Filipino Food Truck CheBogz Launches Kickstarter for New Beacon Hill Restaurant

CheBogz Filipino food truck will give away free dessert and crispy lumpia from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on October 1 at the former site of Kusina Filipina (now Feed the People Plaza) at 3201 Beacon Avenue South. The event will be recorded to help promote the launch of CheBogz’s new crowdfunding campaign that will support the family’s return to Beacon Hill at the Colina Apartments.

Kusina Filipina was a popular Beacon Hill destination for family recipes by the Paraiso family. Rising rent costs forced the Paraisos to shutter Kusina in 2017. They acquired other turnkey restaurants — Manila’s Pride in Federal Way and Paraiso Filipino Native Foods in Tacoma — and sisters Trixia and Paula opened CheBogz. Appearing in regular rotation at South Lake Union, Greenwood, and other Seattle locations, Trixia and Paula always hoped to reopen permanently in Beacon Hill. With the help of a community-minded developer and support from the Beacon Business Alliance, that dream is coming true.

Fuku’s chicken sandos available for delivery-only in Westlake

David Chang’s line of spicy fried chicken “sandos” officially arrived in Westlake on Tuesday, September 28, in the form of delivery-only ghost kitchen Fuku. Featuring fried, habanero brined thigh meat on potato rolls, Fuku offers five chicken sandwich options, including a sweet and spicy sandwich, chicken fingers, and jalapeño-seasoned waffle fries. For now, Fuku is delivering only to the Westlake area, but plans to roll out a wider delivery zone in the coming weeks. Fuku can be ordered through Grubhub, Postmates, and UberEats.

Bourbon Steak debuts tomorrow

Over the pandemic chef Michael Mina was forced to permanently close his French steakhouse restaurant RN74, with the promise of returning as Bourbon Steak, officially opening on Friday, October 1. The new modern American steakhouse has an emphasis on seasonal and local Pacific Northwest ingredients like beef sourced from Washington’s Double R Ranch and Royal Ranch, and produce from Redmond’s Sound Sustainable Farms. The website is now accepting reservations for its Friday grand opening.

Fuel Coffee rebrands with books and new looks

Fuel Coffee officially announced their rebranding as Fuel Coffee & Books on Instagram. Fuel’s three cafes — in Capitol Hill, Wallingford, and Montlake — will keep some nods to their funky 60s-inspired aesthetic roots and “rocket fuel,” but now with “books for the caffeinated mind.” It’s a rebrand that’s been in the works ever since Fuel cafes were acquired by the owners of Ada’s Technical Books, husband and wife Danielle and David Hulton.

West Seattle’s SubShop #9 closes this week

SubShop #9 is closing after 38 years in the Morgan Junction neighborhood of West Seattle. The unpretentious mom-and-pop sandwich shop sold inexpensive, filling six-inch subs. Rising rent costs and the loss of revenue led to the decision to close for good.

Taco Time and Dick’s Drive-In raise wages, hoping to attract more employees

Taco Time launched a test program that pays entry-level employees $20 per hour at its restaurants in Issaquah and North Bend, three locations that are seeking to fill 30 positions. Last week, Dick’s Drive-In raised the starting hourly wage to $19 and $20 for certain Seattle locations, with eligibility for a $1 raise within six weeks.

Update: October 1, 6:48 a.m.: This post has been updated to correct the date of CheBogz’s crowdfunding kickoff event.