cafe and Bar gets board approval

Posted by Geeky Swedes on May 7th, 2009

Bastille Cafe and Bar, a new French restaurant at 5307 Ballard Ave., is on track for their June 29th opening. This morning, restaurant owners Deming Maclise and James Weimann along with architect Mike Skidmore won approval from the Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board for outdoor lighting, signage, rain barrels and a refuse enclosure. The sign out front will be a key, shown to the right, “which represents the key from the Bastille,” Skidmore explained.

There will be outdoor seating for 76 people along the side of the building, although some of the seats will be reserved for those 21 and over. The front will have lights that shine up and down showing off the architecture of the building, giving it a nice glow, the three told the board.

They’ll have four rain barrels that are “old oak barrels that used to hold some other valuable liquid,” Skidmore joked. Maclise and Weimann plan to reclaim the rainwater for the rooftop gardens (shown below.) They plan to grow lettuces, herbs and other foods that grow nicely in Seattle.

Stay tuned for “Free Frites Day” coming on the Sunday before they open. They’re also looking for servers who live in Ballard. If you’re interested and have restaurant experience, send your resume to Peter@BastilleSeattle.com.

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  • jules
    what a classy job! this looks so thought out and well planned. i am very excited to add this establishment to Ballard. Best of luck to the new owners. It is gorgeous. the gardens on top are so rad.
  • silence.kit
    Wow, that looks great.
  • Trix
    Really well done! Me likey!
  • Where will this be located?
  • jules
    the address is in the first line of the article.
  • super_v
    Beautiful! It's great to see these old, beautiful buildings being revitalized. I really like those roof top garden structures! Can we get more photos or a link to the company that designed them? I look forward to the opening (and outdoor seating)!

    If you like these roof top gardens, you might also like the vertical rosemary and thyme wall at the Starbuck's on 4th near Division St (they use rainwater to self-water).
  • Uncle Snuffy
    Will they serve sushi? If not, it won't last in Ballard.
  • Ballardmom
    Ugh. I will never understand people's love for sushi. I welcome new non-sushi restaurants.
  • chefwahoo
    It looks beautiful. The rooftop gardens are great!

    But isn't their outdoor dining area the exact same spot where the smokers congregate, near the Ballard Farmer's Market tent? Hopefully, that will stop when the restaurant opens.
  • cynicalswede
    Classy. Like opening a burger joint on the south side of Paris, naming it "The Fourth of July", and hanging a giant replica of the Liberty Bell outside.
  • Trix
    Hey, if it's the only place in Paris to get a cheeseburger it'll do very well.
    And 'frites' is just a fancy name for french fries. Nothing wrong with a little kitch.
  • SPG
    You've never been to Paris, have you?
    There are McDonalds all over the place.
  • cynicalswede
    Merci SPG.... j''aurais du t'appeller pour une petite consultation culturelle avant de commencer.
    I'll slice it another way: would you go to a BBQ joint with a neon lasso on its storefront in Hamburg?
    I suppose I was trying to discuss the concept of working in national cliches: I see a foreigner's take on France and his expectations of it.
  • If it can get me the croque monsieur fix that I've been missing ever since Au Bouchon left Wallingford, then I'm all for it.

    Persimmon, in Fremont, has a great croque monsieur, but it costs two arms and a leg.
  • Ballardmom
    That sounds really cool! I don't think I've ever had "French food" before so I'm not sure what to expect. I've had lots of Cajun food but that I assume is pretty different - seeing as they were French-Canadians before they were cajuns. So yeah, no idea what French food is like. Still, this restaurant sounds very neat and I'm looking forward to trying it. Fresh herbs grown on the roof - what a cool idea!
  • SPG
    "For dinner we have French Fries, French Bread, French Toast, and to drink...Peru!"

    Name that movie.
  • Trix
    Better off Dead. I may not know Paris but I do know cheesy 80's movies. :-)
  • chopper_74
    lol...thank God for cheesy 80's movies ;-) At least you could see them coming, like from a mile away...
  • pants
    Sorry your mom blew up, Ricky.
  • clearinup
    Can someone confirm that those raised beds are not made with non incised treated lumber.... aka... toxic nasty chemical wood that will leach into the soil... its hard to tell from the small picture.
  • chopper_74
    wow, good point, by code it would have to be 'outdoor rated', which yes, would be toxic...hope that they've got that figured out. Perhaps they'll line the exterior of the planters with a membrane that protects the dirt...I'd like to know.
  • anonymous
    The wood is made of cedar and is not coated in any toxic chemicals, the planters are lined in a chemical-free material and the soil is certified organic from Cedar Grove Organics.
  • chopper_74
    thanks, I figured that there had to be someone paying attention to that.
    Best wishes on the success of the place.
  • SeattleRichardson
    somebody pinch me!
  • allisonw
    If it's James Weimann, it's just another hipster hangout. Think Triangle, El Camino, Peso's, Ballroom. I think in the early days he was focused more on good food, but to my mind, it's just about making money for this cat now.
  • elle
    um. el camino has delicious food.
  • jules
    i am with you, elle. el camino DOES have yummy food. i love the fish tacos there and i LOVE the deck in the summer! it is a really fun place that i visit often. i don't think i am a hipster, i just like good food and fun places to mingle!

    either way, i am excited for it and want to give it a chance before bitching about it already.....
  • GreenLakeDave
    Unfortunately El Camino has really gone downhill. The last time I had the fish tacos, the beans and rice were cold and the fish was nasty.
  • jules
    really? that is not good news. thanks for the update on the place dave:)
  • Trix
    Not sure I would call the Triangle a hipster hangout, not by Fremont standards anyway. Too right about the Ballroom, though.
    It's a different concept than those other places, though, and I look forward to testing it out.
  • jules
    the ballroom sucks! it is so over crowded and full of fresh meat, every night. sorry folks not my gig. let's DO hope it will not be like the ballroom or we are all in for a bum deal! there are so many fights at the ballroom that it has stopped being fun, if it ever was!
  • anonymous
    Let's not digress!! Stay focused and read the article from the Seattle Times about this place. There is nothing but class about Bastille: Peter Lewis (Campagne), Shannon Gulusha (Veil) and top notch folks behind this restaurant are a far cry from a POOL HALL with flat screen TVs. Let's throw the owner of Caffe Fiore into the equation and I think we've got a ourselves a winner.
  • Trix
    Stay focused? You're asking a lot of us. ;-)
    Too true, though. It all sounds fantastic thus far.
  • yolo
    Who wants to eat produce from a roof garden that is right next to a cement mixing plant? There has to be TOXIC chemicals flying all around.
  • jules
    i am not digressing. i was the first person who commented on the thread here that it looks really classy. i am just saying that, in response to another post, how i feel about the ballroom. no foul, no harm. just a fact.

    i can see that it is going to be quite different than a poolhall, please.
  • Dweb
    With Shannon Galusha running the kitchen, I'm fairly confident the food will taste good.

    I am looking forward to dining on that outdoor deck this summer!
  • Berbs
    I know James very well and he's definitly the most down to earth person, so It's not all about money, thanks...
  • Oak barrels won't work. the tannins and other chemicals in the wood will leach into the water, and kill the plants. That's why in olden days, rainwater cisterns were made of clay or terra cotta, or out of rock. Wooden cisterns, good for wine, bad for water. A workaround would be to line the oak barrels (I'm sure they are cool looking) with recylced plastic barrels inside, where they aren't seen.

    Mike W
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