South Park’s Resistencia Coffee Has Closed Permanently

On Thursday, July 6, Vanishing Seattle’s Instagram account reported that Resistencia Coffee Shop, a cafe that aimed to be a community hub and gathering space, has closed permanently. It’s the second social justice–focused coffee shop to close this summer, after Shoreline’s Black Coffee Northwest shuttered its doors in June.

Resistencia was opened in 2017 by married couple Tim and Côté Soerens (who is also a pastor). They intended it to have a real connection with the neighborhood through hiring local residents, sourcing food from BIPOC-owned Seattle businesses, and holding events like open mic nights. When the pandemic began, Resistencia started a community food pantry. A mural inside the cafe read, “A local community standing up against adversity with relentless hope and care for everyone in the neighborhood.”

The Soerens family is moving to Chicago, but there will still be coffee at the cafe formerly known as Resistencia. The space has been sold to theater director Michelle Lang-Raymond, who seems to be picking up where Resistencia left off with a cafe called the Scene. It will be holding a grand opening this weekend, July 8 and 9, with activities like yoga and line dancing. (More info on that here.)

Ben’s Bread gets an opening date

Well, sort of. The much-hyped pop-up bakery’s brick-and-mortar location is officially opening at 216 North 70th Street on Phinney Ridge according to a press release we just got, but they won’t give us a date, they say just “mid-July.” Guess you’ll have to camp out to be first in line to get the sourdough loaves, the delicate pastries, and the incredible “cheese-its” that are the secret star of the show. They’ll be serving Herkimer espresso and rotate through local small-batch roasters for their drip coffee, starting with Stamp Act coffee. Follow Ben’s Bread on Instagram to get updates on that opening.

More Korean fried chicken lands on Capitol Hill

As noted by Capitol Hill Seattle Blog last month, there’s no shortage of KFC (Korean fried chicken) on the Hill, and why not? It’s practically the perfect drinking food, and Capitol Hill has its share of drinkers. Still, Sodam chicken coming here is news — the South Korean chain has drawn a lot of praise for its outpost in Shoreline, and will be expanding southward into a location at 1818 Madison, below the Lawrence Lofts. On Instagram, Sodam just announced a “soft opening” date of July 17.

Seabird’s shellfish pop-up is back on

Seabird, the Bainbridge Island seafood dining destination, is again hosting its Baywater Shellfish Bar pop-up, a more casual (and affordable) way to experience one of the area’s buzziest restaurants. The pop-up runs July 6 to July 30, 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and is walk-in only, so no need to fiddle about with Tock. The menu is, duh, shellfish-focused: raw bar, mussels, broiled oysters, steamer clams, etc. There’s also fun items like grilled giant octopus and a seafood boil, natural wine, la la la you know what kind of stuff is going on. Also, from 3 to 5 there’s a $2 happy hour special on oysters — “two buck shuck,” they’re calling it, amusingly.