For this special summer section, we asked an array of notable locals what they are looking forward to getting out and going/seeing/doing.
Gabriel Teodros, KEXP Host
& Associate Music Director
This Southend Seattle native and radio host says his neighborhood’s residents who come from many parts of the world have taught him about resilience, and that home isn’t always a place. “Sometimes home is something you carry with you, sometimes you find it in people, and sometimes home is a memory.” He loves seeing all the ways his neighbors hold on to their culture and find new ways to survive and thrive with each other, rooted in the strength of all the places they come from.
The Station
A coffee shop on Beacon Hill that in many ways is the heartbeat of our community. Throughout the pandemic they’ve lent space for people to drop off and pick up food as they need, a shining example of what mutual aid looks like. So many of my fondest summertime memories in recent years also involve gathering with people around coffee at The Station.
Musang
Amazing Filipino food on Beacon Hill. Melissa Miranda opened her restaurant right as the pandemic hit, and she and everyone she works with were able to pivot and turn the restaurant into a community kitchen that gave free food to people, with no questions asked. But the food is AMAZING, and the space looks beautiful, but with COVID we have yet to actually sit inside to eat a meal.
Communion
I have loved Chef Kristi Brown’s food for the last 20 years, since being delighted anytime That Brown Girl Catering was at an event, or any time I was lucky enough to catch Kristi’s hummus stand at the local farmer’s market. Seeing her open her first restaurant in the Central District at the historic Liberty Bank Building is a dream come true, and like Melissa at Musang she was giving away free meals as a community kitchen for so many months during the pandemic. They both are heroes for real.
Cafe Avole
A beloved Southend institution that is now relocating to the Liberty Bank building next to Communion. I feel like I see my whole self anywhere that celebrates both Ethiopian culture and Hip-Hop culture, and Cafe Avole has been like a second home for since they first opened up. They have had the cafe and restaurant closed for most of the pandemic, but I’m so excited to see them open a new space and I can’t wait to get some of the best ful in the city again.
Cafe Melo
This is a new cafe recently opened by the hip-hop duo Fifth House (Hanan Hassan and Toni Banx), just one block east of the Liberty Bank Building. Anytime I see musicians I love open a space for community to gather around food and coffee I’m all the way in. And I hear the juices are amazing.
Hood Famous
Speaking of musicians I love opening spaces, Hood Famous is founded by Chera Amlag in partnership with her husband, Geo of Blue Scholars. Anytime I’ve been in to Hood Famous before the pandemic, it was a beautiful community gathering right in the heart of the International District. Also, I miss the buko pie so much. Amazing desserts all around, really.
Estelita’s Library
Estilita’s used to be on Beacon Hill, and I loved catching Edwin in there at random for conversations and seeing his incredible book selections. They are moving to a new space in the Central District, and I can’t wait to visit and see what grows
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