Seattle opens residential areas to small cafes, corner markets
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Seattle officials say they want to encourage more neighborhood businesses like the Volunteer Park Cafe. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios
Seattle now allows small cafes and markets throughout residential neighborhoods, ending decades-old zoning rules that largely banned new businesses in those areas.
Why it matters: The goal is to create walkable neighborhoods where people can buy groceries, grab a bite to eat or run errands on foot — a strategy that also helps support small local retailers, Seattle City Council president Joy Hollingsworth told Axios.
Catch up quick: Seattle's new rules took effect Jan. 21, allowing specific types of ground-floor retail stores on residential blocks throughout the city.
- Businesses are capped at 2,500 square feet, limited to certain retail and food uses, and required to close overnight from 10pm to 6am.
- The City Council approved the changes in December.
State of play: Seattle now has only a few such businesses tucked into residential neighborhoods.
- Those are largely grandfathered in under older zoning policies, before the city established rules limiting businesses from operating in residential areas.
Some of the holdovers include Seven Market & Cafe in Ravenna, Irwin's Neighborhood Bakery and Cafe in Wallingford, and Volunteer Park Cafe in Capitol Hill.
What they're saying: These types of businesses "create that sense of community within a neighborhood," said Hollingsworth, who sponsored the ordinance updating the zoning rules.
- Corner markets can also help ensure people have access to groceries and other staples, she said.
- That's particularly important given the recent closures of big retailers such as the Fred Meyer in Lake City, the Whole Foods in Capitol Hill and the Amazon Fresh in the Central District, Hollingsworth noted.
Zoom in: It's not yet clear whether anyone has applied to open neighborhood stores under Seattle's updated rules.
- City officials say they don't track permit data in a way that would easily show that, and the zoning change only took effect last month.
The big picture: A bill before the state Legislature would require cities across Washington to open residential zones to small neighborhood businesses — such as cafes, pubs and markets — similar to what Seattle allows today.
- The idea is to encourage local gathering spots "like what we see in Europe," state Rep. Mark Klicker (R-Walla Walla), the bill's prime sponsor, said during a House floor speech last month.
- House Bill 1175 passed the state House last month and now awaits action in the Senate.
What we're watching: Whether entrepreneurs take advantage of Seattle's new rules and open corner stores in neighborhoods that haven't seen one in decades.