Issaquah Highlands Grocer Update…Not Really

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Lately there has been a lot of speculation about which grocer will end up in the Issaquah Highlands. Based on public knowledge, the only thing I can confirm that everything that you heard is in fact speculation.

As of the most recent Issaquah Highlands Town Hall Meeting, Judd Kirk, spoke about the grocer situation we have been dealing with for the past several years. He was not as passionate as he normally is about the progress we are seeing in the community when it came to this specific topic, but I don?t want to read into that too much. To paraphrase what he communicated:

There are 3 stores in the running: Safeway, QFC and an Un-named Specialty Grocer.
Whole Foods, Metropolitan Market, PCC and a few other that have been named before are off the table.
Judd was supposed to be meeting with the Un-named Specialty Grocer on the 10th of July.
If the meeting did not go well, Judd would recommend moving forward with Safeway or QFC.

If you take the grocers that stepped down from the consideration set off the original list, Issaquah Highlands is left with 3; Safeway, QFC and?.Central Market.

As of the meeting on the 10th, the ?Un-named Specialty Grocer? has asked for additional time to do some more research.

If Central Market does not pan out, I have a feeling that we will be getting a Safeway up here in the Highlands. While Judd would not say which one he would rather see, he did spend 25 minutes talking about all the great things Safeway is doing in some of their newer stores.

Jul

17

Pizza + Coffee = Yummy

Filed Under Blog, Issaquah Highlands, Restaurants, Retail Development | 1 Comment

Another retail shop coming to Issaquah Highlands was recently announced. Matt Snook, creator and owner, will be taking on the challenge of trying to merge two very different concepts into one venue. World Pies and Nine Bar Espresso will be a concept restaurant located in the South Tower of the Startpoint building at 25th and Park Drive. That makes me pretty darn excited. Don?t get me wrong, I enjoy Cafe Ladro, Marcella?s and Sip, but sometimes I would like to be able to grab a cup of coffee and not break a sweat to get back home.

World Pies is a globally inspired pizzeria that WILL NOT be anything like a traditional pizzeria. I am excited about the concept of World Pies and am looking forward to tasting their creations. If it turns out to be as tasty as it sounds, it will be a huge success.

On the other side of the venue, Nine Bar is going to be a place where residents can come and enjoy coffee or a diverse selection of pastries and deserts. As for Nine Bar Espresso, I am excited about that too, but am disappointed in how limited the menu sounds. I would really love to have a place around here that does something different that just a pastry selection. I just returned from a trip to Aspen where there is an amazing coffee shop called Cafe Zele. They have incredible smoothies, wonderful breakfast and lunch offerings and terrific coffee. If I had the coffee place of my dreams here in our neighborhood - that would be it.

With that said, hats off to Matt Snook. I look forward to your doors opening.

Jul

16

Issaquah’s Hot Summer Nights

Filed Under Blog, Issaquah, Issaquah Highlands | 4 Comments

With these hot summer nights reaching record highs, I don?t know about you, but I sure don?t feel much like cooking.

One of my favorite ways to beat the heat is to head down to Lake Sammamish State Park for a picnic dinner and a cool dip. Lake Sammamish is a wonderful recreation area for the whole family and it is only minutes from Issaquah Highlands.

While at the park, you can go for a swim at the swim beach, or take a nice stroll along many of the trails. During the right time of season, there are tasty blackberry bushes that make for a sweet after dinner treat. There are plenty of picnic sites, BBQ grills, good bathrooms with changing areas and showers. Kayak rentals are available in the summer. There are three baseball fields and nine soccer fields. There are also sanded volleyball courts, a concession stand and two ?big toy? children?s play areas.

And it is close to everything so there are several options for picking up dinner nearby. You can opt for something as simple as our local Subway, or step it up a notch and grab some Stan?s BBQ. If you are really feeling bold, bring down some matches and charcoal and fire up one of Lake Sam?s BBQ?s and grill your own burgers and dogs.

Whatever way you choose to do it, you can?t beat the great location and tremendous facilities available at Lake Sammamish State Park.